Royals' 1st-round pick Brady Singer named NCAA Player of the Year

Brady Singer's stellar junior season at Florida continued with yet another honor on Friday, as the Kansas City Royals' first-round pick was awarded the Dick Howser Trophy as the NCAA's Player of the Year for 2018.

Singer is the second Florida player to earn the prestigious honor, joining 2012 winner Mike Zunino, who's now a member of the Seattle Mariners.

The 21-year-old was simply dominant for the Gators in 2018, leading all SEC pitchers in wins (12), ERA (2.30), and opponents' batting average (.187), while also tallying 107 strikeouts and a 0.88 WHIP over his 15 starts for the defending NCAA champions.

While he was projected by many experts to be one of the top picks in this year's MLB draft and was even ranked as the second-best draft prospect by MLB Pipeline, Singer fell all the way to the 18th overall selection, where Kansas City scooped him up.

Overall, Singer's gone 23-8 with a 3.15 ERA and 274 strikeouts over his career at Florida. The Gators, who will begin the defense of their College World Series title against Texas Tech on Sunday, have reached Omaha during each of his three seasons at the school.

In addition to winning the Howser, Singer has already been named this year's SEC Pitcher of the Year, Baseball America's NCAA Player of the Year, and was a consensus first-team All-American. He's also one of four nominees for this year's Golden Spikes Award, which will be given later this month to the top amateur player in the United States.