ANNAPOLIS, Md. – A pair of Navy baseball pitchers picked up national recognition on Wednesday afternoon, as senior Tyler Grenn and junior Brady Bendik were named to the College Baseball Foundation's 2026 National Pitcher of the Year Watch List.
 
A total of 142 of the nation's best hurlers representing 26 different conferences were listed on the Pitcher of the Year watch list, reflecting the top mound performers to this point of the 2026 season. Staples in the Navy rotation since 2024, Bendik and Grenn are the lone Patriot League pitchers to appear on the watch list.
 
Bendik has posted a 1.21 ERA through four starts this season, holding a 2-1 record while striking out 23 batters and allowing just eight walks in 22.1 innings of work. The 1.21 ERA sits 51st in the nation and second in the Patriot League entering Wednesday. In a career that saw him earn All-Patriot League Second Team honors last year and a Patriot League All-Tournament Team nod two seasons ago, the righty has a 3.68 lifetime ERA in 32 outings (28 starts), compiling 138 strikeouts over 163.2 innings while limiting the opposition to a .237 average.
 
Grenn currently holds a 3.38 ERA on the season through six appearances, making two starts after working back from injury, and has tallied 13 strikeouts to just three walks in his 16 innings of action. The righty also has a 1.69 WHIP this year that paces the Patriot League and ranks 90th in the country. An All-Patriot League First Team selection in 2024, Grenn has a 5.06 ERA and 10-8 record in 43 career outings, making 28 starts over the last three seasons, while posting 89 strikeouts to just 62 walks in 174.1 career innings.
 
Bendik and Grenn mark the first Mids to be named to the National Pitcher of the Year's watch list since Noah Song in 2019, and become the first Navy teammates to be on the watch list together since Luke Gillingham and Jett Meenach in 2015.
 
This year's award will be presented later this season by the College Baseball Foundation. For more information on the Pitcher of the Year Award, visit the College Baseball Foundation website at www.collegebaseballhall.org.
 
Navy begins its Patriot League slate on Friday, opening up a three-game series at Lehigh.