Ole Miss Rebels' Cade Townsend (10) pitches as Ole Miss Rebels take on LSU Tigers during the SEC baseball tournament at Hoover Met in Birmingham, Ala., on Saturday, May 24, 2025. Jake Crandall/ Montgomery Advertiser / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Ole Miss Baseball's Cade Townsend Named to National Pitcher of the Year Watch List

Originally posted on Ole Miss Rebels on SI | By Zack Nagy | Last updated Mar 11, 2026 6:45 PM ET

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – The College Baseball Foundation announced their 2026 Pitcher of the Year Watch List Wednesday afternoon, naming Ole Miss' Cade Townsend as one of the best pitchers in the country.

Townsend is one of 141 Division I pitchers to be named to the Watch List and one of 17 from the SEC.

Townsend currently sports a 0.48 ERA after four starts, the second-lowest ERA among all qualified SEC pitchers. He has allowed just one earned run all season, coming on a sacrifice fly in his first start against Nevada.

Since that second inning on February 14 against the Wolfpack, Townsend has thrown 17-straight scoreless innings.

The California native has struck out seven or more batters in each of his four starts and set a new career high of nine in a combined shutout against Ohio State. He has the fourth-highest K/9 (15.43) and the eighth-lowest WHIP (0.75) in the SEC heading into this weekend.

Townsend will take the mound for his next start on Saturday against No. 2 Texas.

Recapping Townsend's Career Day on Feb. 28:

The Feb. 28 Recap: Dom Decker went deep twice, Brett Moseley hit a grand slam, and Cade Townsend and Taylor Rabe each struck out a career high as No. 25 Ole Miss Baseball (10-1) defeated Ohio State (5-4) Saturday morning 8-0.

Townsend earned his first win of the season, striking out nine batters and issuing just one walk over five scoreless innings. Nine strikeouts was a new career high for the sophomore, and he has now struck out 8+ hitters in each of his three starts this season.

Townsend was dominant from start to finish, striking out four batters in the first two innings. Two of the three hits he allowed came in the first inning, but he was able to keep runners from reaching third base all day.

Now, as his historic start to the 2026 season continues, Townsend has received significant praise as one of America's top pitchers across non-conference play heading into mid-March.

This article first appeared on Ole Miss Rebels on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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