Radford's Straton Podaras Named to Buster Posey Award Watch List
Radford senior catcher Straton Podaras has been named to the 2020 Buster Posey National Collegiate Catcher of the Year Award Watch List, the Greater Wichita Area Sports Commission announced on Monday evening.
Podaras is the only catcher in the Big South Conference to be included on the Buster Posey Award Watch List, which is comprised of 60 of college baseball's top catchers in Division I.
Podaras is off to his best start in a Highlander uniform, batting .283 with six doubles, a triple, nine RBIs and 13 runs scored through 15 games. The Glen Head, New York, native has started all 15 games behind the plate this season for the Highlanders.
Considered one of the top defensive catchers in the Big South, Podaras has shined behind the plate this season. He has out 60 percent of opposing base-stealers (12-of-20), the highest mark in the Big South Conference. Podaras' 12 runners caught stealing leads the conference by five. He anchors a Highlander defense that is the hardest to steal on in the conference, with opposing baserunners having just a 41 percent success rate.
The senior catcher also works with a pitching staff that ranks third in the Big South in earned run average (4.57) and has walked the third-fewest batters in the conference. Last year with Podaras behind the plate, the Highlanders allowed the fewest walks in the Big South.