NCBWA names semifinalists for 2026 Dick Howser Trophy presented by The Game Headwear

DALLAS (NCBWA) – The Dick Howser Trophy Committee, in conjunction with the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association, has denoted the 48 semifinalists for the 2026 Dick Howser Trophy presented by The Game Headwear. This prestigious award in college baseball has been given to the top player based on two rounds of national voting by NCBWA members since 1987.

This is the 39th year of the Dick Howser Trophy, and the 2026 finalists will be announced on Thursday, June 4.

The ‘26 news conference with the winner will be held at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, the home of the College World Series, for the 14th time. The winner will be unveiled on MLB Network in a special national presentation at 9:30 a.m. (CDT) prior to the Friday, June 12, news conference in Omaha at 10 a.m. (CDT) in the Schwab Field Media Room before the first game of the historic 80th NCAA College World Series.

This year’s 48 candidates come from 12 different NCAA Division I conferences, Division I independent Oregon State and 31 different schools. The Southeastern Conference leads with 15 semifinalists, while the Atlantic Coast and Big 12 Conferences follow with eight each, Big Ten with six, Sun Belt and independent Oregon State with two, the Atlantic Sun, Atlantic 10, Big West, Mid-American, Ohio Valley, Southwestern Athletic and Western Athletic with one.

Top-ranked UCLA leads the semifinalists list with four, followed by Georgia Tech, Texas and Texas A&M each with three and Arizona State, Arkansas, Auburn, Georgia, Mississippi State, North Carolina, Oregon State and West Virginia with a pair apiece. The nine defensive positions feature 15 starting pitchers, nine outfielders, five shortstops and catchers, four second basemen, three first basemen, third basemen and relief pitchers and one utility player. There are 15 starting pitchers and three relief pitchers who are leading candidates for the 2026 NCBWA Stopper of the Year Award for the top relief pitcher. The Stopper Award also will be announced at the June 12 news conference along with the 2025 NCBWA Division I Coach of the Year.

The Dick Howser Trophy, presented by The Game Headwear, is given in memory of the former Florida State University All-America shortstop and major league player and manager who died of brain cancer in 1987. The trophy is regarded as baseball's most prestigious award. Criteria for consideration of the trophy include performance on the field, leadership, moral character and courage – all qualities that were exemplified by Dick Howser's life.

A Florida native, Howser was twice an All-America shortstop at FSU (1957-58), then coached the Seminoles in 1979, after a career as a major league player and coach. After one year coaching in the college ranks, Howser returned to the majors to manage the New York Yankees and Kansas City Royals and won the World Series with the Royals in 1985. The baseball stadium on the Florida State campus is named for Howser.

“The Dick Howser Trophy was founded shortly after his death by a few friends of Dick’s in the St. Petersburg Area who played, coached and worked with him,” David Feaster, chairman of the Howser Trophy Committee said. “This award is presented to the best college player, not the best professional prospect among all NCAA Division I players and also to the player who best exemplifies the traits most associated with Dick Howser – leadership, moral character and courage. So many of the previous winners have not only gone on to solid careers in professional baseball, but most have distinguished themselves in community service and the business world from the lessons learned during their college careers. We also are happy to be working with the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association as the voting body for the 29th consecutive year, and this group helps us receive a nationally representative vote for the Howser Trophy.”

NCBWA voting membership includes writers, broadcasters and publicists. Designed to promote and publicize college baseball, it is the sport's only college media-related organization, founded in 1962.

The ‘26 news conference with the winner will be held at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, the home of the College World Series, for the 14th time. The winner also will be unveiled on MLB Network in a special national presentation at 9:30 a.m. (CDT) prior to the Friday, June 12, news conference in Omaha at 10 a.m. (CDT) in the Schwab Field Media Room before the first game of the historic 80th NCAA College World Series.

This year’s 48 candidates come from 12 different NCAA Division I conferences, Division I independent Oregon State and 31 different schools. The Southeastern Conference leads with 15 semifinalists, while the Atlantic Coast and Big 12 Conferences follow with eight each, Big Ten with six, Sun Belt and independent Oregon State with two, the Atlantic Sun, Atlantic 10, Big West, Mid-American, Ohio Valley, Southwestern Athletic and Western Athletic with one.

