OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — Santa Clara University baseball right-hander Max Bayles' standout season continues to draw national recognition, as he was named Wednesday a semifinalist for the College Baseball Foundation's National Pitcher of the Year Award.
 
Bayles is one of 43 collegiate pitchers selected as semifinalists for the National Pitcher of the Year Award. The semifinalists hail from 17 different conferences and one independent program. The CBF annually presents the Brooks Wallace Award (Nation's Most Outstanding Shortstop), the National Pitcher of the Year Award, the John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Award, the Skip Bertman Coach of the Year Award, the George H.W. Bush Distinguished Alumnus Award, and the Wayne Graham Award for Teaching Excellence.

"This group of pitchers has been clearly dominant, and in most cases have put their teams in position to have great seasons," National Pitcher of the Year Award chair Brian Melakian said. "As we near the final stretch of the season, it will be exciting to see which players step up to help lead their teams to postseason success and emerge as finalists for the National Pitcher of the Year."

Bayles has led the Broncos' pitching staff in 2026 with a bevy of outstanding numbers through 10 weeks. His 13.77 strikeouts per nine innings are 12th-best in the nation, and his 76 strikeouts are 23rd-most in NCAA Division I. He's also limiting opponents to only 5.98 hits per nine innings – 27th in the country. Bayles is 3-3 with a 2.90 ERA in 10 starts this year.
 
The San Diego native has recorded no fewer than five strikeouts in all 10 of his starts this year, and he's had six or more Ks in nine consecutive appearances since Feb. 20. That includes a season-high 10 strikeouts on two occasions – first on the road at then-No. 10-ranked Oklahoma on March 5, and again on March 27 versus LMU. Bayles has three quality starts in 2026 (minimum six innings pitched and three or fewer runs allowed), with nine, 10 and seven strikeouts, respectively, in those games.
 
The junior has twice been named West Coast Conference Pitcher of the Week this season. He won the season's first award on Feb. 16 after shutting out California for four innings in a 13-2 blowout win on Opening Day. He earned it again on March 9 after his 10-strikeout, four-shutout-innings performance on the road at SEC member Oklahoma.
 
Wednesday's national recognition isn't Bayles' first of the year, nor of his career. Leading up to the 2026 campaign, he was named the WCC Preseason Pitcher of the Year by D1Baseball.com, as well as the conference's top draft prospect. He was also named to the WCC Preseason Team by Perfect Game and by the conference itself, as voted on by the coaches. Bayles landed on the Midseason Golden Spikes Award Watch List in 2025 and was invited to the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team Training Camp in July.
 
Bayles and the Broncos begin a four-game home stand Wednesday, hosting Stanford in a non-conference midweek matchup before welcoming Portland for a three-game WCC series starting Friday. Fans can purchase tickets and find all live coverage links on SantaClaraBroncos.com.