DALLAS — Santa Clara University baseball right-handed pitchers Blake Hammond and August Souza both landed Wednesday on the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association's initial Watch List for the 2024 "Stopper of the Year" award, given to the top relief pitcher in NCAA Division I baseball.
 
Hammond and Souza were two of the 73 pitchers who landed on the Watch List. They were the only two pitchers from the West Coast Conference to make the list, and were two of only 12 pitchers from West Region conferences (WCC, Pac-12, Mountain West, Big West, WAC, Big Sky).
 
Landing on the Watch List adds to a an already decorated preseason for Hammond, who's also been named preseason all-conference by Perfect Game and was placed on the Preseason all-WCC team by the conference's coaches. He went 6-1 with a 2.53 ERA in 19 relief appearances last season, picking up all-WCC second team honors along the way. He had a better-than 2-to-1 strikeouts-to-walks ratio while holding opponents to a .210 batting average. Hammond struck out opponents at a high rate, averaging 12.63 Ks per nine innings. He only allowed two home runs all year in 2023.
 
Souza pitched primarily at the backend of the Broncos' bullpen last season, leading the team with five saves and a 1.85 ERA. He earned all-WCC honorable mention accolades a year ago after striking out 31 in 34 innings (13 appearances). Souza held opponents to a team-low .169 batting average while only allowing two long balls.
 
The Broncos kick off their 2024 campaign on Friday in Phoenix, with a three-game series against Arizona State. They open their 25-game home slate on Feb. 23 versus UMBC. Season tickets, single-game, and mini plans for all 25 of the Broncos' 2024 home games are on sale now. Click here to purchase your tickets online, call the Broncos ticket office (408-554-4660) or email them at broncotickets@scu.edu.