Cal Poly Baseball pitcher Griffin Naess was named to Baseball America’s Week 2 National Team of the Week, following his stellar one-hit performance in Friday’s home opener against Washington State University.
Baseball America’s weekly college team, according to their website, is determined by recognizing some of the top performances from college baseball players around the nation, using a mixture of statistics as well as underlying data to assist in determining the team. The team consists of one player from each position, one two-way player and four pitchers.
Naess set a career-high of 14 strikeouts on Friday, allowing only one hit and no walks through seven innings as the Mustangs shut out the Cougars 9-0. With a previous career high of 7 strikeouts, Naess effectively doubled his career high in his second start of the 2026 campaign.
In a postgame interview with Mustang News, Naess explained how his performance worked well, “Just getting ahead and then just being patient for the strikeout… and it just worked out in my favor.”
His 18 total strikeouts through 14 innings puts him second in the Big West, sitting right behind UC Irvine’s Trevor Hansen with 20. He also boasts a 1.50 ERA through his two starts, holding a 1-1 record.
After the game, Head Coach Larry Lee complemented Naess’s pitching, highlighting his efficient pitch mix and a 71% strike rate.
Originally from Laguna Beach, the junior right-hander has been a part of the Cal Poly Baseball program since his freshman year, earning yearly conference honors in his last two seasons. On top of being awarded for Baseball America’s weekly team, he was also named Big West Pitcher of the Week for the second time in his career.
“It’s really special here, especially Friday nights,” Naess said on Friday. “I’ve had multiple new guys that just transferred in here, and they’re just like, this is the most fun I’ve ever had playing baseball.”
The start of his third season is showing once again more off-season improvements that have allowed him to steadily grow and take his performance to the next level.
The Cal Poly ace will look to continue his momentum as he takes the mound Friday, Feb. 27 at 6:05 p.m. for game two of a four-game slate at Baggett Stadium against the University of Southern California.
Last year, the Trojans fell in the Corvallis Regional Final to No. 8 Oregon State. This year, they’re off to a hot start, boasting a 7-0 record and a team batting average of .246 with 16 doubles and six home runs, meaning Naess will most certainly have his work cut out for him Friday night.