ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Junior starter Brady Bendik winning 2026 Patriot League Pitcher of the Year headlined the Navy baseball team's seven All-Patriot League honorees, as the league office announced its major award winners and all-league selections on Wednesday.
 
Leading the team to its first 30-win season since 2019, the Midshipmen saw Bendik, fellow junior starting pitcher Matt Archibald, freshman infielder Tyler Cripe and outfielder Chris Klug selected to the All-Patriot League First Team while senior infielder Victor Izquierdo, junior infielder Evan Brown and freshman Patrick Walsh were all named to the All-Patriot League Second Team.
 
Becoming the first Navy hurler to take home the league's top pitcher award since Noah Song in 2019, Bendik's honor is also the 12th time the Navy program has had a Patriot League Pitcher of the Year awardee.
 
This marks the second-straight season Bendik and Brown had been all-league selections, both earning Second-Team honors last year, while Archibald, Cripe, Izquierdo, Klug and Walsh each received all-league status for the first time in their careers.
 
Entering the week first in the league and fourth nationally with a 1.72 ERA, Bendik was once again Navy's ace by going 6-3 in 12 starts while logging 89 strikeouts (23rd nationally) to just 24 walks across a league-high 78.1 innings. Holding opponents to a .223 batting average and tossing two complete games, Bendik has thrown six-straight quality starts and has worked six-or-more innings in each of his last nine outings. In league play, the junior ranks second with a 1.93 ERA while pacing the Patriot League with 56 innings and 66 strikeouts in his eight league starts.
 
Developing into a second ace for the Mids, Archibald ranks seventh in the nation with his league-leading 98 strikeouts and stands 29th nationally with a league-best seven victories. Twirling a 2.35 ERA over 11 starts that is second in the PL and 23rd in Division I, the junior has posted a 7-3 record while also limiting opponents to just 32 walks and a .171 batting average over 65 innings. Archibald was even better in league play, tallying a league-low 1.64 ERA and .139 batting average against in seven PL starts while notching 63 strikeouts in 44 frames.
 
A standout rookie since Opening Day while splitting time between second base and shortstop, Cripe leads the team with a .305 average and 38 RBI over his 43 starts while sharing the Navy lead with five home runs. Adding on seven doubles and two triples for a .474 slugging percentage, the freshman has also scored 29 runs and walked 20 times for a .393 on-base clip while stealing seven bases. Cripe currently sits fourth in the league with the 38 RBI and sixth average-wise at.305, while also ranking top-10 in hits, homers, runs scored, slugging and OPS. The rookie lit it up in Patriot League action especially, leading the league with a .341 batting average while ranking seventh at 20 RBI, a .505 slugging and a .927 OPS.
 
Breaking out as a sophomore in 38 starts, Klug finished the regular season second on the team and eighth in the league by batting .297 while also racking up 18 steals that sits fourth in the PL. Scoring 25 runs and driving in 16 more, the outfielder has collected six doubles, a triple and three homers while getting hit nine times, which ranks first on the team and eighth in the league. Klug hit his stride in league action, ranking sixth in the conference in both average (.326) and hits (28) and tallying the fourth-most steals (11) while also ranking top-10 in triples, homers, slugging percentage and OPS.
 
Brown has put together another banner campaign despite only making 28 starts due to injury, hitting .284 in addition to amassing 16 runs and 19 RBI. Racking up three doubles and four homers while swiping nine bags, the junior has also played a versatile role for the Mids' infield with time spent at third base and second base. League play saw Brown bat .282 in 19 starts while connecting on all four of his homers against PL competition (ranking fifth among league hitters), registering 14 runs scored, 15 RBI and five steals.
 
Leading the Mids as the team captain in his final year of college baseball, Izquierdo has batted .265 while ranking first on the team with 36 runs scored (sixth in PL), a league-leading four triples and five homers (eighth in PL). Also knocking in 32 RBI (eighth in PL) and tallying 10 doubles (seventh in PL), Izquierdo has 21 walks and seven hit-by-pitches as well. Starting all 47 of Navy's games at first base, Izquierdo has been a defensive stalwart with a .995 fielding percentage and a menace on the bases with 18 steals (fourth in PL). Batting .255 in league games, the senior notched 18 runs and 14 RBI while ranking seventh in the PL with seven doubles and third with 12 stolen bases.
 
Blossoming into the Mids' cleanup hitter, Walsh is ninth in league with a .296 season average, sixth in RBI (36), fifth in slugging (.520) and on-base percentage (.418) and third with a .938 OPS. Leading the team in all three categories, Walsh's 11 doubles are fourth in the PL while his four triples are tied for first and his five homers stand 10th. Also scoring 27 times, the rookie has a team-best 28 walks to go with 11 steals over his 44 starts. In Patriot League games, Walsh has a league-best .588 slugging a 1.051 OPS while ranking second at a .463 on-base clip and ninth at a .318 average. The rookie also had the fourth-most runs (19), second-most RBI (24), fourth-most doubles (8) and homer (5), second-most walks (20) and eighth-most steals during the league slate.
 
The Mids have now had multiple all-league selections in each of the last 20 seasons finished.
 
Navy returns to the field this weekend, May 9-11, when it heads to Bucknell for a best-of-three Patriot League Semifinal Series. First pitch is set for 1:05 p.m. each day.

2026 Patriot League Baseball Major Awards
Player of the Year – CJ Egrie, Holy Cross, Sr., OF
Pitcher of the Year – Brady Bendik, Navy, Jr., RHP
Rookie of the Year – Josiah Overbeek, Army West Point, Fr., 1B/RHP
Defensive Player of the Year – Thomas Schreck, Army West Point, Sr., SS
Gene Depew Coaching Staff of the Year – Bucknell (Head Coach – Scott Heather)

2026 First Team All-Patriot League
SP: Jaden Wywoda, Holy Cross, Sr.
SP: Matt Archibald, Navy, Jr.
SP: Brady Bendik, Navy, Jr.
RP: Hadley Maxwell, Bucknell, Sr.
C: Brandon Doubek, Lafayette, Jr.
IF: Chris Barr, Army West Point, Sr.
IF: Thomas Schreck, Army West Point, Sr.
IF: Aidan Quinn, Lehigh, Sr.
IF: Tyler Cripe, Navy, Fr.
OF: Michael Trommer, Bucknell, Sr.
OF: CJ Egrie, Holy Cross, Sr.
OF: Chris Klug, Navy, So.
At-Large: Josiah Overbeek, Army West Point, Fr.

2026 Second Team All-Patriot League*
SP: Andrew Berg, Army West Point, Sr.
SP: Brady Hoar, Bucknell, Fr.
SP: Sam Fairhurst, Lehigh, Jr.
RP: Jake Lenahan, Holy Cross, So.
RP: Owen Basso, Lafayette, Jr.
C: Owen Walewander, Lehigh, Sr.
IF: Lleyton Coupe, Bucknell, So.
IF: Alex Sandell, Holy Cross, Jr.
IF: Evan Brown, Navy, Jr.
IF: Victor Izquierdo, Navy, Sr.
OF: William Parker, Army West Point, Sr.
OF: Billy Fluharty, Bucknell, Jr.
OF: Gianni Royer, Holy Cross, Jr.
At-Large: Patrick Walsh, Navy, Fr.

Additional student-athlete selected to the Second Team due to a tie in the voting