College Baseball Foundation's National Pitcher of the Year goes to Hagen Smith

Last week, Arkansas ace Hagen Smith earned Perfect Game USA's Pitcher of the Year. Now, he's picked up another national accolade.

College Baseball Foundation awarded Smith National Pitcher of the Year over four other finalists: Wake Forest's Chase Burns, Dallas Baptist's Ryan Johnson, Jamie Arnold of FSU, and Trey Yesavage from East Carolina. He became the second Arkansas player to earn the honor after Kevin Kopps in 2021. Smith's award makes Arkansas the third program with multiple National Pitcher of the Year recipients since the foundation began in 2009.

Smith's 161 strikeouts were good for second in the nation, with Burns striking out 30 more batters in 16 more innings. But Smith led the country in strikeouts per nine innings with 17.25. He finished the season with a 2.04 ERA.

Potentially, there might be more awards around the corner for Smith. He's a finalist for the Golden Spikes award, along with Travis Bazzana of Oregon State and Georgia's Charlie Condon. The Golden Spike's Award show starts at 7:00 P.M. on Saturday, June 22. The show will be televised on ESPN.