Arkansas' Hagen Smith named College Baseball Foundation Pitcher of the Year
LUBBOCK, Texas – If ever there was a model of consistency from the very first pitch of the season to his last, Hagen Smith fits it.
The junior left-hander allowed just 19 earned runs all season, and about half of those came in his first and last outings combined. He gave up three to James Madison on opening day, and he gave up six to Kansas State in his final appearance for the Razorbacks. In between, he allowed more than two earned runs in a start just once. In fact, Smith surrendered one or fewer earned runs in 11 of his 16 starts on the season.
That consistency made him an ace among aces in college baseball in 2024 and a main reason why the Razorbacks were the No. 1 team in the country for a large part of the season and also the No. 5 seed in the NCAA tournament. It’s also a big reason why Smith is this year’s Pitcher of the Year Award winner presented by the College Baseball Foundation.
“With an incredibly talented semifinalist group, Hagen’s incredible season simply rose above the competition and made him the clear choice to be the National Pitcher of the Year in 2024,” said Pitcher of the Year co-chair Chris Snead.
Smith is the second Arkansas hurler to win the annual award, joining 2021 winner Kevin Kopps. He also is the fifth pitcher from the SEC and the third in the last four years from the league to win the award.
With a devastating mix of pitches, Smith kept hitters off-balance all season. In addition to his propensity to avoid the earned runs, he also was quite adept at not allowing opposing batters to reach base without earning their way on.
For the season, Smith never walked more than five batters in a game, and walked two or fewer in 10 of his 16 outings. Conversely, he finished the season with a whopping 161 strikeouts, reaching double digits in 11 of his 16 starts, including a season-high 17 against perennial power Oregon State and 14 twice in SEC play, against No. 2 national seed Kentucky and No. 3 national seed Texas A&M.
He finished the year going 9-2 with a 2.04 ERA, and for his career has compiled a 24-6 record and 3.40 ERA with 122 walks and 360 strikeouts in 233 innings of work.
”After his early-season, 17-strikeout performance against Oregon State, he put the nation on notice that he was going to be a force this season,” said Pitcher of the Year Co-Chair Brian Melakian. “The way that he mowed through the SEC just drove his point home.”
Smith was named the SEC Pitcher of the Year, the Perfect Game Pitcher of the Year and is a first-team All-American selection by ABCA/Rawlings, Perfect Game, the National College Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) and SEC. He also is a finalist for the Golden Spikes Award and Dick Howser Award.
Smith is projected as a Top 10 pick in the upcoming Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.
The award will be presented at the College Baseball Foundation’s annual Night of Champions event at a date to be announced.
About the College Baseball Foundation/National College Baseball Hall of Fame
The College Baseball Foundation, based in Lubbock, Texas, is a 501-(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to recognizing and preserving the history of college baseball. In addition to the annual induction of the Hall of Fame class, the organization presents numerous awards to current college baseball players, coaches and umpires during its annual Night of Champions event. The organization was founded in 2004 and the first Hall of Fame class was inducted in 2006. For more information on the College Baseball Foundation, visit www.collegebaseballhall.org.