Naess Named to College Baseball Foundation Pitcher of the Year Watch List
3/11/2026 11:15:00 AM | Baseball
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — Griffin Naess is adding another accolade to his rapidly expanding career résumé. The junior right-hander earned a spot on the College Baseball Foundation’s National Pitcher of the Year Watch List, announced Wednesday.
The honor is the latest in a string of achievements for Naess, who has already been named Big West Freshman Pitcher of the Year (2024), a two-time Big West Pitcher of the Week (2024, 2026), and an NCBWA Freshman All-American (2024). He has also secured All-Big West First Team (2025) and Honorable Mention (2024) distinctions, in addition to a spot on the Baseball America National Team of the Week (2026).
So far this season, Naess is dominating the Big West leaderboards. He ranks second in innings pitched (25.0), strikeouts (30), and ERA (1.44), but stands alone at the top in opponent batting average, holding hitters to a miniscule .124. He has surrendered just four earned runs and six walks all year. Dating back to May 2025, he has not allowed more than three runs in any of his last six starts.
“Naess has been our guy since he stepped on campus,” said Head Coach Larry Lee about his Friday ace. “He has the ability to mix his pitches well.”
A Laguna Beach native and the son of a Cal Poly alum, Naess recently delivered a career-defining performance against Washington State, fanning a personal-best 14 batters. That outing earned him National Team of the Week honors.
Naess is one of 142 of the nation’s premier pitchers named to the initial watch list, which was released Wednesday. The list spans 26 conferences and highlights the top mound performers of the 2026 season. Naess is one of six Big West pitchers to make the cut.
The National Pitcher of the Year award boasts a storied lineage of winners, including Stephen Strasburg (2009), Trevor Bauer (2011), Aaron Nola (2014), Paul Skenes (2023), and reigning winner Jake Knapp of North Carolina (2025).
