DALLAS (NCBWA) – The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and Dick Howser Trophy presented by The Game Headwear have selected the five finalists for the 38th Dick Howser Trophy to be presented to the college baseball player of the year at a national news conference at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Nebraska., on Friday, June 12, at 10 a.m. (CDT).
The five finalists are UCLA junior shortstop Roch Cholowsky, Louisville sophomore first baseman Tague Davis, UC Santa Barbara junior starting pitcher Jackson Flora, Arizona State sophomore outfielder Landon Hairston and Georgia junior catcher Daniel Jackson.
All five NCAA Division I finalists have consensus All-America laurels on their radar screens and were either their respective conference's players or pitchers of the year in 2026.
Cholowsky, who also was a Howser Trophy finalist in 2025, paced the Bruins to the No. 1 position in national ratings for 14 consecutive weeks in NCBWA Top 25 polls and the nation's highest victory total in Division I with a 52-8 mark prior to NCAA Super Regionals.
The 2025 consensus All-America choice from Chandler, Arizona, had another stellar season in 2026 with 21 home runs, 60 runs-batted-in, a .636 slugging percentage and OPS of 1.088 for coach John Savage's Bruins. He also has belted 52 career home runs in 178 contests for two consecutive UCLA NCAA tournament entries and the 2025 NCAA World Series.
Louisville's Davis leads the nation in home runs with 34 in 57 contests this spring while getting a barrelful of national watch list and Atlantic Coast Conference recognitions for coach Dan McDonnell's Cardinals.
The sophomore home run machine from West Chester, Pennsylvania, set an ACC single-season record with the 34 round-trippers and has been among national leaders in several hitting categories with 98 RBI (first), 1.72 RBI per game (first), slugging percentage (third) and an OPS of 1.292 (not Included in NCAA official stats but believed to be No. 1 nationally).
The right-handed Flora from Pleasanton, California, is the national leader in pitching victories with 12 over 16 appearances and 102 innings. He also struck out 133 hitters (third nationally) for 11.7 whiffs every nine innings and a WHIP (walks and hits per innings pitched) of 0.85 (also third in NCAA stats) for coach Andrew Checketts and the Gauchos.
The Big West Conference Pitcher of the Year for the BWC co-champion Gauchos used his 6-foot-5 height to retire hitters at record rates with a pair of complete-game shutouts, Big West and National Pitcher of the Week honors. He is 22-5 in three seasons at 2026 NCAA-participating UCSB.
Hairston also ranks among national leaders in almost every Individual category with a .860 slugging percentage (first), 202 total bases (first), .400 batting average (13th), 28 home runs (fifth) and 81 RBI (fifth) for coach Willie Bloomquist's Big 12 Conference-contending and NCAA Lincoln Regional runner-up Sun Devils.
The son of former Major League player Scott Hairston of Central Arizona College and four generations of college and pro baseball standouts from the Hairston family was 2026 Big 12 Conference Player of the Year and starred in youth and high school baseball in his hometown of Queen Creek, Arizona.
Jackson paced Southeastern Conference batsmen in numerous statistical categories while leading the Bulldogs to their first SEC title since 2008 and the postseason tourney crown. The Sandy Springs, Georgia, resident was SEC Player of the Year with his .860 slugging percentage (fourth nationally), 29 home runs (fourth), 93 hits (seventh) and .396 batting average (15th).
Jackson is one of just six players (and first catcher) in NCAA Division I history to have at least 25 home runs and 25 stolen bases in a season. He is the first SEC player to ever have a 25-25 season.
The Georgia native also earned NCBWA Freshman All-America laurels at Wofford in 2024 with 12 homers and 69 RBI in 56 games at Wofford before he transferred to Georgia to play for coach Wes Johnson in 2025. His defensive play and 25 stolen bases (among the best by catchers in DI) aided the Bulldogs to the NCAA Athens Regional title, a consensus No. 1 national ranking on June 1 and host role In the Athens Super Regional against No. 7 nationally Mississippi State.
The winner's name is inscribed on the permanent trophy, a bronze bust of Howser and both the recipient and his school receive a special trophy for their awards' cases.
NCBWA 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, and has been presented every year except 2020, shortened COVID year. Previous winners of the Howser Trophy presented by The Game Headwear are Mike Fiore, OF, Miami (Fla.), 1987; Robin Ventura, 3B, Oklahoma State, 1988; Scott Bryant, 1B-P, Texas, 1989; Alex Fernandez, P, Miami-Dade Community College South, 1990; Frank Rodriguez, P, Howard College (Texas), 1991; Brooks Kieschnick, UT-P, Texas, 1992 and 1993; Jason Varitek, C, Georgia Tech, 1994; Todd Helton, 1B, Tennessee, 1995; Kris Benson, P, Clemson, 1996; J. D. Drew, OF, Florida State, 1997; Eddy Furniss, 1B, LSU, 1998; Jason Jennings, UT-P, 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, DH-P, Kentucky, 2014; Andrew Benintendi, OF, Arkansas, 2015; Seth Beer, OF, Clemson, 2016; Brendan McKay, DH-P, Louisville, 2017; Brady Singer, P, Florida, 2018; Adley Rutschman, C, Oregon State, 2019; No Award, COVID-19, 2020; Kevin Kopps, P, Arkansas, 2021; Ivan Melendez, 1B, Texas, 2022; Paul Skenes, P, LSU, 2023; Charlie Condon, OF-1B, Georgia, 2024; and Alex Lodise, SS, Florida State, 2025.