Emory University

Senior (2014):

Welch became just the second player in the program’shistory to win an ABCA/Rawlings Gold Glove in 2014.  Hestarted all 51 games and played nearly every inning during theseason at catcher for Emory, with opponents attempting just 58stolen bases against him and were successful just 38 times. He added five pickoffs during the season, and committed just threeerrors and allowed only five passed balls for a .991 fieldingpercentage.  At the plate, Welch hit .314, leading all Eagleswith five triples and recording career-bests with 39 runs, 15doubles, 46 RBIs, 30 walks and 12 stolen bases.  He was namedto the NCAA and D3Baseball.com All-Tournament Teams after batting.458 (11-for-24) with six runs, two doubles, a triple, nine RBIsand holding opponents to just four stolen bases during the WorldSeries.  Earlier, he was selected as the Most Valuable Playerof the NCAA South Regional, after batting .286 (six-for-21) withtwo doubles, two triples, and a team-best seven RBIs, and throwingout five base runners on nine stolen base attempts.  Theright-handed hitter was 48-for-143 (.336) against righties and hit.353 (six-for-17) with the bases loaded.  He was named theUniversity Athletic Association (UAA) Player of the Week on May19^th.  Welch ended his career as theprogram’s all-time leader in runners picked off (21) andcaught stealing (72), tied for seventh in games started (167),triples (eight) and walks (97), ninth in games played (169),11^th in RBIs (125) and 15^th in runs scored(118).

Junior (2013):

Welch, a team co-captain was one of just three players to startall 39 games for the Eagles during the 2013 season, the majority atcatcher, batting .239 (33-for-238) with 19 runs scored and 25 runsbatted in.  He picked up four doubles and a pair of triplesduring the year, and walked an additional 25 times to raise his onbase percentage to .357.  Welch stole 11 bases on 16 attempts,and struck out just 15 times during the year, the fewest amongEmory hitters with at least 75 at bats.  He tied for the teamlead with six multiple-RBI games during the year, and added 10multiple-hit games for the campaign.  Welch earned UniversityAthletic Association (UAA) Athlete of the Week honors after theopening weekend of the season, going a combined four-for-nine withtwo runs, three RBIs and three stolen bases during a pair of winsat Rhodes College.  He was two-for-two with two runs, threeRBIs a double and a triple against Case Western Reserve on March16^th.  Welch was also strong defensively throughoutthe season for Emory, committing just five errors for a .982fielding percentage without a passed ball, and throwing out 16 of47 would-be base stealers to limit opponents to a 65% stolen basepercentage.  He picked off three runners during the season,and through his junior campaign, is Emory’s career leaderwith 16 pickoffs and 52 runners caught stealing.

Sophomore (2012):

Welch emerged as the top catcher in the University AthleticAssociation (UAA) during his sophomore season, earning a spot onthe All-University Athletic Association (UAA) First Team for hisperformance in 2012.  He started all 40 games for the Eaglesduring the season, the majority at catcher, batting .320 with 29runs batted in, and leading all Eagles with 42 runs scored, 11doubles and two home runs.  He also turned in a successfulyear on the basepaths, stealing a career-high 11 bases on 13attempts, the fourth-most stolen bases on the squad.  Welchwas 43-for-116 (.371) against right-handed pitching, 33-for-98(.337) with runners on base, and 22-for-66 (.333) with runners inscoring position during the year.  Welch hit his first careerhome run on March 11th against Brandeis University, goingtwo-for-three with a double and four RBIs during the 6-0 Emory win. He recorded a season-long 16-game hitting streak from March25th through May 2nd, batting .385 (25-for-65) with 22 runs scoredover the stretch.  During a 2-1 win over Birmingham-SouthernCollege on March 27th, he capped off a two-out rally in the bottomof the tenth inning with a walk off single, clinching the victoryfor Emory.  Welch also excelled defensively during the season,committing just five errors for a .985 fielding percentage. He matched his own Emory single-season record with 18 runnerscaught stealing, and the 36 runners he has caught stealing duringhis career are tied for the school record.  Runners weresuccessful on just 63.3% of stolen base attempts against him in2012, the sixth-lowest mark in school history.  Welch wasnamed the UAA Athlete of the Week on February 13th, and to theD3Baseball.com Team of the Week on May 1st. 

Freshman (2011):

Welch immediately stepped into the catcher's role during hisfirst year at Emory, starting 37 of the 39 games that he playedin.  He hit .222 during his freshman campaign, scoring 18 runsand driving in 25, while stealing four bases on sevenattempts.  He added on seven doubles during the season, andhis five sacrifice flies ranked him 54th among NCAA Division IIIplayers.  Welch drove in a season-high three runs on twooccasions, once with a two-for-four perfomance and a doubleagainst Washington and Lee University on February 22nd, and againon March 2nd with a one-for-five game with a double at HuntingdonCollege.  Defensively, Welch set school record by picking off10 batters, and catching an addition 18 runners stealing.  Hehit .370 (10-for-27) when leading off an inning.

Career Statistics:

Click here for complete career statistics.

Honors:

Prior to Emory:

Played on the Alpharetta High School baseball team for fourseasons, serving as the team captain during his senior year...Named his team's defensive player of the year in 2008 and 2010...Was named to the all-region second team... Second in career battingaverage in his high school's history... Named to the Georgia 5-AAll-Star Team in 2010... Helped his team to the 2010 Triple Crownand the 2010 Sandlot World Series... Coached by Steve Bohn in highschool.

Personal:

Born February 20, 1992... Worked as a baseball camp instructorover the summer.

Quote:

"I chose Emory because of the great academics and thecompetitive baseball program."