WICHITA, Kansas – For his run production as the Big Ten Conference RBI leader and durability as a mainstay behind the plate, Purdue Baseball's Connor Caskenette has advanced as one of 16 semifinalists nationally for the Buster Posey Award.
The Greater Wichita Sports Commission announced its updated list of award candidates Wednesday, trimming the watch list down from 69. The three finalists will be announced June 6 and the winner recognized on June 26 at Greater Wichita Sports Banquet.
Caskenette is the first Boilermaker to be a semifinalist for the award since Sean McHugh in 2014. He joined Nebraska's Josh Caron as Big Ten backstops on the list of 16. Their teams square off Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET in an elimination game at the Big Ten Tournament.
As a third-team All-Big Ten performer, Caskenette started all of Purdue's 24 conference games behind the plate and 48 of the first 56 games overall. Dating back to the Boilermakers' 2023 conference opener, he has been behind the plate for 44 of the 48 Big Ten games.
Offensively, Caskenette's 13 home runs, 69 RBI and 51 runs scored have helped the Boilermakers set team records in all three categories, taking down benchmarks that had stood since the mid-1990s. He has compiled a .314/.432/.584 slash line, batting .377 with runners in scoring position. His Big Ten-leading RBI total has put him in fourth place in program history, recording the most by a Boilermaker since 2008. Caskenette has also drawn 41 free passes (22 walks, 19 HBP) vs. 23 strikeouts.
Defensively, Caskenette has more base stealers thrown out (8) than passed balls against (4). He's also worked with a pitching staff that has a 2.05 to 1.43 edge in strikeout-to-walk ratio and 21 fewer wild pitches than Purdue's opposition.
The Vancouver Island native has batted in the middle of the lineup in all 50 games he has started this spring, including a team-high 26 as the cleanup hitter.
In conjunction with the 20th anniversary of the national catcher of the year award in 2019, it was rebranded in Posey's honor after previously being called the Johnny Bench Award. Posey won the Johnny Bench Award in 2008, the same year he was drafted fifth overall by the San Francisco Giants.
BOILERMAKERS ON THE BUSTER POSEY/JOHNNY BENCH AWARD WATCH LIST (Since 2011)
• 2011: Kevin Plawecki – Semifinalist
• 2012: Kevin Plawecki – Finalist
• 2014: Sean McHugh – Semifinalist
• 2016: Jack Pichiotti
• 2017: Nick Dalesandro
• 2018: Nick Dalesandro
• 2019: Zac Fascia
• 2020: Zac Fascia
• 2021: Zac Fascia
• 2024: Connor Caskenette – Semifinalist
The Greater Wichita Sports Commission announced its updated list of award candidates Wednesday, trimming the watch list down from 69. The three finalists will be announced June 6 and the winner recognized on June 26 at Greater Wichita Sports Banquet.
Caskenette is the first Boilermaker to be a semifinalist for the award since Sean McHugh in 2014. He joined Nebraska's Josh Caron as Big Ten backstops on the list of 16. Their teams square off Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET in an elimination game at the Big Ten Tournament.
As a third-team All-Big Ten performer, Caskenette started all of Purdue's 24 conference games behind the plate and 48 of the first 56 games overall. Dating back to the Boilermakers' 2023 conference opener, he has been behind the plate for 44 of the 48 Big Ten games.
Offensively, Caskenette's 13 home runs, 69 RBI and 51 runs scored have helped the Boilermakers set team records in all three categories, taking down benchmarks that had stood since the mid-1990s. He has compiled a .314/.432/.584 slash line, batting .377 with runners in scoring position. His Big Ten-leading RBI total has put him in fourth place in program history, recording the most by a Boilermaker since 2008. Caskenette has also drawn 41 free passes (22 walks, 19 HBP) vs. 23 strikeouts.
Defensively, Caskenette has more base stealers thrown out (8) than passed balls against (4). He's also worked with a pitching staff that has a 2.05 to 1.43 edge in strikeout-to-walk ratio and 21 fewer wild pitches than Purdue's opposition.
The Vancouver Island native has batted in the middle of the lineup in all 50 games he has started this spring, including a team-high 26 as the cleanup hitter.
In conjunction with the 20th anniversary of the national catcher of the year award in 2019, it was rebranded in Posey's honor after previously being called the Johnny Bench Award. Posey won the Johnny Bench Award in 2008, the same year he was drafted fifth overall by the San Francisco Giants.
BOILERMAKERS ON THE BUSTER POSEY/JOHNNY BENCH AWARD WATCH LIST (Since 2011)
• 2011: Kevin Plawecki – Semifinalist
• 2012: Kevin Plawecki – Finalist
• 2014: Sean McHugh – Semifinalist
• 2016: Jack Pichiotti
• 2017: Nick Dalesandro
• 2018: Nick Dalesandro
• 2019: Zac Fascia
• 2020: Zac Fascia
• 2021: Zac Fascia
• 2024: Connor Caskenette – Semifinalist