Eoin Cody is to captain Kilkenny this year after earning the nomination from his club, Ballyhale Shamrocks.
Kilkenny are one of only two counties, along with Kerry, who maintain the tradition of allowing county champions to nominate the skipper of the county team and Cody joins a long list of Ballyhale players who have had the honour bestowed on them after they completed a historic five-in-a-row last autumn.
They added the Leinster title before Christmas and last Sunday collected a record-extending ninth All-Ireland and third in four seasons after seeing off Dunloy, with Cody in sparkling form as he hit 1-5 in a seven-point victory.
