Rutgers baseball – Josh Kuroda-Grauer was named Big Ten Player of the Year
On Tuesday, Rutgers baseball Josh Kuroda-Grauer was named the 2024 Big Ten Player of the Year.
The Rutgers shortstop is the first player in program history to receive Big Ten Player of the Year honors and is the first conference player of the year since Patrick Kivlehan was named Big East Player of the Year in 2012.
Also, Kuroda-Grauer is the first Scarlet Knight to receive a major award (Player/Pitcher/Freshman of the Year) from the Big Ten since joining the conference in 2014 (baseball’s first season in the Big Ten came in 2015).
Kuroda-Grauer put together an outstanding season for the Scarlet Knight, starting all 53 games at shortstop for Rutgers. He led the country in hits (95) and hits per game (1.79), registering a .428 batting average.
The 2024 USA Baseball Golden Spike Award Semifinalist ranked third in the country in batting average and stolen bases (24). Throughout the season, Kuroda-Grauer had 29 multi-hit games, 10 three-hit games, and logged five consecutive games with three-plus hits.
👑 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐄𝐒𝐓 👑
Josh Kuroda-Grauer is the Big Ten Player of the Year.
➡️ https://t.co/24HS9btxn8#TCD x #JKG44BrooksWallace pic.twitter.com/EBPmcEic2C
— Rutgers Baseball (@RutgersBaseball) May 21, 2024
While playing shortstop, Kuroda-Grauer committed just seven errors, finishing with a .969 fielding percentage on the season. In 70 putouts, the 2023 Brooks Wallace Award Semifinalist turned 30 double-plays.
Kuroda-Grauer is one of 29 semifinalists for the Brooks Wallace Award, given annually to the top shortstop in the country. Also, he is one of 68 semifinalists for the Dick Howser Trophy, the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association’s National Player of the Year award.
