Helfrick on Bobby Bragan National Collegiate Slugger Award Watch List

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Arkansas’ Ryder Helfrick has been named to the watch list for the Bobby Bragan National Collegiate Slugger Award.

The BBNCSA, created by the Bobby Bragan Youth Foundation, honors the nation’s top college baseball hitter. The award, which is open to nominations from all Division I baseball programs in the country, is based on performance at the plate, academics and personal integrity.

Helfrick has started every game this season behind the dish, slashing .356/.500/.711 with five home runs, nine RBI and a team-leading 13 walks while owning a team-best 13-game reached base streak. Defensively, the Razorbacks’ superstar catcher has posted a .993 fielding percentage with only one error in 148 total chances.

The Discovery Bay, Calif., native was previously named to watch lists for the Golden Spikes Award, Baseball America College Player Of The Year Award and Buster Posey National Collegiate Catcher of the Year Award. Helfrick entered the 2026 campaign as a preseason All-America selection by Baseball America, D1Baseball and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association as well a preseason All-SEC honoree by the league’s 16 head coaches.

The BBNCSA originally started out in 2017 as an honor going to the top college hitter in Texas. In 2019, the BBNCSA expanded, becoming a regional award covering Division I programs in Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico and Oklahoma. The BBNCSA became a national award in 2020; however, no winner was announced due to the COVID-19 virus which cut the 2020 college baseball season short.

Texas Tech’s Hunter Hargrove won the initial BBNCSA in 2017. Dallas Baptist’s Devlin Granberg took home the honor in 2018 with Texas Tech’s Josh Jung winning the award in 2019. Connor Norby from East Carolina won the BBNCSA in 2021 with Ivan Melendez from Texas taking home the award in 2022. 2023’s winner was LSU outfielder Dylan Crews and Charlie Condon of Georgia won the award in 2024. Arkansas’ Wehiwa Aloy won the award in 2025.

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