University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
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Colby Allen Named to Pitcher of the Year Watch List
3/11/2026 1:00:00 PM | Baseball
OVERLAND PARK, Kansas – A total of 142 of the nation's best hurlers, including Southern Miss senior right-hander Colby Allen (Louisville, Miss.), are listed on the Pitcher of the Year watch list, released on Wednesday. The pitchers on the watch list represent 26 different conferences and reflect the top mound performers to this point of the 2026 season.
"There is an old adage in baseball that pitchers are usually ahead of the hitters early in the season," National Pitcher of the Year Award co-chair Brian Melakian said. "The number of early season dominant pitching performances this year proves that adage to be true."
This season, the preseason All-American has posted a 1-1 record with a 2.61 ERA. He has fanned 18 and walked six in 20 2/3 innings, get the start in Golden Eagle weekend openers.
The National Pitcher of the Year Award was first awarded in 2009. Previous winners of the award are Stephen Strasburg, RHP, San Diego State, 2009; Alex Wimmers, RHP, Ohio State, 2010; Trevor Bauer, UCLA, RHP, 2011; Mark Appel, RHP, Stanford, 2012; Jonathan Gray, RHP, Oklahoma, 2013; Aaron Nola, RHP, LSU, 2014; Carson Fulmer, RHP, Vanderbilt, 2015; Eric Lauer, LHP, Kent State, 2016; Steven Gingery, LHP, Texas Tech, 2017; Luke Heimlich, LHP, Oregon State, 2018; Ethan Small, LHP, Mississippi State, 2019; Kevin Kopps, RHP, Arkansas, 2021; Cooper Hjerpe, LHP, Oregon State, 2022; Paul Skenes, RHP, LSU, 2023; Hagen Smith, LHP, Arkansas, 2024 and Jake Knapp, RHP, North Carolina, 2025.
The National Pitcher of the Week is one of four weekly awards presented by the College Baseball Foundation. The CBF also awards the Brooks Wallace Award, John Olerud Award and Buster Posey Collegiate Catcher of the Week.
For more information on the National Pitcher of the Year Award, visit the College Baseball Foundation website at www.collegebaseballhall.org.
"There is an old adage in baseball that pitchers are usually ahead of the hitters early in the season," National Pitcher of the Year Award co-chair Brian Melakian said. "The number of early season dominant pitching performances this year proves that adage to be true."
This season, the preseason All-American has posted a 1-1 record with a 2.61 ERA. He has fanned 18 and walked six in 20 2/3 innings, get the start in Golden Eagle weekend openers.
The National Pitcher of the Year Award was first awarded in 2009. Previous winners of the award are Stephen Strasburg, RHP, San Diego State, 2009; Alex Wimmers, RHP, Ohio State, 2010; Trevor Bauer, UCLA, RHP, 2011; Mark Appel, RHP, Stanford, 2012; Jonathan Gray, RHP, Oklahoma, 2013; Aaron Nola, RHP, LSU, 2014; Carson Fulmer, RHP, Vanderbilt, 2015; Eric Lauer, LHP, Kent State, 2016; Steven Gingery, LHP, Texas Tech, 2017; Luke Heimlich, LHP, Oregon State, 2018; Ethan Small, LHP, Mississippi State, 2019; Kevin Kopps, RHP, Arkansas, 2021; Cooper Hjerpe, LHP, Oregon State, 2022; Paul Skenes, RHP, LSU, 2023; Hagen Smith, LHP, Arkansas, 2024 and Jake Knapp, RHP, North Carolina, 2025.
The National Pitcher of the Week is one of four weekly awards presented by the College Baseball Foundation. The CBF also awards the Brooks Wallace Award, John Olerud Award and Buster Posey Collegiate Catcher of the Week.
For more information on the National Pitcher of the Year Award, visit the College Baseball Foundation website at www.collegebaseballhall.org.
Players Mentioned
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