DALLAS (NCBWA) – A total of 105 players has been named to the initial 2026 Watch List for the 21st Annual National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Stopper of the Year Award, given to the top relief pitcher in NCAA Division I Baseball, the association announced Tuesday. The institution or conference sports information directors submitted nominees.
It was announced today that Arizona’s Tony Pluta, the 2025 Stopper of the Year honoree, sustained an injury and will be undergoing UCL repair surgery and is out for the season. Last year, he posted a 1.46 earned run average in 30 mound stints, a 3-0 record, four saves and 34 strikeouts in 37 innings for the Wildcats.
Fourteen preseason NCBWA All-America selections made the list. The first-teamers included: Pluta (Arizona), Cal Higgins (Texas) and Ryan Lynch (Coastal Carolina). Second-teamers included: Dominick Carbone (Coastal Carolina), Brady Frederick (Tennessee), Robert Orloski (UTSA) and Isaac Yeager (Oregon State). Third-teamers included: Ryan Bilka (Miami), Alex Lyon (College of Charleston), Walker McDuffie (North Carolina) and Kros Sivley (Southern Miss). Fourth-teamers were: Zac Cowan (LSU), Lucas Hartman (Virginia) and Ryan Hetzler (Auburn).
The Southeastern Conference led all leagues with 17 players named to the watch list. The Atlantic Coast Conference and Big Ten Conference followed with 13 selections each, while the Big 12 placed nine players on the list and the Sun Belt added seven.
Of the initial 104 members, nine were featured on last year's midseason watch list. In total, 18 conferences are represented on this list, with at least two players coming from 16 different leagues.
Following is the complete 2026 NCBWA Stopper of the Year Preseason Watch List:
| 2026 STOPPER OF THE YEAR PRESEASON WATCH LIST (FEB. 10) | ||
| Davis Aiken, College of Charleston, Gr. | Mikey Gray, Pitt, Sr. | Colby McNeely, Winthrop, Sr. |
| Hunter Alexander, Central Arkansas, Sr. | Chris Grothues, UCLA, r-Jr. | Anderson Nance, NC State, So. |
| Joe Allen, Clemson, Sr. | Max Grubbs, Texas, Sr. | Jack O’Connor, UCLA, Sr. |
| Gavin Alveti, Austin Peay, Sr. | Josh Gunther, South Carolina, Jr. | Steven Oliva, UTRGV, Sr. |
| Brandon Arvidson, Tennessee, r-Jr. | Gage Haley, Little Rock, Jr. | Robert Orloski, UTSA, Jr. |
| Ira Austin IV, Kentucky, Sr. | Lucas Hartman, Virginia, Gr. | Shawn Parnell, Northern Kentucky, r-Jr. |
| Reese Bassinger, West Virginia, Gr. | Easton Hawk, UCLA, So. | Tony Pluta, Arizona, Sr. |
| Zach Bates, Illinois, Jr. | Ryan Hetzler, Auburn, Jr. | Daniel Powell, Kennesaw State, Jr. |
| Max Bianchini, USC Upstate, r-Jr. | Erik Hoffberg, Gonzaga, Jr. | Brock Puckett, Lipscomb, Gr. |
| Ryan Bilka, Miami, Sr. | Jackson Hohensee, Austin Peay, r-Sr. | Walter Quinn, TCU, Sr. |
| Cody Brasch, Louisiana, Jr. | Blake Hooks, Louisiana Tech, Gr. | Boede Rahe, Kansas, r-Jr. |
| Walker Brodt, Winthrop, Jr. | Darin Horn, Coastal Carolina, r-Sr. | Easton Rakers, Lindenwood, Sr. |
| Thomas Burns, Texas, Jr. | Cal Higgins, Texas, Gr. | Cal Randall, UCLA, Jr. |
| Carson Byers, Miami (Ohio), Sr. | Brandon Jaenke, Minnesota, Sr. | Ben Rehkow, Winthrop, Sr. |
| Dominick Carbone, Coastal Carolina, Jr. | Donovann Jackson, UC Santa Barbara, Sr. | Bo Rhudy, Tennessee, Jr. |
