For only the second time in school history a Florida player has won the Johnny Bench Award, given to the nation’s best catcher. Taking home the honors is softball’s Jocelyn Erickson.
Erickson is having one heck of a postseason collecting accolades, as she has already been named the 2024 SEC Player of the Year.
In addition to that, Erickson was a 2024 Gold Glove recipient, an NFCA first-team All-American, the Diamond Sports/NFCA Catcher of the Year, the Softball America Defender of the Year, a Softball America first-team All-American, a D1Softball first-team All-American, a USA Softball Top 25 finalist, an NFCAA All-Southeast Region first-team selection, an All-SEC first-team selection and an SEC All-Defensive Team selection.
Whew.
Jocelyn Erickson was phenomenal in her first year with the program after transferring from Oklahoma, one of the nation’s premier programs.
At the plate, Erickson put together a monster season. She had a .389 batting average with 15 home runs and 15 doubles, driving in 86 runs on the season. She scored 48 runs herself.
In total, Erickson struck out just 17 times in 185 at-bats, a remarkable strikeout rate. She drew 43 walks and was hit by five pitches, getting on base routinely.
The Florida catcher boasted an OBS of .500.
All of that helped lead the Gators to the Women’s College World Series, where they reached the semifinal before being eliminated by Oklahoma, the eventual national champion four times running and Erickson’s former team.
Jocelyn Erickson now shares the distinction of being a Johnny Bench Award winner from Florida with baseball’s Mike Zunino, who won the award in the 2012 season just prior to becoming the No. 3 overall pick in the MLB Draft.
Prior to her time at Florida, Erickson spent one season playing for Oklahoma. She played in 57 games, making 32 starts at first base or as the team’s designated player. She hit .337 with seven home runs, 11 doubles and 32 RBI.
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