Vanderbilt's Bradfield earns second Gold Glove award

Vanderbilt center fielder Enrique Bradfield Jr. was named a Gold Glove Award winner for the second time in his career on Wednesday, as announced by the American Baseball Coaches Association and Rawlings Sporting Goods.

The junior becomes the first Commodore to win the award twice, having earned his first Gold Glove as a freshman in 2021.

Bradfield was one of nine NCAA Division I Gold Glove winners, joined in the outfield by LSU’s Dylan Crews and Virginia’s Ethan O’Donnell.

The 6-1, 170-pound Bradfield, expected to be a first-round choice in next month’s Major League Baseball Draft, had the most putouts among Southeastern Conference outfielders in 2023, without committing a single error during the regular season.

He helped Vanderbilt rank third in NCAA Division I in hits allowed per nine innings and rank 14^th in fielding percentage.

Bradfield earlier this month was named a third-team All American by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. The Hialeah, Fla., native was named to the All-SEC second team and to the all-defensive team.

Offensively, Bradfield this year became Vandy’s all-time leading base stealer, setting the school’s career mark at 130 — on 143 attempts. He hit .279 for the Commodores this season, with six home runs and 34 RBIs. Brandfield’s 69 runs led Vanderbilt.