WICHITA, Kan. – Sophomore catcher Chase Fralick has been named a finalist for the Buster Posey Catcher of the Year Award, the Wichita Sports Commission announced Monday.
Fralick becomes the first finalist for the award in Auburn baseball history. He is joined this year by John Embury (Florida Gulf Coast), Daniel Jackson (Georgia), Vahn Lackey (Georgia Tech) and Carson Tinney (Texas).
Presented annually to the top catcher in college baseball, 2026 marks the first time the winner will be announced live at the Men's College World Series alongside the College Baseball Foundation's awards at 12:30 p.m. CT on Saturday, June 13 in Omaha, Nebraska.
In 60 games this season, Fralick leads the Tigers in numerous offensive categories including doubles (18), home runs (19), RBI (58) and slugging percentage (.655), with his 19 home runs marking the most by an Auburn catcher in program history.
The Peachtree City, Georgia, native has caught the Southeastern Conference’s best pitching staff in 49 games this season, turning in a .996 fielding percentage with eight runners caught stealing and a pickoff.
After homering three times in two regional elimination games yesterday, Fralick set Auburn’s regional home run (five) and RBI (13) records on the same swing, a three-run homer that extended Auburn’s lead over Milwaukee to 5-0 in the second inning. He is 7-for-17 with two doubles to go along with the aforementioned home run and RBI totals, turning in a 1.936 OPS in four regional games thus far.
Today, Fralick and the No. 4 Tigers (41-20) take on Milwaukee in a winner-take-all regional final at 5 p.m. CT at Plainsman Park.