SAN BRUNO, Calif. — Max Bayles earned his second Rawlings West Coast Conference Pitcher of the Week award of 2026 Monday after an outstanding performance on the road last week at top-15-ranked and SEC member Oklahoma.
 
Bayles anchored Santa Clara's impressive pitching performance Thursday with a season-high 10 strikeouts in four shutout innings on the road at No. 14/10 Oklahoma. Bayles silenced the Sooners, who entered the night hitting .313 and slugging .534 as a team, with four strikeouts to start the game and multiple Ks in all four of his frames, including striking out three in both the first and fourth innings.
 
Monday's award was Bayles' second WCC Pitcher of the Week accolade this season and the fifth of his career. He has eight total WCC weekly awards in his career after earning WCC Freshman of the Week three times in 2024.
 
His 10 strikeouts Thursday came just two short of his career best. Bayles now owns 30 punchouts on the season, leading the WCC and ranking 39th nationally. He stands 15 strikeouts shy of 200 for his career and 54 away from cracking the top 10 on Santa Clara's all-time strikeouts list.
 
Bayles and the Broncos open a five-game home stand Tuesday with a single game versus ACC member Pittsburgh. Fans can purchase tickets and find all live coverage links on SantaClaraBroncos.com.