Youngstown State senior baseball student-athlete Braden Gebhardt has been named the 2025-26 Horizon League Male Spring Scholar-Athlete of the Year, the conference office announced on Thursday.
Gebhardt, a native of Howland, Ohio, becomes the first YSU student-athlete to be named a Scholar-Athlete of the Year. He was named the Horizon League's Spring Scholar-Athlete of the Season last month to become just the fourth Penguin across all sports to earn that distinction. One male and one female student-athlete are honored annually after the conclusion of the athletic year as the Scholar-Athlete of the Year, based on a combination of academic and athletic achievement. The Faculty Athletics Representatives select the recipients from a pool of the year's Scholar-Athletes of the Season.
Gebhardt became the sixth player in YSU history and the first since Matt Brosky in 2022 to be named Horizon League Pitcher of the Year in 2026. He posted a 5-4 record, a 3.19 ERA and 104 strikeouts in 87.1 innings pitched while matching the single-season school record with 15 starts on the mound in route to First-Team All-Horizon League honors. Gebhardt was named the Horizon League's 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. The senior southpaw led the Horizon League in strikeouts, ERA and innings pitched. Following the 2026 season, Gebhardt was selected to the ABCA/Rawlings East All-Region Second Team.
Gebhardt was named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District® Baseball Team for the third straight season in 2026 to become just the second three-time honoree in program history. He is the first Penguin to earn Academic All-District honors three times since Josh Page from 2006-08. Gebhardt maintained a 3.95 GPA as a marketing major, and he graduated from YSU with his bachelor's degree this past spring. He also earned a spot on the Horizon League All-Academic Team for the third consecutive campaign in 2026.
