DALLAS (NCBWA) – Fourteen finalists for the 21st annual NCBWA Stopper of the Year Award, presented to the nation's top relief pitcher in NCAA Division I baseball, have been announced.
Five finalists remain in postseason action this weekend and are just two wins away from advancing to the Men's College World Series. That group includes Georgia's Caden Aoki (9-1, 3.86 ERA, 3 saves), Cal Poly's Nick Bonn (1-4, 3.49 ERA, 17 saves), Oregon's Tanner Bradley (5-1, 1.76 ERA, 1 save), Texas' Sam Cozart (6-0, 1.72 ERA, 8 saves) and North Carolina's Caden Glauber (10-0, 2.06 ERA, 4 saves).
Bonn leads all finalists and the nation with 17 saves. Joining him among the national leaders are Oregon State's Albert Roblez (2-1, 1.50 ERA, 14 saves), Liberty's Cooper Harrington (2-2, 3.61 ERA, 14 saves), UCLA's Easton Hawk (7-4, 1.93 ERA, 14 saves) and Nebraska's J'Shawn Unger (6-1, 4.05 ERA, 13 saves).
Additional finalists include Texas A&M's Clayton Freshcorn (4-3, 2.82 ERA, 12 saves), Jacksonville State's Skyler Hutto (6-3, 2.20 ERA, 12 saves), Arkansas' Ethan McElvain (6-0, 1.88 ERA, 6 saves), UCLA's Wylan Moss (5-1, 2.49 ERA, 1 save) and Florida State's John Abraham (1-3, 1.91 ERA, 6 saves).
Five conferences and one independent program are represented among the finalists. The Southeastern Conference and Big Ten Conference lead the way with four selections each, followed by the Atlantic Coast Conference and Conference USA with two apiece. The Big West and independent Oregon State each have one representative.
The finalists join an impressive list of previous Stopper of the Year winners, including Texas pitchers J. Brent Cox (2005), Chance Ruffin (2010) and Corey Knebel (2011); UCLA's David Berg (2013, 2015); Arkansas' Kevin Kopps (2021); Texas State's Tristan Stivors (2022); Oral Roberts' Cade Denton (2023); Texas A&M's Evan Aschenbeck (2024) and Arizona's Tony Pluta in 2025. There was no award presented in 2020 due to the COVID-19-shortened season.
The 2026 NCBWA Stopper of the Year honroee will be announced during a news conference at the Men’s College World Series on Friday, June 12, at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha.
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 Award to the nation's top coach. The organization also selects Division I All-America teams, a Division I Freshman All-America team and Players of the Week and Year across Divisions I, II and III.
2026 NCBWA Stopper of the Year Finalists
John Abraham, Jr., Florida State (ACC)
Caden Aoki, Gr., Georgia (SEC)
Nick Bonn, Sr., Cal Poly (Big West)
Tanner Bradley, So., Oregon (Big Ten)
Sam Cozart, Fr., Texas (SEC)
Clayton Freshcorn, Jr., Texas A&M (SEC)
Caden Glauber, Fr., North Carolina (ACC)
Cooper Harrington, So., Liberty (CUSA)
Easton Hawk, So., UCLA (Big Ten)
Skyler Hutto, Jr., Jacksonville State (CUSA)
Ethan McElvain, Jr., Arkansas (SEC)
Wylan Moss, So., UCLA (Big Ten)
Albert Roblez, Sr., Oregon State (Independent)
J’Shawn Unger, So., Nebraska (Big Ten)