May 21, 2014

HOOVER, Ala. — Kentucky junior left-handed pitcher/first baseman A.J. Reed has been named to the initial watch list for the John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Award, it was announced by the College Baseball Hall of Fame.

A native of Terre Haute, Ind., Reed is one of 10 players on the watch list, given annually to the top two-way player in the nation. Reed is the only Southeastern Conference player on the listing and joins notable standouts Aaron Brown (Pepperdine), Nick Howard (Virginia) and J.D. Davis (Cal State Fullerton).

Reed, a 6-foot-4, 240-pounder, leads college baseball in homers (23), slugging (.786) and OPS (1.280). He leads the SEC in RBI (70), walks (44), on-base percentage (.494), innings pitched (103) and wins (11), while adding a .358 average with 15 doubles and one triple. On the mound, Reed ranks sixth in the SEC with a 2.10 ERA.

In his career, Reed has an 18-13 record in 239 innings, owning a 2.86 ERA. At the plate, he has hit .312 in 165 games with 32 doubles, three triples, four homers and 165 RBI.

On Tuesday, Reed pitched five innings in a UK win over No. 24 Alabama in the SEC Tournament, also going 1-for-3 with a double and two walks. In  Reed’s 15 pitching starts, he has hit .479/.609/1.000, with seven doubles, six homers, 21 RBI and an 11-6 walk-strikeout ratio.

Sporting a No. 20 RPI after Tuesday’s win, Kentucky (33-22) returns to action on Wednesday vs. No. 11 Florida at the Hoover Met, with first pitch slated for 5:30 p.m. ET.