#12 Niko Kavadas 2019-20 Baseball Roster

HONORS & AWARDS

• 2021 D1Baseball First Team All-American
• 2021 Perfect Game First Team All-American
• 2021 Baseball America First Team All-American
• 2021 ABCA Midwest All-Region Second Team
• 2021 Golden Spikes Award Semifinalist
• 2021 South Bend Regional Most Outstanding Player
• 2021 First Team All-ACC
• 2021 Dick Howser Award Semifinalist
• 2021 Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watch List
• 2021 Bragan Collegiate Slugger Award Midseason Watch List
• 2021 D1Baseball Midseason All-American
• 2021 Perfect Game Second Team Midseason All-American
• 2021 Baseball America Preseason Third Team All-American
• 2021 Perfect Game Preseason Second Team All-American
• 2020 Baseball America Preseason Third Team All-American
• 2020 Collegiate Baseball National Players of the Week (March 2)
• 2018 Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Week (May 7)

SENIOR SEASON (2021)

• Played and started in all 47 games on the season.
• Finished the year with 42 runs, 48 hits, 8 doubles, 22 home runs, 64 RBI and slashed .302/.473/.767
• Led the team with 22 home runs, 64 RBI and .767 slugging percentage.
• The 22 home runs broke the previous single season record of 20 held by Frank Jacobs in 1991.
• The .767 slugging percentage ranks second all-time for a single season in Notre Dame history.
• Kavadas has 46 career home runs which ties him for second all-time with Brant Ust.
• Earned two First Team All-American honors following the season, the first Irish player with multiple in the same season since Steve Stanley in 2002.
• Led the NCAA in home runs per game (0.47), third nationally with 22 home runs and fourth nationally in RBI per game with 1.36.
• Set the single season home run record with his solo blast in the Regional Final win over Central Michigan (6/6).
• Set a career high with five runs and eight RBI while tying a a career high with two home runs against UConn (6/5). It was the most runs scored by an Irish player since AJ Pollock in 2008 and the most RBI in a game since Jake Shepski in 2016.
• Was the first Irish player along with John Michael Bertrand to be named a First Team All-ACC selection since the Irish joined the league in 2014.
• Tied a career high with two home runs in the win over Valpo (3/23).
• Tied a career high with two home runs, five RBI and two runs against No. 16 Wake Forest (2/27-1).
• 2x Team Captain (2020, 2021).

JUNIOR SEASON (2020)*

• Played and started all 13 games during the abbreviated season.
• Finished the year with a .255 average, 12 runs, 14 hits, seven home runs and 17 RBI.
• Kavadas tied for the ACC lead in home runs despite playing four less games than Elijah Cabell and six less games than Aaron Sabato. 
• Kavadas finished the year tied for eighth in the NCAA with seven home runs.
• Kavadas led the ACC in home runs per game (0.54) and was third in RBI per game (1.31).
• Set a career high with two home runs and five RBI in the 13-5 win over Presbyterian.
• Hit a home run in the remaining two games in the series sweep over Presbyterian.
• Hit a home run in four consecutive games between the Presbyterian series (2/28-3/1) and the series opener against North Carolina (3/6).
• Had a four-game multi-hit streak against UTSA (2/22) and Presbyterian (2/28-3/1).
• Hit his first home run of the season in the 9-3 series-clinching win over UAB.
• Hit the go-ahead two-run home run in the 9-8 win over Radford to propel the Irish to their seventh win in a row.

*Season suspended after 13 games due to COVID-19

SOPHOMORE SEASON (2019)

• Started all 54 games between designated hitter and third base.
• Was one of two players (Jared Miller) to start all 54 games.
• Kavadas led the Irish with 12 home runs, 43 RBI, .390 on-base percentage and .517 slugging percentage.
• The 12 home runs is the most by an Irish athlete since Trey Mancini hit 12 during the 2012 season.
• Hit his first career grand slam and set a career high with four RBI on the road against Western Carolina (3/13).
• Hit home runs in back-to-back games against Georgia Tech (3/31) and Central Michigan (4/2) and Virginia (4/6) and Michigan State (4/9).
• Played summer ball with the Harwich Mariners in the Cape Cod League.
• Named a Cape Cod League All-Star and led the league with 10 home runs over the summer.

FRESHMAN SEASON (2018)

• Played in 47 games, getting 38 starting nods on the season.
• Posted the third-best batting average on the team (.299) and the second-best on-base percentage (.409).
• Picked up a career-high three RBI at LSU on then equaled that versus Wake Forest.
• Collected a career-high four hits (4-for-4) versus Pittsburgh.

PREP AND PERSONAL

• Hails from Granger, Indiana, and graduated from Penn High School.
• Led Penn to a state championship as a sophomore and state runner-up as a senior.
• As a junior, was named all-state after falling in the state semifinal.
• Played on the San Francisco Giants scout team and was a member of Lids Team Indiana.
• Has three siblings: Carlyle, Abigail and Tess.
• Son of Jim and Robin Kavadas.
• Enrolled in the Mendoza College of Business.