Kopps Named National Pitcher of the Year

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Another day, another batch of honors for Kevin Kopps.

The Arkansas star took home the 2021 National Pitcher of the Year Award from the College Baseball Foundation and was also named a first-team All-American by Baseball America on Thursday.

Kopps, college baseball’s most dominant pitcher in 2021, finished the campaign with a 12-1 record and 11 saves. He posted the nation’s lowest ERA (0.90) and WHIP (0.76), striking out 131 in 89 2/3 innings of work. Opposing hitters had a .162 average against the right-hander, who set the program’s single-season record for ERA during his historic year.

The SEC Pitcher of the Year and Collegiate Baseball National Player of the Year, Kopps is a finalist for the Dick Howser Trophy and a semifinalist for the Golden Spikes Award — two of college baseball’s most prestigious individual awards. He was named the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association District 7 Player of the Year and is also a finalist for the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Award, which is handed out to the nation’s best relief pitcher.

Kopps is the first reliever to win the College Baseball Foundation’s National Pitcher of the Year Award, which was established in 2009. No other Razorback has ever won the honor.

The first-team All-America status, meanwhile, is Kopps’ third of the postseason. He also earned first-team honors from Collegiate Baseball Newspaper and the NCBWA.

For complete coverage of Arkansas baseball, follow us on Twitter (@RazorbackBSB), Instagram (@RazorbackBSB) and like us on Facebook (Arkansas Razorback Baseball).