Ambort Named to Johnny Bench Award Watch List :: Michael Ambort was an All-American catcher in 2005, when he was the SLC hitter of the year.

	Printer-Friendly Format E-mail this article Junior Michael Ambort was named to the 2007 Johnny Bench Award Watch List.

Ambort Named to Johnny Bench Award Watch List

Michael Ambort was an All-American catcher in 2005, when he was the SLC hitter of the year.

April 3, 2007

Junior Michael Ambort has been named to the Johnny Bench Award watch list, which is given annually to the nation's top collegiate catcher and is sponsored by the Coleman Company.

Ambort is one of 27 players named to the initial watch list. The award criteria includes ability, sportsmanship, team leadership and character. The award was established in 2000 with Brad Cresse of LSU earning the initial award. Other past winners include Kelly Shoppach of Baylor (2001), Jeremy Brown of Alabama (2002), Ryan Garko of Stanford (2003), Kurt Suzuki of Cal. State-Fullerton (2004), Jeff Clement of Southern California (2005) and Jake Smith of East Carolina (2006).

A native of Rockville Centre, N.Y., Ambort was a 2005 All-American at catcher in 2005 and was invited to the Team USA trials that summer. He was the 2005 Southland Conference hitter of the year and first-team All-SLC. He played in only six games during the 2006 season before undergoing season-ending elbow surgery.

Ambort holds the school's single-season record for home runs with 18 set during the 2005 season. He is tied with Kim Christensen for second on the school's all-time home run list with 32, trailing only Morgan Walker's (1993-96) 34 career home runs.


Lamar University Baseball
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