DALLAS (NCBWA) – The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association has named its Dick Howser Trophy Players of the Month for March presented by The Game Headwear, tabbing Southern Miss second baseman Nick Monistere its national hitter of the month and TCU right-handed starting pitcher Tommy LaPour its national pitcher of the month.
Monistere, a product of Brandon, Mississippi, hit .385 (26-for-67) with 10 homers and 35 RBI in 17 games. He scored 20 runs, had two doubles and a triple, and owned nine walks and a .896 slugging percentage. He hit safely in 15 of 17 games, which featured a 12-game hitting streak to conclude the month. He posted an 11-game stretch with an RBI and drove in 28 total runs in that stretch. Over 48 games in 2025, Montistere has hit .319 (61-for-191) with 44 runs, nine doubles, one triple, 16 homers and 57 RBI, stealing seven bases. In his career, he has hit .289 with 32 homers and 138 RBI in 155 games.
A native of Blue Springs, Missouri, LaPour put together an elite month of April on the mound for the surging Horned Frogs. He went 4-0 in his four starts with a 0.91 ERA. The 6-foot-4, 230-pound transfer from Wichita State, worked 29.2 innings, allowing 12 hits and three earned runs, walking 10 and striking out 29. Opponents hit .120 vs. LaPour in April. He worked at least seven innings in each of his starts and posted an 11-strikeout outing vs. Kansas on April 11. His start vs. Baylor in Fort Worth on April 25 saw him finish an out shy of a complete game and featured a 100 mph fastball on pitch No. 120. On the year, LaPour is 7-2 with a 2.24 ERA in 12 starts, working 72.1 innings with just 53 hits allowed and 63 strikeouts.
This marks the 10th consecutive year that the NCBWA has honored a national hitter and national pitcher of the month. Founded in 1962, the NCBWA is dedicated to the advancement of college baseball. Membership is open to writers, broadcasters and publicists of the sport. For more information about the NCBWA, visit the association's official Web site, ncbwa.com.