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Just Baseball’s 2026 National D1 Baseball Awards & All-Americans

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Just Baseball’s 2026 National D1 Baseball Awards & All-Americans

Originally posted on Just Baseball | By Jared Perkins | Last updated May 26, 2026 10:28 AM ET

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The 2026 college baseball season was one of the most anticipated in recent memory, and it largely delivered.

UCLA entered the year as the clear consensus No. 1, and unlike most preseason favorites, the Bruins actually backed it up, going wire-to-wire atop the rankings for the first time in the poll’s era.

That kind of season-long dominance is rare in college baseball. But with Roch Cholowsky anchoring the lineup and one of the deepest, most experienced rosters in the country around him, the Bruins were simply in a different tier.

Meanwhile, Georgia Tech’s offense was the most explosive in the nation, the transfer portal continued reshaping rosters at a dizzying pace, and a handful of programs made genuine cases as national title contenders by the time conference tournaments rolled around.

When it comes to our Just Baseball Awards, the selections are made by our staff of writers and analysts who cover college baseball year-round, the same people breaking down prospect notebooks, tracking the transfer portal, and watching more midweek games than they’d probably like to admit.

These aren’t algorithmic or committee-driven picks. They’re baseball opinions from people who have been paying close attention since February, and who care deeply about getting it right. We look at the full body of work, not just the counting stats, but the context behind them.

What follows is our complete Just Baseball Awards for 2026, All-Americans at every position, plus our national award winners. These are our picks. You might agree, you might want to argue about it, and honestly, both reactions are welcome.

Player of the Year – OF Landon Hairston, Arizona State

Via Just Baseball

Nobody in college baseball had a more jaw-dropping sophomore season than Landon Hairston. We knew Hairston was going to be a riser for the 2027 MLB Draft, but we hardly imagined him taking off like this.

The numbers backed it up every step of the way. He led the nation in slugging while ranking third in batting average and fourth in home runs, and along the way broke Arizona State’s all-time single-season home run record with his 28th of the year.

The baseball bloodlines are real; he’s the son of Scott Hairston and the fourth generation of his family to play professional baseball, but Landon is writing his own legacy. He was our easy choice for Player of the Year.

Pitcher of the Year – LHP Mason Edwards, USC

Via Just Baseball

Mason Edwards was simply in a different stratosphere than every other college pitcher in the country this season. The junior left-hander finished the regular season 8-0 with a 1.43 ERA and led the nation with 160 strikeouts, 31 more than anyone else.

He also set the Big Ten single-season strikeout record in conference play, which is remarkable for a guy who came in with a 7.88 ERA as a freshman. The development arc alone is a great story, but what makes Edwards our Pitcher of the Year is simple: nobody was harder to hit, nobody was more dominant on a week-to-week basis, and nobody made lineups look more helpless this spring.

Freshman of the Year – OF Anthony Pack, Jr., Texas

Via Just Baseball

There was a real chance Anthony Pack Jr. never even set foot on a college campus. As one of the most highly touted recruits in the cycle, Pack drew major MLB interest and it was considered unlikely by some that he would ever suit up for the Longhorns, but he chose Austin, and Texas fans got to watch one of the best freshman debuts in recent memory.

He hit .353 on the season with a 1.018 OPS, and his 20 stolen bases were the most by a Texas freshman since Drew Stubbs in 2004. In SEC play, he only got better, hitting .400 in conference games, the first freshman to do so since Jake Mangum at Mississippi State in 2016.

An easy call for our Freshman of the Year.

Coach of the Year – James Ramsey, Georgia Tech

Via Just Baseball

Taking over a program from a legend is never easy, but James Ramsey made it look seamless.

Ramsey replaced Danny Hall, who stepped away as one of the winningest coaches in college baseball history after 32 seasons, and rather than ease into the role, he went out and put together one of the best first seasons any first-year head coach has had in recent memory.

Georgia Tech went 48-9 overall and ranked among the top three teams in the country. The Yellow Jackets won both the regular season and conference tournament ACC Championships.

Ramsey was named ACC Coach of the Year, the first time in conference history a coach earned that honor in his first season leading a program.