Baseball

Rohan Lettow, Aidan Russell Named to CBF National Pitcher of the Year Watch List

San Diego State’s Rohan Lettow and Aidan Russell have been named to the College Baseball Foundation National Pitcher of the Year Award Watch List, the organization announced on Wednesday.

Rohan Lettow, Aidan Russell Named to CBF National Pitcher of the Year Watch ListRohan Lettow, Aidan Russell Named to CBF National Pitcher of the Year Watch List

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – San Diego State’s Rohan Lettow and Aidan Russell have been named to the College Baseball Foundation National Pitcher of the Year Award Watch List, the organization announced on Wednesday.

With their selections, Lettow and Russell are included among the nation’s top 141 hurlers on the watch list, which represents 26 Division I conferences.

The Aztec teammates have been key contributors to the team’s success this season, as the Scarlet and Black leads the Mountain West in strikeouts per nine innings (11.2), strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.95) and walks allowed per nine innings (3.81), which rank 21st, 35th and 69th in the nation, respectively. In addition, SDSU pitchers own a league-best WHIP of 1.39, which is slotted 71st in the country as of March 10.

A transfer from Arizona State, Lettow has made four starts this season, posting 2-0 record with a 2.53 ERA and a conference-best 31strikeouts. Entering the weekend, the Aztec right-hander is tied for 31st nationally in strikeouts, while his MW-leading 13.08 strikeouts per nine innings is slotted 53rd in the country.

Lettow was named Mountain West Pitcher of the Week after posting his first collegiate victory in SDSU’s 3-0 whitewash of Brigham Young at the Tony Gwynn Legacyon Feb. 20. Against the Cougars, the SDSU junior struck out a career-high 10 batters for the second straight start, allowing just two hits and two walks in 6.2 innings of a combined shutout.

A 6-0 senior, Russell (2-0) leads the MW with a 0.63 ERA and ranks second with two saves while sharing the third position with two victories alongside Lettow and fellow SDU hurler Drew Talavs. He is also tied for ninth with 20 strikeouts, walking just two batters in 14.1 innings.

On March 9, Russell collected his second straight Mountain West Pitcher of the Week honor, thanks in part to another dominating relief appearance in the Aztecs’ 3-2 victory over Saint Mary’s (March 6) when he tied his career-high with six strikeouts and allowed just one hit in the final 4.1 innings to earn his second win of the season.

Previously, Russell garnered the same accolade after recording his second save of the year in a superb effort at No. 1 UCLA (Feb. 24) when he retired all 11 batters he faced to preserve a huge 4-3 triumph, which marked SDSU’s first win against a top-five team since 2008.

Aztec legend and College Baseball Hall of Famer Stephen Strasburg received the first CBF National Pitcher of the Year Award in 2009. Other  winners of the honor include Alex Wimmers, RHP, Ohio State, 2010; Trevor Bauer, UCLA, RHP, 2011; Mark Appel, RHP, Stanford, 2012; Jonathan Gray, RHP, Oklahoma, 2013; Aaron Nola, RHP, LSU, 2014; Carson Fulmer, RHP, Vanderbilt, 2015; Eric Lauer, LHP, Kent State, 2016; Steven Gingery, LHP, Texas Tech, 2017; Luke Heimlich, LHP, Oregon State, 2018; Ethan Small, LHP, Mississippi State, 2019; Kevin Kopps, RHP, Arkansas, 2021; Cooper Hjerpe, LHP, Oregon State, 2022; Paul Skenes, RHP, LSU, 2023; Hagen Smith, LHP, Arkansas, 2024 and Jake Knapp, RHP, North Carolina, 2025.

San Diego State returns to the diamond this weekend when it opens its Mountain West schedule against Washington State, March 13-15, at Tony Gwynn Stadium.