Hayden Dunhurst Named a Semifinalist for Buster Posey Award

Ole Miss sophomore Hayden Dunhurst has been tabbed as a semifinalist for the Buster Posey Award, given annually to the nation’s top catcher, The Greater Wichita Area Sports Commission announced this week.

This season, Dunhurst has started 52 of 54 games this season — 46 behind the plate and six at designated hitter. At bat, Dunhurst is hitting .297 with 37 runs scored, nine doubles, two triples, six home runs and 37 RBI.

Defensively, Dunhurst has once again asserted himself as one of college baseball’s very best behind the dish. He leads the Southeastern Conference with 19 combined runners caught stealing and picked off.

The Carriere native joins a long line of Rebel catchers to be considered for the Buster Posey Award. His predecessor, Cooper Johnson, was named to the watch list for the award in 2019. In 2013, Stuart Turner won the award that was called the Johnny Bench Award at that time. Will Allen was a finalist in 2014. Henri Lartigue was a semifinalist in 2016, and Nick Fortes was a semifinalist as well in 2018.

Staff report