OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – VCU right-handed pitcher Patrick Steitz was named a semifinalist for the 2026 National Pitcher of the Year Award by the College Baseball Foundation, the organization announced Wednesday.
 
The watch list features the nation's best hurlers, representing 17 different conferences and one independent program and reflecting the top mound performers to this point of the 2026 season, per the College Baseball Foundation. The National Pitcher of the Year Award was first awarded in 2009.
 
Stietz, who has started every Saturday for the Rams this season, has anchored VCU's weekend rotation with his 2.31 ERA, a top-35 mark in the nation. He leads qualified pitchers in the Atlantic 10 and is the lone A-10 pitcher to receive the semifinal nod.
 
The Peoria, Arizona, native has been outstanding in his first season in the Black & Gold, securing a victory on the mound in five of his 10 appearances, while maintaining his sub-1.00 WHIP. Also an Atlantic 10-best mark, his 0.95 WHIP is among the top 19 in the nation.
 
In more than half of his starts, Steitz has allowed one or fewer runs, including a scoreless start against La Salle featuring seven innings of one-hit ball that earned an A-10 Pitcher of the Week bid on March 17. Steitz's most recent scoreless start included setting Division I career bests with both eight strikeouts and eight innings pitched in VCU's series-clinching win at Fordham.
 
The righty has been outstanding for the Rams on the bump, posting numbers that have consistently garnered the company of the most elite collegiate arms this season. His ERA has not risen above 2.86 and he's among the nation's top-21 in walks allowed per nine innings, WHIP, and strikeout-to-walk ratio, on top of games started.
 
Steitz's 56 strikeouts across his 62.1 innings of work are two shy of the most by a hurler in the Coach Thompson era, while his 2.31 ERA is currently poised to fall among the program's single-season top 10.
 
For the complete semifinalist list, or more information on College Baseball Foundation, visit their website at https://www.cbhalloffame.org/
 
Steitz and the Rams return to action at 1 p.m. on Friday, April 24, as they continue Atlantic 10 play on the road with a three-game set at Richmond's Pitt Field.