OMAHA, Neb. (NCBWA) – Arizona relief pitcher Tony Pluta has been named the 2025 Stopper of the Year by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA), the organization announced Friday. Pluta becomes the fifth player from the Big 12 Conference to earn this accolade, joining Kansas’ Don Czyz (2006) and Texas’ J. Brent Cox (2005), Chance Ruffin (2010) and Corey Knebel (2011).
A right-hander from Palatine, Illinois, Pluta has registered a record-breaking season for the Wildcats. He owns a 3-0 record and set a new Arizona single-season mark with 14 saves in 28 appearances. He leads the Big 12 in saves and is tied for fourth nationally. With a 1.26 ERA and 0.82 WHIP, the junior has limited opponents to a .183 batting average and has allowed just two extra-base hits in 132 batters faced. Pluta has been virtually untouchable over the past two months, not allowing a run in his last 19.2 innings pitched dating back to April 5. During that stretch, he’s given up just nine hits, struck out 20 and walked five.
His impact was crucial in Arizona’s run to its first Big 12 tournament title, where he earned All-Tournament Team honors after throwing four innings, allowing just two hits, striking out four and securing a save against BYU. Pluta then played a pivotal role in helping the Wildcats clinch their 19th College World Series berth with clutch performances against North Carolina in the Chapel Hill Super Regional. In game two of the Super Regionals, he threw 2 1/3 innings on 52 pitches, both career-high marks, giving up only two hits while striking out two. He returned on June 8 in the winner-take-all game to retire the side and record his 14th save in Arizona’s clinching victory over the Tar Heels.
A standout student-athlete, Pluta has excelled on the field and in the classroom during his time as a Wildcat. He was recently selected to the CSC Academic All-District team for the second time in his career and was named the Big 12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year last month, making him the first player in program history to earn this honor.
The remaining finalists for the 2025 Stopper of the Year Award were Kade Brown (Sacramento State), Casan Evans (LSU), Gabe Craig (Baylor), Dylan Crooks (Oklahoma), Sawyer Hawks (Vanderbilt), Antoine Jean (Houston), Garrett Langrell (Creighton), Lucas Mahlstedt (Clemson), Ricky Ojeda (UC Irvine), Carson Ozmer (Alabama), Mason Patel (Georgia Tech) and Dylan Volantis (Texas).
Pluta joins an elite list of past NCBWA Stoppers of the Year: Texas' J. Brent Cox, 2005; Kansas' Don Czyz, 2006; Luke Prihoda of Sam Houston State, 2007; Georgia's Joshua Fields, 2008; San Diego State's Addison Reed, 2009; Texas' Chance Ruffin, 2010; Texas' Corey Knebel, 2011; Southeastern Louisiana's Stefan Lopez, 2012; UCLA's David Berg, 2013 and 2015; Louisville's Nick Burdi, 2014; Miami (Fla.)'s Bryan Garcia, 2016; Louisville's Lincoln Henzman, 2017; Florida's Michael Byrne, 2018; UCLA's Holden Powell, 2019; Arkansas' Kevin Kopps, 2021; Texas State’s Tristan Stivors, 2022; Oral Roberts’ Cade Denton, 2023 and Texas A&M’s Evan Aschenbeck in 2024. The award was not presented in 2020 due to the COVID-19-shortened season.
The NCBWA, founded in 1962, presents the Dick Howser Trophy presented by The Game Headwear to the nation's top player and the Mike Martin National Coach of the Year to the nation's top coach. In 2025, the Tony Gwynn Community Service Trophy will be awarded to a Division I player that makes an impact on and off the field in his community. It also selects All-America Teams for all divisions, a Division I Freshman All-American team, Division I, II and III Players of the Week and Division I, II and III Players of the Year.