GREENSBORO, N.C.  The American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) announced its 2026 Rawlings Gold Glove Award winners on Wednesday, June 17, with Methodist University junior Austin Rinzel earning national recognition.
 
A native of Columbia, South Carolina, Rinzel started all 43 games in center field for the Monarchs during the 2026 season and was a defensive standout throughout the year. He finished with a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage, recording 143 putouts and one assist on 144 total chances without committing an error.
 
Rinzel's 143 putouts ranked fourth on the team and were the most by any Methodist outfielder. He was also the only Monarch outfielder to eclipse the 100-putout mark this season.
 
Rinzel becomes just the third player in program history to receive the ABCA Rawlings Gold Glove Award, joining Tre' Britt (2011) and Josh Howard (2015). He is also the first position player in Methodist baseball history to earn the honor, as Britt and Howard both won the award as pitchers.
 
The ABCA/Rawlings Gold Glove Awards are selected by ABCA coaches committees at each level: NCAA Div. I, II & III, NAIA, NJCAA Div. I, II & III, Pacific Association Division, and High School.
 
The ABCA/Rawlings Award Program is one of the most comprehensive in all of sports, honoring All-America and Gold Glove teams in nine divisions of amateur baseball as well as All-Region teams in five divisions.
 
The ABCA/Rawlings All-America teams date back to 1949 starting with one collegiate All-America team. Other divisions subsequently added until the current total of nine was reached. The first ABCA/Rawlings Gold Glove teams were recognized in 2007, making this the 18th year the ABCA/Rawlings Gold Glove Awards have been presented in the collegiate and high school ranks (no awards were presented in 2020 due to COVID-19).