Badin catcher Jimmy Nugent honored at Great American Ball Park with Johnny Bench Award

Baseball royalty visited Great American Ball Park Tuesday as the man who wore retired Reds No. 5 was in town to hand out the Johnny Bench Awards.

Bench was in town with his sons Bobby, Justin and Joshua for the awards which began in 2000 as a way to honor the NCAA's top Division I catcher. With the help of oldest son, Bobby, the awards since 2019 have included high school catchers as well as high school and college softball catchers in "Reds Country".

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Among the winners was the first-ever Greater Cincinnati recipient, Jimmy Nugent of Badin High School. Nugent was part of Badin's back-to-back Division II state semifinal teams. The all-state backstop hit .305 with three home runs, 35 RBI and 10 stolen bases for the Rams who have gone 53-13 the past two seasons.

"It feels great to have this honor, it's truly amazing!" Nugent said. "To have his name on the award means a lot. My grandpa and my dad are huge Johnny Bench and Pete Rose fans. I've grown up hearing about it all of my life. It's really all I heard as a kid."

Though regarded as the greatest catcher ever, Bench ironically was the county Pitcher of the Year in Binger, Oklahoma as there were only 10 players on his high school roster. Despite his 84-3 record on the mound, his father Ted Bench idolized Roy Campanella and knew his son's ticket to stardom was behind the plate.

"My dad had instilled in everyone's minds that I was going to be in the major leagues as a catcher," Bench said. "It worked out very well."

The slugger of 389 home runs says the awards also factor in non-baseball skills. Many of the winners, including Nugent, have pretty involved backgrounds and college majors.

"We try to go with character as well," Bench said. "A lot of this is done with the associations of the four states (Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, West Virginia). Not only are they quality on the field, they're quality off the field."

Bench explained that all of the recipients would fall in love with catching, noting that often the catcher is the best athlete on the field. Later in the day, the winners were all scheduled to be honored on the field prior to Tuesday night's home game.

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Defensively, not only did Nugent catch the Johnny Bench Award committee's eyes, but also those of Big Red Machine member George Foster. As a result, Foster became a mentor and trainer for Nugent helping him launch his college career.

"We played against him and I always have guys that can run," Foster said. "Once he threw our guys out, a guy was halfway to second base, I said, 'We've got to cut down the running game.' I wanted to get him on my team, but it took a whole year to find out where he was."

Once they got together, Foster was able to help Nugent with his hitting which helped him gain his offer to Penn State. Foster thinks his student may have a chance professionally.

"Like Johnny Bench said, being a catcher or a left-handed pitcher can get you to the big leagues quickly," Foster said.

In addition to his on-field talents, Nugent plans to major in astronomy and astrophysics at Penn State. He's also in pretty good company as a Bench Award winner and credits the intangibles for getting him to this point.

"Strong voice, good leadership, I think that's what really makes a good catcher," Nugent said. "Not the arm, not the bat."

Nugent has been at Penn State for three weeks and is anxious to get fall ball started. For the record, in comparison to the Hall of Famer Bench, he can only hold five baseballs in his hand compared to Bench's legendary seven.

"I have big hands, but there's no way I'm getting that many," he said.

Previous collegiate winners include 2012 National League MVP Buster Posey, first overall selection in the 2019 MLB Draft Adley Rutschman, 2019 World Series Champion Kurt Suzuki and 2021 Team USA Olympian Dejah Mulipola. The Reds also selected 2021 collegiate winner Matheu Nelson with the 35th overall pick in the 2021 MLB Draft; Nelson currently plays for the Reds High-A affiliate Dayton Dragons.

2022 Johnny Bench Awards Winners

Top male NCAA Division I baseball catcher

• Kevin Parada – Georgia Tech

Top female NCAA Division I softball catcher

• Jordyn Rudd – Northwestern University

Top high school catchers from Ohio

• Jimmy Nugent – Badin High School (baseball)

• Myaih Cloud – Hayes High School (softball)

Top high school catchers from Kentucky

• Brody Williams – Lyon County High School (baseball)

• Kayley Batts – Oldham County High School (softball)

Top high school catchers from Indiana

• Oscar Pegg – Shakamak High School (baseball)

• Brenna Blume – Gibson Southern High School (softball)

Top high school catchers from West Virginia

• Ethyn Barnitz – Wahama High School (baseball)

• Josie Bird – Lincoln County High School (softball)

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Jimmy Nugent honored at Reds-Marlins game with Johnny Bench Award