ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Navy baseball junior pitchers
Matt Archibald and
Brady Bendik continued to rack up postseason honors by earning ABCA All-East Region distinction this week, as the 2026 ABCA/Rawlings NCAA Division I All-Region Teams were announced Tuesday across all eight regions.
Picking up the Midshipmen's first all-region accolades since 2019, Archibald was named to the East's All-Region First Team while Bendik was honored on the East Region's Second Team.
A First-Team All-Patriot League selection, Archibald paced the league in four different categories while sitting among the nation's best for strikeouts per nine innings. Tallying 65 innings over 11 starts, the righty finished with a league-best 2.35 ERA, .171 opposing batting average and 98 strikeouts while spinning a 7-3 record. Additionally, his 13.57 strikeouts per nine innings ranks ninth in the country and the 2.35 ERA sits 12th nationally.
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. The 13.57 strikeouts per nine innings stands second in program history while the 98 total strikeouts land ninth in the Navy program record books.
The 2026 Patriot League Pitcher of the Year and another all-league first team honoree, Bendik was the league leader in earned-run average and innings pitched at the end of the regular season and closed the spring with a 6-4 record over his 13 starts. Sitting second in the league and 14th nationally with his 2.42 ERA over a team-best 81.2 innings, the right-hander posted the second-most strikeouts (91) in the Patriot League while tallying a league-best 3.37 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
Holding opponents to a .237 batting average and tossing two complete games, Bendik threw six-straight quality starts from March 27 to May 2 and worked six-or-more innings in nine of his last 10 outings. In league play, the junior ranked second with a 1.93 ERA while pacing the Patriot League with 56 innings and 66 strikeouts in his eight league starts.
Receiving their first career regional awards from the ABCA, Archibald and Bendik are the first Navy players to earn all-region nods since Noah Song (First Team Pitcher) and Christian Hodge (Second Team Catcher) in 2019 when the ABCA also named Song a First Team All-American.
First Team All-Region selections are eligible for ABCA/Rawlings All-America honors. The 2026 ABCA/Rawlings NCAA Division I All-America teams will be announced on Friday, June 12, prior to the start of the NCAA Division I College World Series in Omaha, Neb.
The ABCA All-America Team was first recognized in 1949. The ABCA teams are voted on by members of the American Baseball Coaches Association and the process is overseen by the ABCA NCAA Div. I All-America & Coach of the Year Committee.
