SAN BRUNO, Calif. — Santa Clara University baseball righty Max Bayles was named Rawlings West Coast Conference Pitcher of the Week for the third time this season, the conference announced Monday.
 
Bayles, who also earned the honor on Feb. 16 and March 9, set a new season high and matched his career high Thursday with 12 strikeouts versus Pepperdine, helping lead the Broncos to their first shutout of the season in a 10–0 mercy-rule victory in the series opener.
 
Bayles' 12 strikeouts pushed him past the 100-strikeout mark for the second straight season, giving him 102 on the year. The performance also moved him into sixth all-time on Santa Clara's career strikeouts list with 257, passing David Tuttle (1989-92) and Cole Kitchen (2020-24) in the same night.
 
He was dominant from the start, recording the first five outs of the game by strikeout. Bayles struck out three batters in the first, fourth and fifth innings, two in the second and one in the sixth. Only one Pepperdine baserunner advanced past second base against him.
 
Bayles and the Broncos begin play in the 2026 WCC Tournament at 2 p.m. Wednesday versus No. 3 seed San Francisco in Scottsdale, Ariz.