Devish Named NCBWA District II Player of the Year
Jun 10 | Baseball
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - Senior R.J. Devish (Beachwood, N.J.) of the Rutgers baseball team was named the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) District II Player of the Year, it was announced Friday. The catcher is one of just 11 players from across nine regions of the nation to earn the honor.
"It is a great honor to be on the list," head coach Joe Litterio said. "To be named NCBWA District Player of the Year is very special. R.J. put in a ton of hard work and deserves everything he gets."
A Second Team All-Big Ten selection in 2016, Devish put together a breakout season as a senior to lead the Big Ten and rank No. 6 nationally with a .524 on-base percentage. It was the highest OBP by a Rutgers player since 1994 and only the fourth time a Scarlet Knight finished over .500 since 1984, also being the best mark by a player in the Big Ten since 1994. The leadoff hitter additionally paced the conference with 56 runs scored and a .375 batting average, ranked second with 24 stolen bases and fourth with 41 walks and 15 times being hit by pitch. The stolen bases ranked first among all catchers in the nation, No. 43 overall and tied for ninth-most in a year in the program record books.
Devish previously earned a spot as a semifinalist for the Olson Award, which is granted to the breakout player of the year, and the Johnny Bench Award watch list, which is presented to the top catcher in the nation. He started his collegiate career as an infielder and moved behind the plate due to the team necessity for a backup catcher as a freshman. Continuing to learn the craft to improve defensively, Devish elevated to put both offense and defense together to spark RU as the leadoff hitter in 2016 that included a Big Ten Player of the Week accolade on Feb. 29.
Previous NCWBA Players of the Year from Rutgers include Todd Frazier (2007) and Craig Badger (2004). District II covers Connecticut, West Virginia, New York, New Jersey, Delaware and District of Columbia.
2016 NCBWA District Players of the Year
District I: SS Charles LeBlanc (Pittsburgh)
District II: C R.J. Devish (Rutgers)
District III: SP/1B Brendan McKay (Louisville) and SP Logan Shore (Florida)
District IV: OF Seth Beer (Clemson) and 3B Will Craig (Wake Forest)
District V: SP Eric Lauer (Kent State)
District VI: 3B Jake Burger (Missouri State)
District VII: 3B Boomer White (Texas A&M)
District VIII: C Chris Devito (New Mexico)
District IX: RP Troy Rallings (Washington)
Click here for the NCBWA website.
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