Benintendi wins Howser Trophy

Arkansas center fielder Andrew Benintendi, left, receives the Dick Howser Trophy from Jana Howser during a news conference Saturday, June 13, 2015, at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Neb.
Arkansas center fielder Andrew Benintendi, left, receives the Dick Howser Trophy from Jana Howser during a news conference Saturday, June 13, 2015, at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Neb.

— Arkansas outfielder Andrew Benintendi has won one of college baseball's most prestigious awards.

Benintendi was named the winner of the Dick Howser Trophy on Friday. The Howser Trophy is given to college baseball's best player as voted on by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.

Notable past winners of the award include Robin Ventura, Jason Varitek, Mark Teixeira, David Price, Buster Posey and Stephen Strasberg.

Benintendi is the first Arkansas player to win the award. It is the latest in a long line of awards for Benintendi, who has also been named Southeastern Conference player of the year and national player of the year by both Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball newspaper.

He is also one of four finalists for the Golden Spikes Award, which will be presented next week.

Benintendi is batting .380 this season with an NCAA-leading 19 home runs. He also has 55 RBI and 23 stolen bases.

Boston selected Benintendi with the seventh overall pick of the MLB Draft on Monday. He is expected to sign a professional contract with the Red Sox before the July 17 deadline and forego his final two years of eligibility with the Razorbacks.

Upcoming Events