Caglianone has slashed .410/.526/.847 with 94 hits and 31 home runs.
CLEMSON, S.C. – Having already been named a finalist for the John Olerud Two-Way Player and Bobby Bragan Collegiate Slugger Awards earlier this week, first baseman/left-handed pitcher Jac Caglianone<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/jac-caglianone/16365> was honored as a Dick Howser Trophy Finalist on Thursday afternoon.
Presented annually to college baseball’s player of the year, the 2024 Dick Howser Trophy will be awarded at a national news conference at Charles Schwab Park in Omaha, Neb., on Friday, June 14, at 10 a.m. CDT.
The five finalists for the Howser Trophy are Caglianone, junior second baseman Travis Bazzana of Oregon State, junior pitcher Chase Burns of Wake Forest, redshirt sophomore third baseman/first baseman/outfielder Charlie Condon of Georgia and junior starting pitcher Hagen Smith of Arkansas.
All five NCAA Division I standouts have earned All-America and all-conference status (including four Players or Pitchers of the Year for their respective conferences) and are expected to be featured on next week’s NCBWA All-America squads.
Caglianone, the 2023 SEC Player of the Year from Tampa, Florida, is just two home runs away from tying his UF season record for home runs of 33 from 2023. He enters the NCAA Clemson Super Regional with sterling stats as a hitter and lefthanded starting pitcher.
His pre-Super Regional performance reads as a .410 batting average, 60 starts in 60 team games, 1.373 OPS, 94 hits, 31 homers, 63 RBI, a .847 slugging percentage, 48 walks and just 23 strikeouts in 229 official at-bats. The repeat Howser Trophy finalist also enjoyed another stellar season on the mound with a 5-2 overall record in 14 starts as a regular rotation hurler, 76 strikeouts in 67 innings pitched, 46 walks, a 4.57 ERA, and a .225 batting average by opponents.
Caglianone paced Florida during a late-season surge that carried the Gators to an upset victory over 11th-seeded Oklahoma State in Stillwater as head coach Kevin O’Sullivan<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/coaches/kevin-o-sullivan/1752>’s crew is making yet another NCAA Super Regional appearance after last winning the NCAA World Series in 2017.
The winner’s name is inscribed on the permanent trophy, a bronze bust of Howser, and both the recipient and his school receive a special trophy to keep. The Howser Trophy was created in 1987, shortly after Dick Howser’s death, and has been presented every year except 2020.
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