OMAHA, Neb.—Calling Tony Pluta the best closer in college baseball is not longer just an opinion. It’s become fact.
The Arizona junior right-hander has been named NCBWA Stopper of the Year, receiving the award in a ceremony at Charles Schwab Field Omaha on Friday ahead of the Wildcats’ College World Series opener against Coastal Carolina.
Professor Shutdown, Single-Season Saves King…
There is no debate, Tony Pluta is the best reliever in the nation pic.twitter.com/fVnSFcuGeN
— Arizona Baseball (@ArizonaBaseball) June 13, 2025
Pluta enters the CWS with a 3-0 record and a school-record 14 saves, his ERA at 1.26 in 35.2 innings over 28 appearances. He hasn’t allowed a run since April 1, carrying a 14-appearance, 21.1-inning scoreless streak to Omaha, and has 35 strikeouts against seven walks and a .183 opposing batting average.
Last weekend exemplified Pluta’s resolve at the back end of Arizona’s bullpen. He threw the final 2.1 innings of a 10-8 win at North Carolina on Saturday to force a third Super Regional game and then came back to toss a 1-2-3 9th in the series-clinching victory on Sunday.
Pluta is a big reason Arizona is 38-0 in games when it takes a lead into the 9th inning.
The Stopper of the Year award adds to the postseason accolades for Pluta, who earned NCBWA All-American honors earlier this week.