Nick Lewis, a left‑handed pitcher from Washington State, has been crowned the 2026 ABCA Rawlings Gold Glove winner, the premier defensive honor in collegiate baseball. He edged out finalists Ruger Riojas from Texas and Eric Segura from Oregon State for the accolade.
A milestone season for the Cougars
The Gold Glove, presented annually by the American Baseball Coaches Association since 2007, recognizes the best defensive players across every division. Lewis’s selection marks the first Gold Glove recipient from Washington State since Paul Gran captured the award in 2008.
Alongside the Gold Glove, Lewis was also named the 2026 Mountain West Conference Pitcher of the Year, the first such honor for a Washington State pitcher in school history.
He capped a breakout season with a 10‑2 record and a 2.97 ERA over 100 innings, the first ten‑game winner for the program since 2000, while posting a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage in 25 chances.
Defensively, he logged 22 assists, three putouts and a team‑high six pickoffs, and delivered a standout performance with 11 strikeouts in a career‑high outing against Air Force in the conference tournament.
Lewis also threw a complete‑game six‑hitter to defeat seventh‑ranked Oregon State in the opening round of the Eugene Regional, helping the Cougars finish the year 31‑28, their most wins since the 2010 season.
The team captured the Mountain West Conference Tournament championship, the first conference title for the program since 1976, and earned a berth in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2010.
Lewis’s achievements underscore a resurgence for Washington State baseball, a program that last saw such success over a decade ago.