Feb. 8, 2013

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Kentucky junior right-hander Trevor Gott has been named to the preseason watch list for the Stopper of the Year Award, given annually to the nation’s top reliever, it was announced on Friday afternoon by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.

A native of Lexington, Ky., Gott enters the 2013 season as one of the 75 top relievers in college baseball named to the preseason NCBWA Stopper of the Year Watch List. The 6-foot, 190-pounder is one of six Southeastern Conference relievers on the watch list, joining Barrett Astin (Arkansas), Jonathan Holder (Mississippi State), Brett Huber (Ole Miss), Colby Suggs (Arkansas) and Tyler Webb (South Carolina).

Gott – the 2010 Gatorade Kentucky High School Player of the Year out of Tates Creek – set the UK single-season record with nine saves in 10 chances as a sophomore. He posted a 3-0 record and a 2.16 ERA in 23 games out of the bullpen, tossing 25 innings, allowing 17 hits and seven walks, striking out 38. Gott limited opponents to a .189 average and was particularly dominant against SEC foes, not allowing a hit in his first five innings. He finished the year ranked seventh in the league in saves and third in games finished.

In his two-year UK career, Gott has appeared in 46 games with a 5-4 record and a 2.92 ERA. He has saved 11 games and worked 52.1 innings, allowing 57 hits and 23 walks, striking out 72. With 11 career saves, Gott ranks fourth best in UK history.

No. 8 Kentucky opens its 2013 season on Friday, Feb. 15 in Spartanburg, S.C., against UNC Asheville at Wofford’s Russell C. King Field.