Gavin Kelly Selected to the 2026 Buster Posey Award Midseason Watch List

West Virginia University sophomore Gavin Kelly earned a spot on the Buster Posey Award midseason watchlist. The award is presented each year to the nation's most outstanding catcher by the Wichita Sports Commission.

Kelly is currently batting .415 with four home runs, 26 RBI, and a Big 12 Conference leading 13 doubles in 25 games. The Pittsburgh (PA) native has 15 multi-hit games this season and held a 20-game hitting streak.

Defensively, he has caught thrown out 42% of would-be base stealers, cutting down five of 12 stolen base attempts.

Kelly is one of 50 catchers across Division I to be named to the watch list. Originally called the Johnny Bench Award, it was renamed after the former Florida State catcher and 12-year MLB veteran in 2019.

Kelly is only the fifth WVU catcher to be named to the watch list, joining Alan Filauro (2013), Ray Guerrini (2016), Ivan Gonzalez (2017), and Logan Sauve (2025). This season, he is one of just two catchers from the Big 12, alongside Cincinnati’s Jack Natili, to be named to the watch list.

Kelly and the Mountaineers return to action on Friday, April 3 for the first of a three-game series against UCF. The first pitch is set for 6:30 p.m. EST. Game two is set for Saturday, April 4 at 4:30 p.m. EST and the series finale is scheduled for Sunday, April 5 at noon EST. All the action will stream on ESPN+

2026 Buster Posey Midseason Watch List

Kaden Amundson - Arkansas State

Cade Arrambide - LSU

Grayson Ashe - Jacksonville State

Walker Barron - East Carolina

Carter Bergman - Missouri State

Karson Bowen - Florida

Xavier Bradley - Southern

Colt Brown - Louisiana

Cider Canon - Duke

Thomas Curry - Illinois-Chicago

Cashel Dugger - UCLA

Jon Embury - Florida Gulf Coast

Frankie Ferrentino - Central Connecticut

Chase Fralick - Auburn

Jacob Galloway - Oregon State

Manny Garza - Tennessee Tech

Jonathan Gonzalez-Perez - Maryland Eastern Shore

Sergio Geurra - Tarleton State

Cole Hansen - California Baptist

Jake Harvey - Nevada

Ryder Helfrick - Arkansas

Daniel Jackson - Georgia

Jimmy Janicki - Troy

Jacob Jarrell - Clemson

Dylan Johnson - College of Charleston

Max Kaufer - Wichita State

Gavin Kelly - West Virginia

Vahn Lackey - Georgia Tech

Robbie Lavey - George Washington

Talmadge Lecroy - South Carolina

Jacob Lee - VCU

Jayden Lobliner - San Diego

Maikol Lucena - Bethune-Cookman

Burke-Lee Mabeus - Oregon

Cade Martin - Little Rock

Jack Natili - Cincinnati

Weber Neels - Minnesota

Jimmy Nugent - Louisville

Aidan Paradine - Siena

Jake Paulick - Northern Kentucky

Hideki Prather - California

Blake Primrose - Saint Joseph's

Mark Quatrani - Notre Dame

Cole Raile - VMI

Alex Sosa - Miami

Ryan Tayman - Cal Poly

Zack Thompson - Gardner-Webb

Carson Tinney - Texas

Dylan Winebrenner - Richmond

Thomas Zwirecki - Canisius