Last night, former NCTC Lion Bryan Holaday completed his stellar collegiate career on a high note by winning the Johnny Bench Award.   The award is giving out to the nation's best catcher.  The award was  started in 2000 named after Johnny Bench, a Hall of Fame catcher during the 1970's for the "Big Red Machine".
Holaday was selected to the All-American Team, All Mountain West  Conference, and College World Series All Tournament Team.  He was the  clear cut leader of the TCU baseball team which set the school record  for wins and accomplished a third place finish in it's first year to 
the College World Series.

Holaday never played catcher until he set foot at North Central Texas  College.  "I had spoken to Bryan's select coach, Cade Griffis about  playing catcher.  Once Bryan got here, we moved him to catcher and the  rest is history," head coach Scott Harp said.  Harp went on to give the credit to Holaday, "for an infielder to move  to catcher and work hard to do it; he deserves all the credit.  Not 
many players would be willing to do that."

"Bryan is an example of why I coach.  To see a young man come in, work  hard on the field as well as the classroom,  develop into the leader  and player he is now, is a great feeling."

Holaday played on NCTC's 2007 team which lost in the Regional  Championship, a win away from going to the JUCO World Series.