RICHMOND, Va. – His thirteen home runs may headline Jacob Lee's freshman season with VCU baseball, but consistency at the plate and a strong defensive presence behind it have earned the first-year backstop the title of No. 36 catcher in the nation, D1Baseball released in its week 12 player rankings.
 
The Chesterfield, Va., native jumped into the top 50 in late March at No. 44 with six weeks of collegiate ball under his belt and leaped eight spots with six more weeks of spearheading the Rams' offense.
 
Lee is just one of two freshmen who were named to the list through 12 weeks of play, joined only by No. 10 Auburn's Chase Fralick at 27^th. The entire list can be viewed at D1Baseball.com.
 
His 13 home runs are the most by a true freshman in program history and just three shy of Tyler Locklear's overall freshman record of 16 in 2021.
 
With a double in the third inning if the series finale at St. Bonaventure, Lee was the first Ram to reach 50 hits on the season and has driven in a team-best 53 runs. His 11 doubles are tied for the team lead, and his .276 batting average and 24 walks are both second or tied for the mark.
 
Continuing to earn accolades, Lee was tabbed a Perfect Game Midseason Freshman All-American, Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week and earned VCU's Rodney Award as the athletic department's male Newcomer of the Year.
 
Lee and the Rams are back at The Diamond on Wednesday, May 7, at 6 p.m. to take on Old Dominion and kick off the final homestand in VCU's longtime home.