DAVIS, Calif. — UC Davis left-hander
Mason Lerma has been named to the initial watch list for the 21st Annual National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Stopper of the Year Award, the association announced Tuesday.
Lerma is one of 104 relief pitchers nationally to land on the preseason list, which recognizes the top relief pitcher in NCAA Division I baseball. He joins a field of honorees that includes 14 preseason All-Americans and the returning 2025 winner, Tony Pluta of Arizona. Lerma is also just one of five Big West representatives to appear on the initial watch list.
A steadying force in the Aggies' staff, Lerma enters the 2026 campaign following one of the most statistically dominant relief seasons in program history. The 2025 Second Team All-Big West selection led UC Davis with 28 appearances last season. Lerma posted a 1.01 ERA last season, and was particularly stifling in Big West play, where he held opponents to a .197 batting average and surrendered just one earned run over 21 innings of work.
Last spring as well, Lerma was tabbed as the No. 49 reliever in the country by D1Baseball.
The NCBWA will update the watch list at midseason. The Stopper of the Year Award has been presented annually since 2005, with past winners including notable major leaguers such as David Berg (UCLA), Brandon Finnegan (TCU), and Corey Knebel (Texas).
Lerma and the Aggies are set to open the 2026 season at Texas, on Friday, Feb. 13.
ABOUT THE NCBWA:
The NCBWA, founded in 1962, presents the Dick Howser Trophy to the nation's top player and the Mike Martin National Coach of the Year to the nation's top coach. It also selects All-America Teams for all Divisions, a Division I Freshman All- American team, Division I, II and III Players of the Week and Division I, II and III Players of the Year.
ABOUT UC DAVIS:
UC Davis, the No. 2 ranked public university by the Wall Street Journal, is home to 40,000 undergraduate students and 12,000 employees. Ranked No. 1 in Agriculture and Forestry as well as No. 1 in Veterinary Medicine, UC Davis is located in a true California college town nestled between world-class destinations such as the San Francisco Bay Area, Napa Valley and Lake Tahoe. Over 650 Aggie student-athletes compete in 25 Division I varsity sports, with 16 sports transitioning to the Mountain West Conference beginning in 2026–27.
