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On Monday, McLennan Community College catcher Jason Hawkins announced that he would be transferring to Troy University.

Hawkins is an Allen, Tex., native, that earned Texas All-Star, All-District and All-State honors in high school for Plano Senior High. As a senior in high school, he earned a .340 batting average with two home runs, five stolen bases and 23 RBIs.

Hawkins started his college career at McLennan Community College in Waco, Tex. As a true freshman in 2022, he earned a .203 batting average with 10 RBIs and 21 runs as MCC made it all the way to the JUCO World Series. He was also named Academic All-District and NJCAA All-Academic First-Team for his work in the classroom.

This past season, he played in 37 games and earned a .271 batting average with a .417 on-base percentage. He tallied three doubles, 14 RBIs and 14 runs on the season. On the defensive end, Hawkins led his squad with a .989 fielding percentage with 249 put outs, 25 assists, one double play and seven runners caught stealing.

Hawkins again earned Academic All-District as a sophomore. Hawkins plays for the Baton Rouge Rougarou in the Texas Collegiate League during summer baseball. He has a .991 fielding percentage four the Rougarou through 12 games this summer with 105 putouts and seven assists. Hawkins comes to Troy with two years of eligibility left.

Hawkins is the third transfer that Troy Baseball has landed so far this summer and the second catcher. Last week, Wittenberg University left-handed pitcher Michael Osmond announced he would be transferring to Troy and earlier in June, High Point University catcher Blake Sutton announced he was transferring to Troy.

Hawkins and Sutton have the chance to help fill a glaring hole that will be left in Troy’s roster with the departure of catchers Clay Stearns and Caleb Bartolero, who both graduated this year. Bartolero and Stearns were Troy’s veteran catchers, who were defensive leaders and leaders at the plate for the Trojans during their Troy careers. Rising sophomore Brooks Bryan – an Ozark native – is the only catcher on the Troy roster left with game experience from this past season’s team.