Overland Park, Kan. – Senior left-hander Braden Gebhardt of the Youngstown State baseball team has been named as one of 43 semifinalists for the College Baseball Foundation 2026 National Pitcher of the Year Award.
The 43 semifinalists, announced on Wednesday, hail from 17 different conferences and one independent program while reflecting the top pitching performers to this point of the 2026 season. Gebhardt, who was named to the College Baseball Foundation 2026 National Pitcher of the Year Watch List in March, has been named the Horizon League Pitcher of the Week four times during the 2026 season.
Gebhardt was named the Horizon League Pitcher of the Week for the fourth time this season on Monday. The Howland, Ohio, native allowed two runs on six hits with eight strikeouts over 6.1 innings to earn his third win of the season in YSU's 16-2 victory at Oakland in game two of a doubleheader on Friday. He retired the first 13 batters he faced while sitting down the Golden Grizzlies in order in four different innings.
Gebhardt 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. He allowed three runs on six hits with five strikeouts over six innings to earn his second victory of the season in YSU's 5-3 series-opening win at Milwaukee on April 3. Gebhardt did not allow an earned run while scattering three hits and fanning seven batters over six innings to earn his first win of the season in YSU's 3-2 series-opening victory at Georgetown on March 20. The senior allowed his first earned run of the 2026 season during his 30th inning of work in his fifth start against Oakland on March 13.
At the outset of the week, Gebhardt led the Horizon League while ranking 29th nationally with 74 strikeouts and 12th in the country with 10 games started. He also paced the league in ERA (2.21), innings pitched (61.0), WHIP (1.05) and walks allowed per nine innings (2.36) heading into the week. Gebhardt ranked 33rd nationally in ERA while ranking second in the league in hits allowed per nine innings (7.08). The senior southpaw became just the ninth pitcher in YSU history to reach 200 career strikeouts in the series opener with Wright State on April 10. He currently ranks seventh in program history with 210 career strikeouts, and he ranks 12th in school history with 220.0 career innings pitched.
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 11th start of the 2026 season on Friday in YSU's series opener at UIC. First pitch at Curtis Granderson Field in Chicago is scheduled for noon ET.
For the latest news and updates throughout the 2026 season, follow @YSUBaseball on X and Instagram.
