STORRS, CT (March 16) -- Senior catcher Mike Leonard (Vernon, CT) has been placed on the 45 member Johnny Bench Award watch list, an accolade given to the nation’s top collegiate catcher, by the Greater Wichita Area Sports Commission.

Leonard a tri-captain and four-year starter at catcher for the Huskies is batting .371 in 2004 with one home run and eight RBI in nine games. Leonard is a career .315 hitter, has slugged 13 home runs and driven in 95 runs in his 3+ years with the team.

The Johnny Bench award is voted on by a panel of sportswriters, sportscasters, conference representatives and Division I head baseball coaches. After a "Watch List" of approximately 40 college catchers is compiled and added to throughout the year, a selection committee reviews all offensive as well as defensive statistics through the first two-thirds of the season in order to narrow the list to 10 semifinalists by May 20. The national voting panel will then select three finalists at the end of May and will announce that group on June 3. From there, another vote will take place during the College World Series before all three finalists will be brought to Wichita, Kan., for the 7th annual Greater Wichita Sports Banquet on June 30, where the award recipient will be announced.

The Huskies are back in action on Wednesday, March 17 when they put their six game winning streak on the line at Sacred Heart. Game time is set for 3:00 p.m. in Bridgeport.