Overland Park, Kan. – Senior left-hander Braden Gebhardt of the Youngstown State baseball team has been named to the College Baseball Foundation 2026 National Pitcher of the Year Watch List.
Gebhardt was named the Under Armour Horizon League Pitcher of the Week three times in as many weeks to begin the 2026 season. He earned his third consecutive weekly league honor after posting a career-high 12 strikeouts over seven scoreless innings on the mound in YSU's 2-1 series-opening win at Longwood on Feb. 27. The senior southpaw scattered five hits while walking just two batters and matching the longest outing of his career for the second straight week. Gebhardt, who has yet to give up an earned run on 12 hits allowed over four starts this season, has struck out 32 batters while walking just nine in 26 innings pitched.
Most recently, Gebhardt limited Southern Indiana to three hits with four strikeouts and two walks over six scoreless innings in his 60th career pitching appearance as a Penguin in the series opener on March 6. Through games played on March 11, the Howland, Ohio, native is one of two pitchers in the nation with at least 20 innings pitched to maintain a 0.00 ERA. Gebhardt currently leads the Horizon League while also ranking tied for 24th nationally with 32 strikeouts. He leads the league in ERA (0.00), opponent batting average (.138) and innings pitched (26.0) through games completed on Wednesday. Gebhardt also paces the conference and ranks 24th in the nation with 4.15 hits allowed per nine innings.
Gebhardt, who earned the first weekly Horizon League honor of his career following opening weekend, did not allow an earned run while limiting Oregon to two hits over seven strong innings on the mound in YSU's 3-0 loss to the Ducks on Feb. 20 at PK Park in Eugene, Ore. He also recorded 11 strikeouts over six innings in a stellar Opening Day effort in a 2-1 loss at Auburn in the 2026 season opener on Feb. 13. In the first start of his senior season, Gebhardt was responsible for one unearned run on two hits with 11 strikeouts over six innings on the mound. He posted the most strikeouts in a game by a YSU pitcher since Collin Floyd fanned 12 batters against Milwaukee on April 9, 2021.
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.
Gebhardt is scheduled to make his fifth start of the 2026 season on Friday in YSU's Horizon League opener to begin a three-game series against Oakland at Michelle Krill Memorial Field at Pullman Park in Butler, Pa. First pitch for Friday's series opener is slated for noon.
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