2021 ABCA-Rawlings NAIA Baseball Gold Glove Team Released
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) in conjunction with the American Baseball Coaches Association has announced the 2021 ABCA-Rawlings-NAIA Baseball Gold Glove Team. The nine award winners, who were chosen based upon their defensive success, were selected by the NAIA Baseball Coaches Association All-America Committee.
Over the course of 45 regular season games and conference tournament games, Kenny Piper of Columbia (Mo.) recorded just one passed ball as the catcher for the Cougars. While no returning gold glove recipients from 2019 made the 2021 list, Vanguard’s Joe Johnson becomes the sixth player to earn the honor for the Lions, which leads all schools that had an honoree in 2021. The first baseman recorded just two errors in 51 games.
Piper and Dillon Brown of Point (Ga.) are each the first recipient of the honor from their respective institutions.
Gary Mattis Jr. of Tennessee Wesleyan finshed with a .979 fielding percentage at shortstop this season. The junior racked-up 128 assists over the course of his 51 games.
The ABCA, founded in 1945, is the primary professional organization for baseball coaches at the amateur level. Its over 11,000 members represent all 50 states and 25 countries. Since its initial meeting of 27 college baseball coaches in June 1945, Association membership has broadened to include eight divisions: NCAA Division I, II and III, NAIA, NJCAA, Pacific Association Division, High School and Youth. The 76th annual ABCA Convention will be held Jan. 2-5, 2020 in Nashville, Tennessee.
2021 Rawlings-ABCA Gold Glove Recipients
| Position | Name | School | Yr. | Hometown |
| P | Kaden Sitzman | Kansas Wesleyan | Sr. | McCook, Neb. |
| C | Kenny Piper | Columbia (Mo.) | Sr. | Florissant, Mo. |
| CF | Dillon Brown | Point (Ga.) | Jr. | Gulfport, Miss. |
| RF | Rougie Odor | Webber International (Fla.) | Sr. | Maracaibo, Venezuela |
| LF | Joe Weatherford | Lyon (Ark.) | RS Fr. | Flower Mound, Texas |
| SS | Gary Mattis Jr. | Tennessee Wesleyan | Jr. | Broward County, Fla. |
| 3B | Dillon Plew | Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) | RS Sr. | Kennewick, Wash. |
| 2B | Cody Banks | Bellevue (Neb.) | Sr. | Duvall, Wash. |
| 1B | Joe Johnson | Vanguard (Calif.) | Jr. | Medford, Ore. |
About Rawlings
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