(KANSAS CITY, MO) – In partnership with the American Baseball Coaches Association, the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) has announced the 2024 ABCA-Rawlings-NAIA Baseball Gold Glove Team. The nine position winners, chosen based upon their defensive success, were selected by the NAIA Baseball Coaches Association All-America Committee.
Name | School | Year | Position | Hometown |
Brayden McGinnis | Columbia (Mo.) | Jr. | 1B | Concordia, Mo. |
Ty Nekoliczak | Concordia (Neb.) | Jr. | 2B | Greeley, Neb. |
Buster Hardman | Friends (Kan.) | Gr. | SS | American Fork, Utah |
Nick Grade | Bellevue (Neb.) | So. | 3B | Kennewick, Wash. |
Brendan DeFlorio | Rochester Christian (Mich.) | Jr. | LF | Mio, Mich. |
Bryce Hayman | Roosevelt (Ill.) | Sr. | CF | Michigan City, Ind. |
Rody Garcia | Texas Wesleyan | Jr. | RF | Nagua, Dominican Republic |
Tevis Payne | Vanguard (Calif.) | Jr. | C | San Jose, Calif. |
Blake Kimball | IU Kokomo (Ind.) | So. | P | Tolono, Ill. |
Nick Grade of Bellevue (Neb.) is a returning winner from 2023 at third base and Buster Hardman of Friends (Kan.) at shortstop are both returners. This marks the second straight season there is a repeat and is the seventh time a player has earned the honor twice.
Ty Nekoliczak from Concordia (Neb.), Brendan DeFlorio of Rochester Christian (Mich.), Bryce Hayman of Roosevelt (Ill.), Rody Garcia of Texas Wesleyan, and Blake Kimball of IU Kokomo (Ind.) are the first winners in their school’s history.
Brayden McGinnis of Columbia (Mo.) has the second award in program history and Tevis Payne of Vanguard (Calif.) records the seventh honor for the team. Vanguard ranks second all-time in winners (seven) while Bellevue (Neb.) is the clubhouse leader with nine.
Lyon (Ark.), Oklahoma City, and Webber International (Fla.) are tied for third place with five each. Siena Heights (Mich.), St. Francis (Ill.), The Master’s (Calif.), and Westmont (Calif.) have four apiece with three each being earned by College of Idaho, Faulkner (Ala.), Lewis-Clark State (Idaho), and Southeastern (Fla.) players.
Jake Browne (Bellevue), Nick Grade (Bellevue), Buster Hardman (Friends), Tyler Tognarine (Lyon), Chad Carman (Oklahoma City), Luke Ketchum (St. Francis), and Michael Fuchs (Vanguard) are the only two-time winners of the Gold Glove. In total, 94 schools are represented by the 152 award winning student-athletes since the award’s inception following the 2007 season.