No. 1 UCLA leads the semifinalists list with four, followed by Georgia Tech, Texas and Texas A&M each with three and Arizona State, Arkansas, Auburn, Georgia, Mississippi State, North Carolina, Oregon State and West Virginia with a pair apiece. The nine defensive positions feature 15 starting pitchers, nine outfielders, five shortstops and catchers, four second basemen, three first basemen, third basemen and relief pitchers and one utility player. There are 15 starting pitchers and three relief pitchers who are leading candidates for the 2026 NCBWA Stopper of the Year Award for the top relief pitcher. The Stopper Award also will be denoted at the June 12 news conference along with the 2025 NCBWA Division I Coach of the Year.

The Dick Howser Trophy, presented by The Game Headwear, is given in memory of the former Florida State University All-America shortstop and major league player and manager who died of brain cancer in 1987. The trophy is regarded as baseball's most prestigious award. Criteria for consideration of the trophy include performance on the field, leadership, moral character and courage – all qualities that were exemplified by Dick Howser's life.

A Florida native, Howser was twice an All-America shortstop at FSU (1957-58), then coached the Seminoles in 1979, after a career as a major league player and coach. After one year coaching in the college ranks, Howser returned to the majors to manage the New York Yankees and Kansas City Royals and won the World Series with the Royals in 1985. The baseball stadium on the Florida State campus is named for Howser.

“The Dick Howser Trophy was founded shortly after his death by a few friends of Dick’s in the St. Petersburg Area who played, coached and worked with him,” David Feaster, chairman of the Howser Trophy Committee said. “This award is presented to the best college player, not the best professional prospect among all NCAA Division I players and also to the player who best exemplifies the traits most associated with Dick Howser – leadership, moral character and courage. So many of the previous winners have not only gone onto solid careers in professional baseball, but most have distinguished themselves in community service and the business world from the lessons learned during their college careers. We also are happy to be working with the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association as the voting body for the 29th consecutive year, and this group helps us receive a nationally representative vote for the Howser Trophy.”

NCBWA voting membership includes writers, broadcasters and publicists. Designed to promote and publicize college baseball, it is the sport's only college media-related organization, founded in 1962.

The Howser Trophy was created in 1987, shortly after Howser's death. Previous winners of the Howser Trophy are Mike Fiore, OF, Miami (Fla.), 1987; Robin Ventura, 3B, Oklahoma State, 1988; Scott Bryant, 1B-P, Texas, 1989; Alex Fernandez, SP, Miami-Dade Community College South, 1990; Frank Rodriguez, SP, Howard College (Texas), 1991; Brooks Kieschnick, P-1B-OF, Texas, 1992 and 1993; Jason Varitek, C, Georgia Tech, 1994; Todd Helton, 1B, Tennessee, 1995; Kris Benson, SP, Clemson, 1996; J. D. Drew, OF, Florida State, 1997; Eddy Furniss, 1B, LSU, 1998; Jason Jennings, P-OF, Baylor, 1999; Mark Teixeira, 1B, Georgia Tech, 2000; Mark Prior, P, USC, 2001, Khalil Greene, SS, Clemson, 2002; Rickie Weeks, 2B, Southern U., 2003; Jered Weaver, P, Long Beach State, 2004; Alex Gordon, 3B, Nebraska, 2005; Brad Lincoln, P/DH, Houston, 2006; David Price, P, Vanderbilt, 2007; Buster Posey, C, Florida State, 2008; Stephen Strasburg, P, San Diego State, 2009; Anthony Rendon, 3B, Rice, 2010; Taylor Jungmann, P, Texas, 2011; Mike Zunino, C, Florida, 2012; Kris Bryant, 3B, San Diego, 2013; A.J. Reed, P/1B, Kentucky, 2014; Andrew Benintendi, OF, Arkansas, 2015; Seth Beer, OF, Clemson, 2016, Brendan McKay, P/1B, Louisville, 2017, Brady Singer, SP, Florida, 2018, Adley Rutschman, C, Oregon 2019; Kevin Kopps, RP, Arkansas, 2021; Ivan Melendez, 1B, Texas, 2022; Paul Skenes, P, LSU, 2023; Charlie Condon, 1B-3B, Georgia, 2024; Alex Lodise, SS, Florida State, 2025.