EVANSVILLE – For the second-straight season, University of Evansville first baseman Tanner Craig has been named to the Bobby Bragan Collegiate Slugger Award watch list, it was announced in a release from the organization on Tuesday afternoon.
The award, created by the Bobby Bragan Youth Foundation, was open to nominations from all Division I baseball programs in the country. The BBCSA is based on performance at the plate, academics and personal integrity. This year’s watch list consists of 44 players representing 18 conferences around the country, including all five power conferences. Craig is joined by Dallas Baptist sophomore Jace Grady as the only two representatives of the Missouri Valley Conference on the watch list. Craig is also one of six nominees who have made the list more than once.
It was another standout year at the plate for the Scottsburg, Ind. native, who put on a power hitting clinic as a senior, hitting a team-best 12 home runs, vaulting himself into a tie for fourth in program history with 30 homers. Craig played and started in 54 of 55 games in 2021, leading the Aces with 47 RBI, while slugging a team-best .547 on the season.
The winner of the BBCSA will be announced in June and honored at a gala in the fall at the Fort Worth Club. Texas Tech’s Hunter Hargrove won the initial BBCSA in 2017. Dallas Baptist’s Devlin Granberg took home the honor in 2018 with Texas Tech’s Josh Jung winning the award in 2019.
