Burn the Ships D1 Preseason Player of the Year and Pitcher of the Year Watchlists
With Opening Day on Friday, it's time to put together a handful of names to go on preseason award watch. The 2026 college baseball season has no shortage of individual talent — between returning All-Americans, elite transfer additions, and sophomores ready to take the leap, sets up to be extremely compelling.
Below are my preseason watchlist picks for Pitcher of the Year and Player of the Year. These aren't necessarily the consensus favorites — they're the guys I believe have the profile, the production, and the trajectory to define the 2026 season.
Pitcher of the Year Watchlist
Trey Beard, LHP, Florida State
Beard was one of the most coveted arms in the transfer portal this cycle, and his production at FAU explains why. The 6-foot-2 lefty comes to Florida State via FAU, where he was a First-Team All-AAC selection after posting a 3.14 ERA with 118 strikeouts in 86 innings as a sophomore. Opponents hit just .199 against him. His changeup is a legitimate weapon that generated a 47.5% in-zone whiff rate — and his fastball sits low-90s with unexpected life. Beard was on the Golden Spikes Award midseason watchlist and pitched for USA Baseball's Collegiate National Team this summer. He steps into the Florida State rotation vacated by Jamie Arnold and Joey Volini, giving him big shoes to fill.
Cam Flukey, RHP, Coastal Carolina
The preseason Pitcher of the Year according to both Baseball America and Perfect Game, and the only pitcher to earn unanimous First Team All-America honors entering 2026. The 6-foot-6 right-hander went 7-2 with a 3.19 ERA and 118 strikeouts in 101.2 innings last season, anchoring a Coastal Carolina staff that powered a 56-win campaign and a CWS Finals appearance. His fastball sits 95 and touches 98 with elite vert, his curveball generated a 49% miss rate in 2025, and his slider flashes two-plane tilt. He threw 22 postseason innings with 25 strikeouts and a 3.27 ERA.. MLB Pipeline has him ranked as the No. 9 prospect in the 2026 draft class, but there's a real case he's the first pitcher off the board in July. The only question is whether the Sun Belt schedule limits his visibility against top-tier lineups — but anyone who watched him in Omaha knows the stuff translates on the biggest stage.
Jason DeCaro, RHP, North Carolina
DeCaro is one of the youngest players in the 2026 draft class — yet he's already been UNC's Friday starter for two full seasons. Across 34 career starts and 173 innings, he's posted a 3.80 ERA with 148 strikeouts. He went 9-3 with a 3.78 ERA in 16 starts as a sophomore, earning Second-Team All-ACC honors. At 6-foot-5, 230 pounds, he's got a sturdy frame and an easy, under-control delivery. His fastball averages 92-93 and has been up to 97 with running life. But what separates DeCaro is a trio of secondaries: a high-spin slider in the low 80s that flashes late break, a curveball that exceeds 3,000 RPM, and a plus changeup. He was named to the Golden Spikes Preseason Watch List for the second consecutive year and represented Team USA in the Japan Collegiate All-Star Series this summer. With Jake Knapp gone, DeCaro is the assumed ace — and this could be the year he puts together a first round performance.
Dylan Volantis, LHP, Texas
Volantis might be the most fascinating pitcher in college baseball entering 2026, as nobody has seen him start a full season yet. As a freshman, the 6-foot-6, 220-pound left-hander was the best reliever in the country — a 1.94 ERA, 74 strikeouts, and just 12 walks in 51 innings with 12 saves, setting the SEC freshman record for saves in conference play. He was named the Baseball America National Freshman of the Year, NCBWA Freshman Pitcher of the Year, and SEC Pitcher of the Year. His stuff is elite: a fastball unexpected with life, elite breaking stuff, and 13Ks/9, while walking almost nobody. Now he transitions into the weekend rotation alongside Luke Harrison and Ruger Riojas, giving Texas arguably one of the deepest starting pitching groups in the country. The reliever-to-starter conversion is always uncertain — but when the stuff is this good and the command is this advanced, the ceiling is a potential top-of-the-draft arm. If it clicks, Volantis could be the best pitcher in the sport by late-March.
Player of the Year Watchlist
Daniel Cuvet, 3B, Miami
Cuvet is the most productive returning bat in the ACC, and it's not just a one-year sample. Across two seasons at Miami, he's hitting .361 with 42 home runs, 159 RBI, 35 doubles, and a 1.161 OPS in 118 games. His sophomore year he hit 372 with 18 homers, 84 RBI, a .708 slugging percentage, and a .450 on-base clip.. He sits 20 home runs from tying Miami's all-time career home run record, held by Phil Lane. A two-time Golden Spikes Award watch list selection and a consensus preseason First-Team All-American, Cuvet is the type of hitter who changes the math for an entire lineup. D1Baseball ranks him as the No. 1 third baseman in college baseball, and I expect him to prove why this season.
Myles Bailey, 1B, Florida State
Few freshmen in recent memory announced themselves the way Bailey did in 2025. The Tallahassee native hit .327 with a 1.104 OPS, 19 home runs, and 56 RBI as a true freshman, earning Freshman All-American honors from Baseball America, D1Baseball, and Perfect Game. But the raw numbers don't capture what makes Bailey special — his raw power is absurd. He posted an average exit velocity of 96.9 mph and a 90th percentile exit velocity of 112.1 mph, with multiple batted balls over 115 mph. He went nuclear down the stretch, hitting .472 with eight home runs in FSU's final 10 games, including a monstrous 469-foot bomb at the ACC Tournament. The swing comes with swing-and-miss risk — he struck out at a 31% clip as a freshman — but the contact improved as the season progressed, and the power is generational for the college level. Bailey is the No. 95 prospect on MLB Pipeline's Top 100 and the headliner of an FSU lineup that should take another step forward in 2026.
Drew Burress, OF, Georgia Tech
Burress has slashed .357/.490/.756 with 44 home runs, 38 doubles, and more walks than strikeouts across his first two seasons in Atlanta. His career .756 slugging percentage is the best in program history, surpassing Teixeira's .712. As a sophomore, he was the only Power Four player with at least 60 RBI, 20 doubles, 50 walks, 15 home runs, and 70 runs scored. He earned First-Team All-America honors from five different publications and was named to the Dick Howser Trophy and Golden Spikes Award watch lists. He's 5-foot-9 and 180 pounds, and he's been one of the most feared hitters in the country since he stepped foot on campus. MLB Pipeline mocked him at No. 7 overall. Under new head coach James Ramsey, Burress has the supporting cast around him for a monster junior year, and Georgia Tech has the talent to host a regional for the first time in recent years. If the Yellow Jackets make the run Burress believes they can, the individual hardware can be expected to follow.
Trent Caraway, 3B, LSU
Caraway's raw numbers at Oregon State — .268 with 12 home runs as a sophomore — don't jump off the page the way some of these other names do. But context matters. He was the 2025 NCAA Corvallis Regional Most Outstanding Player after hitting six home runs in the NCAA Tournament, the most in Oregon State history, and helped power the Beavers to the College World Series. Now he's at LSU, batting in the middle of a lineup that features Derek Curiel, Steven Milam, and Cade Arrambide. Jay Johnson recruited Caraway out of high school when he was at Arizona and has wanted him in his lineup for years. The physical tools are obvious — and he's completely rebuilt his swing this offseason, overhauling his setup and timing. The defensive concerns at third base are real (12 errors, .899 fielding percentage in 2025), but if the offensive leap happens in this lineup, Caraway could be one of the most impactful bats in the SEC. Playing for the defending national champions with a chip on your shoulder and a revamped swing is a compelling combination. Don't be surprised if this name is in the award conversation by May.
