The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
No. 5 Baseball’s Tinney named Buster Posey Award semifinalist
05.18.2026 | Baseball
Junior was one of three finalists for prestigious honor last season
AUSTIN, Texas — Texas Longhorns standout Carson Tinney was among the 16 semifinalists for the 2026 Buster Posey National Collegiate Catcher of the Year Award, the Wichita State Sports Commission announced Monday morning.
In the regular season, Tinney led the Longhorns in four offensive categories, highlighted by his team-best 20 home runs and 1.168 OPS.
His 20 blasts are tied for the fourth-most by a Texas player in a single season, matching Jeff Ontiveros in 2002.
Tinney has also totaled a .321 average and 54 RBI, which ranks second on the club.
As of May 18, the junior is tied for third in homers, fourth in walks (44) and OPS, sixth in slugging (.695), seventh in on-base percentage (.473), tied for eighth in runs (57) and ninth in RBI, among all qualifying Southeastern Conference hitters.
Behind the plate, Tinney has produced a .996 fielding percentage. As the main batterymate to the Longhorns' pitching staff, the 6-foot-4, 240-pound backstop has helped Texas register the third-lowest FIP (3.27) and sixth-best WHIP (1.21) nationally. The Longhorns also sit 15th in ERA (4.15).
Tinney is aiming to become the first Buster Posey/Johnny Bench National Collegiate Catcher of the Year Award winner in program history.
Last season, Rylan Galvan was selected as a finalist for the award, joining Taylor Teagarden (2005) as the lone Texas players to be invited to the Greater Wichita Sports Banquet.
