FIU freshman catcher Jose Garcia was nominated to the 2018 Johnny Bench Award Watch List. 

Garcia is tied for the team lead in home runs with eight and leads the Panthers with 28 RBI. Garcia is tied for third in Conference USA in home runs. Garcia is also 10th in slugging percentage in the conference with a .582 mark.

The Bench Award honors the top catcher in college baseball. Garcia is among 112 catchers on the list. The watch list will be narrowed down to the semifinalists, whom will be announced May 16, 2018. Ballots will be sent to the national voting panel at the end of May for a vote to determine the three finalists. The finalists will be announced June 4, 2018. A final vote among the national committee will occur during the College World Series. All finalists will be brought to Wichita and the winner will be announced at the 21st Annual Greater Wichita Sports Banquet on June 28, 2018.

Johnny Bench, a Hall of Fame catcher with the Cincinnati Reds, had many career honors including: National League Rookie of the Year (1968); National League Most Valuable Player (1970, 1972); World Series Most Valuable Player (1976); 14-time All-Star and 10-time Gold Glove winner. In 1980, he set an endurance record by catching 100+ games for 13 consecutive seasons. Bench was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in January 1989 with the fourth highest percentage of total votes cast.