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Recognized as the best catcher in the nation and a unanimous first team All-American…named the ACC Player of the Year and the Buster Posey & Johnny Bench Award winner as the nation’s best catcher…led the country with 23 home runs, and ranked in the top 10 in home runs per game (4th, 0.43), slugging percentage (5th, .773), RBI (6th, 66) and total bases (10th, 150)…finalist for the Dick Howser Trophy and semifinalist for the Golden Spikes Award, both given to the nation’s best player…second Seminole ever, and first since Jeff Ledbetter in 1982, to lead the nation in home runs…behind the plate, threw out 16 attempted basestealers, including a stretch of eight consecutive…started 53 of FSU’s 55 games, with 52 starts behind the plate…hit .330 with 64 hits, 17 doubles and 50 runs…led FSU in average, hits, doubles, home runs, RBI and slugging percentage…second on the team in runs, walks (31), OBP (.436) and stolen bases (4)…finished 12th in the ACC in average, first in home runs, total bases, slugging percentage and RBI and seventh in runs and doubles…earned first ACC Player of the Week honor after going 5-for-10 with three home runs and a pair of doubles at Georgia Tech…had a four-game streak with a home run…23 home runs most for a Seminole since Buster Posey had 26 in 2008…second-fastest in FSU history to reach 20 home runs, needing just 37 games…led FSU with 22 multi-hit games…had 9 RBI in the series against Boston College, including his second grand slam of the year…had five extra-base hits at Louisville, with a pair of home runs including one that traveled 459 feet…tied a career-high with 5 RBI against Jacksonville, including his first grand slam…hit two home runs and teamed with Elijah Cabell and Robby Martin for back-to-back-to-back home runs against Wake Forest on March 28…in the regular season finale, hit a pair of home runs and finished with a career-high four hits, scored three runs and drove in three as FSU beat NC State 15-11…retired two Notre Dame baserunners on a double play, failed squeeze bunt attempt when he tagged the runner leaving third and threw to second base to get the second runner…was hit by 8 pitches and 32 for his career, tied with Cabell and Mark Barineau for eighth-most in FSU history…had six hits and eight RBI in FSU’s three-game sweep of No. 6 Miami in Coral Gables…hit a two-run home run, his 23rd of the season, in FSU’s 5-2 win over Southern Miss in the Oxford Regional…ended the season with a pair of hits and a run scored against the Golden Eagles.
Hit .250 with a home run, 14 RBI and 16 runs scored…drew 10 walks and was hit by seven pitches…started 15 games as catcher and appeared in all 17…ranked 23rd nationally in hit by pitches…was on the national watch list for the Buster Posey Award, named after the former Seminole and given to the nation’s best catcher…ended the season on a four-game hitting streak…had four RBI in FSU’s 7-3 win over USF, including a go-ahead three-run home run in the sixth inning…multiple hits against FAU, Mercer and at No. 1 Florida…pinch-hit RBI double in season finale against Illinois State…was hit by two pitches against Cincinnati, No. 3 Texas Tech and Mercer…drew a pair of walks against Niagara and Cincinnati, tying a career high…behind the plate for all 19 of FSU’s strikeouts against the Red Raiders, the most in the country against a Top 10 team in 2020.
Hit .282 with six home runs and 29 RBI in 57 appearances (54 starts)…drew 31 walks and was hit by 17 pitches, second-most in the ACC…on-base percentage of .442 trailed only Drew Mendoza on the team…hit .300 in 25 ACC games…hit .286 in the postseason, with eight total hits…his three hits in the College World Series were the most on the team…picked off four runners and threw out eight would-be base-stealers behind the plate…his biggest pick off came in the sixth inning of game two of the Baton Rouge Super Regional, helping curb a big LSU inning…the Noles ended up winning 5-4 in 12 innings to reach the College World Series for the 23rd time in school history…his 17 HBPs are the sixth-most in a season at FSU…hit his first career home run against Youngstown State…hit two home runs in FSU’s 14-1 win at Louisville…scored a season-high four runs against the Cardinals…hit a walk-off sacrifice fly in his second career game to beat Maine 6-5…season-high 5 RBI and three hits against Pitt on May 4…played summer ball for the Falmouth Commodores in the Cape Cod League.
Rated No. 144 overall and the 13th-best catcher in the country by Perfect Game…No. 260 overall by Baseball America…No. 2 catcher in the state of Florida by Perfect Game…Rawlings/Perfect Game third team All-American as a senior at Calvary Christian…first team All-Florida by Rawlings/Perfect Game…during four year career at Calvary Christian, helped the school win 60 consecutive games, a Florida high school record, a No. 1 national ranking and the 2017 4A state title…Pinellas Player of the Year by the Tampa Bay Times after hitting .465 with five home runs, 14 doubles, 45 RBI, seven stolen bases and a .996 fielding percentage as a senior…hit .384 as a junior en route to All-Tampa and All-Pinellas County first team honors…assistant coach in high school was the late Roy Halladay, a former MLB All-Star and 2019 MLB Hall of Fame inductee…parents are Gary and Tanya Nelson…majoring in sport management…born January 14, 1999.
