UCLA and Michigan Honored with Baseball Weekly Awards

ROSEMONT, Ill. – The Big Ten Conference has announced its baseball weekly awards for games played March 31-April 5, 2026.

Player of the Week
Payton Brennan, UCLA
R-Jr. – OF – Rocklin, Calif. – Rocklin HS

• Powered No. 1-ranked UCLA to a weekend sweep of No. 7 USC, extending the Bruins’ winning streak to a school-record 23 games
• Slashed .556/.619/.778 with five runs scored, a home run, and seven RBI
• Produced three hits in three consecutive games against the Trojans
• Made two stellar defensive plays in right field, robbing a home run with a leaping catch against the wall on Saturday followed by a full-extension diving catch on Sunday
• Is the third Bruin to capture Big Ten Player of the Week honors this season

Pitcher of the Week
Shane Brinham, Michigan
Fr. – S-LHP – North Vancouver, B.C. – Handsworth Secondary School

• Tossed a complete-game shutout against No. 10 Oregon on Thursday
• Struck out a career-high seven batters and didn’t issue a walk over seven innings; surrendered three hits
• Retired 16-straight batters from the first to the sixth inning
• Did not allow an Oregon baserunner to advance beyond first base
• Last Wolverine named Pitcher of the Week: Tate Carey (April 14, 2025)

Freshman of the Week
Zach Strickland, UCLA
Fr. – R-RHP – Arcadia, Calif. – Maranatha HS

• Made three scoreless appearances in relief, helping the Bruins to a 4-0 record
• Tossed 5.1 shutout innings, giving up one hit against 19 batters faced
• Struck out seven batters and held opponents to a 0.59 batting average
• Recorded a win and a save in leading UCLA to its fifth-straight conference series sweep, a first for the program
• Becomes UCLA’s first-ever recipient of the Big Ten Freshman of the Week Award

Team rankings are the highest position listed among the five polls: Baseball America, D1Baseball, NCBWA, Perfect Game, USA Today

2026 Big Ten Baseball Weekly Awards
Feb. 16
PL: Jackson Freeman, Jr., OF, NU
P: Grant Govel, So., S-RHP, USC
F: Angel Laya, Fr., OF, ORE

Feb. 23
PL: Will Gasparino, Jr., OF, UCLA
P: Wylan Moss, So., R-RHP, UCLA
F: AJ Putty, Fr., 1B, ILL

March 2
PL: Weber Neels, Sr., C, MINN
P: Mason Edwards, Jr., S-LHP, USC
F: Brayden Ricketts, R-Fr., DH, IND

March 9
PL: Colton Bower, Jr., C, WASH
P: Mason Edwards, Jr., S-LHP, USC
F: Ryan Costello, R-Fr., 1B/OF, MD
F: Angel Laya, Fr., OF, ORE

March 16
PL: Roch Cholowsky, Jr., SS, UCLA
P: Grant Govel, So., S-RHP, USC
F: Daniel Porras, Fr., OF/1B, WASH

March 23
PL: Dominic Hellman, Sr., DH, ORE
PL: Alex Bemis, Jr., OF, OSU
P: Mason Edwards, Jr., S-LHP, USC
F: Gavin Lauridsen, Fr., R-RHP, USC

March 30
PL: Brandon Rogers, Sr., OF, PUR
P: Miles Gosztola, Jr., S-LHP, ORE
F: CJ Deckinga, Fr., 3B, MSU

April 6
PL: Payton Brennan, R-Jr., OF, UCLA
P: Shane Brinham, Fr., S-LHP, MICH
F: Zach Strickland, Fr., R-RHP, UCLA