| Parker Coil, Arkansas, Sr. | Evan Jones, UCF, Jr. | Justin Ritz, Coppin State, Sr. |
| Zac Cowan, LSU, Sr. | Alex Kranzler, Vanderbilt, Jr. | Albert Roblez, Oregon State, Sr. |
| Braden Curry, Toledo, So. | Ryan Kroepel, Utah Tech, Jr. | Hunter Royal, Little Rock, Gr. |
| Shane Keup, Winthrop, r-Jr. | Max Kuhle, James Madison, Sr. | Brayden Sanford, Oral Roberts, Jr. |
| Jake Kramer, Purdue, Sr. | Cooper Lanz, Santa Clara, Sr. | Jake Schweitzer, Louisville, So. |
| John Damozonio, Saint Mary’s, Sr. | Oisin Lee, Notre Dame, So. | Kade Shatwell, Austin Peay, Sr. |
| Wyatt Danilowicz, Louisville, Sr. | Caden Leonard, Kent State, Gr. | Kros Sivley, Southern Miss, Sr. |
| Ben Davis, Mississippi State, Sr. | Mason Lerma, UC Davis, Jr. | Hayden Smith, Troy , Jr. |
| Preston Davis, Little Rock, r-Sr. | Cooper Littledike, Utah Valley, r-Sr. | Adam Troy, USC, Jr. |
| Gavin DeVooght, Michigan, Jr. | Dimond Loosli, Penn State, Sr. | Cole Tryba, UC Santa Barbara, Jr. |
| Turner Doran, Western Michigan, Sr. | Ryan Lynch, Coastal Carolina, Gr. | Bryce Turner, FIU, So. |
| Chandler Dorsey, UCF, Sr. | Alex Lyon, Col. of Charleston, r-Sr. | Ian Umlandt, Oregon, Sr. |
| Mitch Dye, Illinois, Sr. | Isaiah Magdaleno, Hawaii, Jr. | Noah Waldeck , Saint Mary’s, Jr. |
| Zach Edwards, Oregon State, So. | Nate Marshall, Eastern Illinois, Sr. | Maddox Webb, Mississippi State, Jr. |
| Carson Estridge, West Virginia, Sr. | Matthew Mathijs, North Carolina, Gr. | Will Whelan, Minnesota, Jr. |
| Kade Eudy, TCU, So. | Daniel McAuliff, Pitt, Gr. | Carson Wiggins, Arkansas, So. |
| Brady Frederick, Tennessee, Jr. | Ben McDougal, West Virginia, Sr. | Harrison Wilson, Winthrop, Sr. |
| Clayton Freshcorn, Texas A&M, Jr. | Reece McDuffie, Tennessee Tech, Sr. | Logan Wilson, Northern Kentucky, Sr. |
| Jack Giordando, Oregon State, So. | Walker McDuffie, North Carolina, So. | Andrew Wright, Cal State Fullerton, Jr. |
| Miller Green, Vanderbilt, Jr. | Jacob McGovern, Clemson, Jr. | Isaac Yeager, Oregon State, Sr. |
Texas pitcher J. Brent Cox captured the inaugural Stopper of the Year Award in 2005, followed by Don Czyz of Kansas in 2006 and Luke Prihoda of Sam Houston State in 2007. Georgia’s Joshua Fields earned the honor in 2008, with San Diego State’s Addison Reed winning in 2009 and Texas’ Chance Ruffin in 2010. The Longhorns’ Corey Knebel claimed the award in 2011 before Southeastern Louisiana’s Stefan Lopez took home the honor in 2012. UCLA’s David Berg won in 2013, Louisville’s Nick Burdi followed in 2014, and Berg became the award’s first two-time recipient in 2015. Miami (Fla.)’s Bryan Garcia was honored in 2016, followed by Stanford’s Lincoln Henzman in 2017 and Florida’s Michael Byrne in 2018. UCLA’s Holden Powell earned the award in 2019, Arkansas’ Kevin Kopps won in 2021, Texas State’s Tristan Stivors in 2022, Oral Roberts’ Cade Denton in 2023, Texas A&M’s Evan Aschenbeck in 2024 and Arizona’s Tony Pluta most recently claimed the honor in 2025.
The NCBWA, founded in 1962, presents the Dick Howser Trophy to the nation's top player and the Mike Martin National Coach of the Year to the nation's top coach. 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.