OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – North Carolina right-hander Jake Knapp has been named the 2025 National Pitcher of the Year, the College Baseball Foundation announced. The ACC Pitcher of the Year and a first-team All-ACC selection, Knapp led North Carolina to a No. 5 national seed in the NCAA Tournament and a host for the NCAA Super Regional round.
"Jake represents everything that is good about college baseball,” National Pitcher of the Year Committee Chair Chris Snead said. “Here is a young man that battled through one of the worst injuries a pitcher can suffer to return to the field. In the process, he inspired his teammates and became the unquestioned leader of his team. Fourteen consecutive wins is significant and impressive. He was a complete pitcher and, more importantly, he was a great person and teammate."
Knapp’s award-winning season was highly improbable after the hurler suffered a major injury a month before the start of the 2024 season. In a pre-season scrimmage, he tore his ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) and was sidelined for the entire 2024 campaign. Knapp credits UNC head athletic trainer Terri Jo Rucinski for helping him get back on the field. After 623 days between appearances, he returned to the mound in relief on opening day in 2025. It was the beginning of one of the most prolific seasons in North Carolina and college baseball history.
"The way that Jake was able to overcome a significant injury and become the leader of his team isn't something that you usually see from a starting pitcher,” National Pitcher of the Year Committee Chair Brian Melakian said. “What he gave his team every time that he took the ball this year was truly special and what you would expect from someone deserving of being named National Pitcher of the Year."
Knapp made 16 total appearances for the Tar Heels, including toeing the rubber for 15 starts. Knapp was a perfect 14-0 this season, including postseason wins in the NCAA Regional round against Holy Cross and the NCAA Super Regional Round against Arizona. His 14-0 record is the best record of any pitcher in the country, in both most total wins and most wins without a loss. Knapp’s 14 wins tied for the most in program history in a single season and is the most without defeat.
Knapp logged 102.1 innings, allowing only 27 runs, 72 hits and 16 walks while striking out 88 batters. Knapp earned five or more strikeouts in nine of his 16 appearances. He sported a 2.02 ERA and a 0.86 WHIP. The Greensboro, N.C. native earned two complete games and held opposing batters to a .196 batting average. Knapp is a two-time team captain having been selected for the honor by his fellow players in both 2024 and 2025.
“Jake is an incredible human being and leader,” North Carolina head coach Scott Forbes said. “Watching him have to sit out last year only to come back and lead our team and have such amazing success is a testament to how hard he works and the man that he is. I’m so proud of him and so happy to see him earn this award.”
Other finalists for the National Pitcher of the Year included Gabe Craig (RHP, Baylor), Jacob Morrison (RHP, Coastal Carolina), Zane Taylor (RHP, UNCW) and Dylan Volantis (LHP, Texas).
Hagen Smith of the University of Arkansas was the 2024 National Pitcher of the Year. The National Pitcher of the Year Award was first awarded in 2009.
For more information on the Pitcher of the Year Award, visit the College Baseball Foundation website at www.collegebaseballhall.org.
National Pitcher of the Year Award Recipients
Year - Name, Position, Class, School
- 2025 - Jake Knapp, RHP, North Carolina
- 2024 – Hagen Smith, LHP, Arkansas
- 2023 – Paul Skenes, RHP, LSU, 2023
- 2022 – Cooper Hjerpe, LHP, Oregon State
- 2021 – Kevin Kopps, RHP, Arkansas, 2021
- 2020 – Not Awarded (season suspended)
- 2019 – Ethan Small, LHP, Mississippi State
- 2018 – Luke Heimlich, LHP, Oregon State
- 2017 – Steven Gingery, LHP, Texas Tech
- 2016 – Eric Lauer, LHP, Kent State
- 2015 – Carson Fulmer, RHP, Vanderbilt
2014 – Aaron Nola, RHP, LSU
2013 – Jonathan Gray, RHP, Oklahoma
2012 – Mark Appel, RHP, Stanford - 2011 – Trevor Bauer, UCLA, RHP
- 2010 – Alex Wimmers, RHP, Ohio State
- 2009 – Stephen Strasburg, RHP, San Diego State
About the College Baseball Foundation
The purpose of the College Baseball Foundation (CBF) is to preserve, elevate and advance the game; to inspire the next generation; to teach those who love college baseball about its rich history and traditions; to celebrate those who make college baseball special; and to honor those who have come before us, and built the foundation upon which college baseball thrives today.
The College Baseball Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization. Support for the College Baseball Hall of Fame will help preserve the rich history of the sport for future generations. All donations to the College Baseball Hall of Fame are tax deductible and can be made via this link on the organization’s website.
The CBF presents the Brooks Wallace Award (Nation’s Most Outstanding Shortstop), the National Pitcher of the Year, the John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year, the Skip Bertman National Coach of the Year, the George H.W. Bush Distinguished Alumnus Award and the Wayne Graham Award for Teaching Excellence Award.
About the College Baseball Hall of Fame
Each year, more than 190 representatives nationwide vote on the College Baseball Hall of Fame induction class. The voting body is comprised of national and regional college baseball media, active and retired coaches, former players, former inductees, college baseball historians and members of the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) collegiate baseball committee. The College Baseball Hall of Fame inducted its first class in 2006. Since that time, 165 players, coaches, umpires, administrators and contributors have been selected for induction. Click here for a full list of College Baseball Hall of Fame classes.
The College Baseball Hall of Fame will establish a physical location in Overland Park, Kan., in early 2026. Located within the iconic Museum at Prairiefire, the College Baseball Hall of Fame will serve as a shared community asset, deepening connections to the nation's favorite pastime through a dynamic and ever-evolving space for college baseball enthusiasts to celebrate the sport's rich past, present and future.