Indianapolis, Ind. -- Youngstown State senior left-hander Braden Gebhardt was named the 2026 Horizon League Pitcher of the Year as one of six Penguins to collect postseason honors when the league office announced its postseason award winners and all-league teams on Tuesday.
Gebhardt was also voted as a member of the All-Horizon League First Team while senior right-hander Jack Messmore and redshirt junior outfielder Brady Shannon were selected to the All-Horizon League Second Team. In addition, freshmen infielders Alex Jang and Misael Uriepero and freshman left-hander Bryce Palms were named to the Horizon League All-Freshman Team.
The Penguins had at least one player named to the All-Horizon League First Team for the sixth consecutive season. The Penguins have also had at least one player selected to the Horizon League All-Freshman Team in nine of the last 10 seasons that postseason awards have been handed out.
Gebhardt becomes the sixth player in YSU history and the first since Matt Brosky in 2022 to be named Horizon League Pitcher of the Year. The Howland, Ohio, native collects all-league recognition for the first time his accomplished career while becoming the fourth YSU pitcher since 2009 to garner First-Team All-Horizon League honors.
Gebhardt has enjoyed one of the most successful seasons on the mound in YSU history as a senior in 2026. The southpaw owns a 5-3 record, a 2.82 ERA and 99 strikeouts in 83 innings pitched over 14 starts. Gebhardt was named the Under Armour Horizon League Pitcher of the Week a record six times during the 2026 season, and he was named as one of 43 semifinalists for the 2026 College Baseball Foundation National Pitcher of the Year Award on April 22. He is slated to match the YSU single-season school record with his 15th start of the season on Wednesday against Oakland in the 2026 Horizon League Baseball Championship.
With his fifth weekly HL honor of the 2026 season on May 11, Gebhardt became the first pitcher in Horizon League history to win the league's Pitcher of the Week award five times in a single season. He is just the second pitcher to win the award on four or more occasions in season, and he became the sixth pitcher to win the award at least five times in a career. With this sixth weekly award of the campaign, Gebhardt became just the third pitcher in Horizon League history to win the award at least six times in a career. He was named the Horizon League Pitcher of the Week three times in as many weeks to begin the 2026 season. Gebhardt allowed his first earned run of the 2026 season during his 30th inning of work in his fifth start against Oakland on March 13.
Through games completed on May 17, Gebhardt leads the Horizon League while ranking 31st nationally with 99 strikeouts and 11th in the country with 14 games started. He also paces the league in ERA (2.82), innings pitched (83.0), WHIP (1.16) and strikeouts per nine innings (10.73). Gebhardt's 99 strikeouts currently rank as the fifth most in a single season in program history. With one more punchout, he would become the first Penguin since Matt Brosky in 2022 to record 100 or more strikeouts in a season. 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. Gebhardt currently ranks sixth in program history with 235 career strikeouts, and he ranks 11th in school history with 242.0 career innings pitched.
Messmore ranks second in the Horizon League in innings pitched (72.1), seventh in ERA (5.85) and eighth in strikeouts (46) in his debut season as a Penguin. The Niceville, Fla., native has matched his teammate Gebhardt with a team and league best 14 starts on the mound to rank 11th nationally in games started. The first-year transfer from New Mexico scattered six hits and struck out five batters over 6.1 scoreless innings in game one of a doubleheader at Auburn on Feb. 14 in his YSU debut. Messmore earned his second win of the season after setting new season highs with seven strikeouts and seven innings pitched in YSU's 4-3 win over Milwaukee on May 9. He has tossed at least six innings in seven of his 14 outings this season.
Messmore hit a home run in his first plate appearance of the season while serving as the designated hitter in the series opener with Wright State on April 10. The senior also went 3-for-4 at the plate with a home run and a career-high five RBIs as the designated hitter in YSU's 13-11 series-opening win over Milwaukee on May 8. Messmore has five hits including two home runs in 10 at bats at the plate during the 2026 season.
Shannon is batting .250 while leading the Horizon League with 15 home runs and ranking seventh in the league with a .564 slugging percentage. The Youngstown, Ohio, native leads YSU with 15 homers, 38 runs scored, 35 RBIs and 97 total bases. Shannon went 4-for-5 with two home runs, a double and four RBIs in the series opener at NKU on March 27. He hit a go-ahead three-run blast in the top of the eighth inning in YSU's 5-2 series-opening victory at Wright State on Thursday for his 15th homer of the season.
Shannon currently ranks tied for tied for fourth in YSU history with 25 career home runs as a Penguin. The redshirt junior has also become the first player in program history to hit at least 10 homers in two different seasons. Shannon's 15 home runs in 2026 currently rank as the third most in a single season in school history. The redshirt junior batted .318 and slugged .705 with 10 home runs and 25 RBIs over 24 games in Horizon League play.
Jang garners Horizon League All-Freshman Team honors after batting .290 and slugging .432 over 43 games played and 39 starts during the regular season. The Las Vegas, Nev., native has missed the last seven games due to injury. He has hit safely in eight of his last 11 games and in 21 of his last 31 contests. Jang recorded a career-high three hits including his first-career home run and a double in the series finale at Longwood on March 1. He also went 3-for-5 with his first career triple in the series opener at Milwaukee on April 3. Jang leads the Penguins with 15 multi-hit games on the season while ranking second on the squad with 47 hits.
Palms earns a nod to the HL All-Freshman Team after finishing his debut collegiate regular season with a 1-1 record, one save and a 3.31 ERA in 12 appearances out of the bullpen. The Upper Marlboro, Md., native posted 15 strikeouts and a .196 opponent batting average over 16.1 innings pitched. Palms earned his first career save after tossing 1.2 scoreless innings of relief to close out YSU's 13-12 series-opening victory at Oakland on April 17. He picked up his first career win after pitching a career high two innings of relief in YSU's 8-6 extra-inning win at Wright State in game one of a doubleheader on Friday.
Uriepero has hit safely in 15 of his last 22 games while being the only Penguin to play in and start all 53 games to this point in the 2026 season. The Caracas, Venezuela, native matched his career high with three hits by going 3-for-5 with an RBI, a run scored and a stolen base in YSU's 11-10 victory at Toledo on April 21. He also went 3-for-5 with a double, two RBIs and two runs scored in YSU's victory over Milwaukee on May 8. Uriepero is batting .247 with eight doubles, 15 RBIs, 24 runs scored, 18 walks and 11 stolen bases.
Youngstown State will open play in the 2026 Horizon League Baseball Championship against Oakland on Wednesday at 5 p.m. at Nischwitz Stadium in Dayton, Ohio. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
For the latest news and updates on the YSU baseball program, follow @YSUBaseball on X and Instagram.
