2 days ago
UNC baseball ace named finalist for National Pitcher of the Year award
UNC baseball ace named finalist for National Pitcher of the Year award
All year long, one pitcher for North Carolina has dominated over all others. Undefeated ace Jake Knapp, already named ACC Pitcher of the Year, is now one of five finalists for the National Pitcher of the Year from the College Baseball Hall of Fame.
Knapp joins Gabe Craig from Baylor, Jacob Morrison from Coastal Carolina, Zan Taylor from UNC Wilmington, and Dylan Volantis from Texas. Three of the five finalists for the NPOY award hail from the Carolinas.
Knapp finished his 2025 campaign with a 13-0 record and a 1.98 ERA. In 14 starts and 15 appearances, he threw 95.1 innings, allowing 21 earned runs on 63 hits with 85 strikeouts. Opposing batters hit .186 against the star pitcher.
Knapp was tied with Zane Taylor for the third lowest ERA in the nation, just a hundreth over Evan Dempsey from FGCU. The Tar Heels ace also led all of college baseball with 13 wins on the season, tied with Ricky Ojeda from UC Irvine; however, Ojeda lost a game, Knapp hasn't.
It is clear why the graduate right-hander is one of the best in the business, and he is getting the necessary recognition on the team, conference, and national levels. The winner of the prestigous award will be announced on June 13th, just a week and a half away.
The inception of this award was in 2009, and since then, no UNC baseball pitcher has won the award. Knapp has a chance to not only be recognized as the best, but he can make UNC history in the process.
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