Florida sophomore right-hander Aidan King is one of five finalists for Baseball America’s College Pitcher of the Year award.
Mason Edwards (Southern California), Jackson Flora (UC Santa Barbara), Dylan Volantis (Texas) and Dax Whitney (Oregon State) were the other contenders announced Wednesday. This is the second year of the award; the inaugural winner was LSU’s Kade Anderson in 2025.
King was named the 2026 SEC Pitcher of the Year earlier this month behind a conference-second-best 2.68 ERA, 0.93 WHIP and .199 batting average against. The sophomore began the 2026 campaign as Florida’s Saturday night starter, but he eventually overtook Liam Peterson for the Game 1 spot in the weekend rotation.
“King proved to be a steady workhorse in a league that rarely allows for that kind of consistency, pitching to a 2.68 ERA with 89 strikeouts against just 19 walks over 84 innings as a sophomore in 2026,” wrote Baseball America’s Jacob Rudner. “His dominance and durability made him just the fifth underclassman ever named SEC Pitcher of the Year as selected by the league’s coaches.
“King failed to complete five innings only three times all season and just once in conference play. He allowed only 58 hits all year, with just 15 going for extra bases and only three leaving the yard, good for an elite 0.3 home runs allowed per nine innings.”
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This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Aidan King named Baseball America College Pitcher of the Year finalist
Reporting by David Rosenberg, Gators Wire / Gators Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
