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Sun Devil Baseball no stranger to National Player of the Year award

15 Sun Devils have been honored as the National Player of the Year in college baseball, including Landon Hairston, the newest addition to the exclusive club.

Landon Hairston Named Baseball America National Player of the Year Golden Spikes Fan Vote Vote for Landon!!! Purchase Sun Devil Baseball season tickets!
Sun Devil Baseball no stranger to National Player of the Year awardSun Devil Baseball no stranger to National Player of the Year award
Erin Powers

by Randy Policar, Assistant Director of Sun Devil Tradition and Growth

PHOENIX — With the 2026 college baseball season reaching its conclusion, media outlets that cover college baseball have begun handing out postseason awards, including National Player of the Year.

There have been 15 Sun Devils honored as the National Player of the Year in college baseball, including Landon Hairston, the newest addition to the exclusive club.

Hairston’s record-setting 2026 season made him Baseball America’s choice for the top player in the country this season, thanks to his ASU single-season record 28 home runs and .400 batting average. Hairston is also a finalist for the Golden Spikes Award, which will be given out on June 29. He is the 10th Sun Devil all-time to be a Golden Spikes Award finalist.

 

Rick Monday was the first Sun Devil to win National Player of the Year honors, earning the award from The Sporting News in 1965 while leading Arizona State to the school’s first National Championship. A Sun Devil would take home the award three more times over the next four years, establishing Arizona State as a producer of elite baseball talent.

 

 

Before he became Mr. October, Reggie Jackson took home the The Sporting News National Player of the Year award for 1966, his only season with the Sun Devils.

Gary Gentry became the first Sun Devil hurler to win the award, taking home the prize from The Sporting News in 1967 after leading ASU to its second National Title.

Paul Ray Powell was The Sporting News’ winner in 1969 when Arizona State took home its third NCAA Championship.

Eddie Bane capped his incredible 1973 season with the National Player of the Year award from The Sporting News thanks to his 15-1 record and 192 strikeouts.

Jerry Maddox became the first Sun Devil to hit 20 homers in a single season in 1975, earning him National Player of the Year honors as the Lefty Gomez Plate award winner.


The following year, Floyd Bannister set a school record with 19 wins as the southpaw became the seventh Sun Devil to win National Player of the Year, earning the honors from The Sporting News and the Lefty Gomez Plate winner.

In 1978, USA Baseball created the Golden Spikes Award, given annually to the nation’s top amateur baseball player. The Heisman Trophy of college baseball, the inaugural winner was, of course, a Sun Devil. Bob Horner took home the first trophy following the 1978 season, in which he hit a then-school record 25 homers and led ASU to Omaha. Horner would be drafted No. 1 overall by the Atlanta Braves that year and go on to win the 1978 National League Rookie of the Year award, making him the only person to ever win the Golden Spikes and Rookie of the Year in the same year. Horner was also honored by The Sporting News that season.

The 1981 National Champion Sun Devils were led that season by Mike Sodders, who hit .424 with 22 home runs and 100 RBI. He was honored by Baseball America as its National Player of the Year.

Oddibe McDowell’s legendary Sun Devil career culminated with him becoming the second Sun Devil to win the Golden Spikes Award, as he took home the trophy following the 1984 season. “O”, as he was known, hit .405 with 23 homers and 74 RBI that year, while also swiping 36 bases for the College World Series-bound Sun Devils. McDowell also took home the honors from The Sporting News and was the first winner of Collegiate Baseball’s Player of the Year award.

Mike Kelly is the only Sun Devil to win National Player of the Year in back-to-back seasons, taking home the honors from Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball and The Sporting News in 1990 and the Golden Spikes Award in 1991. Kelly became the third Sun Devil to win the award, which is tied for the second-most in the nation.

Paul Lo Duca’s one season in Tempe was a memorable one, as he hit an astounding .446, still the school record, earning him The Sporting News National Player of the Year honor.

Mike Leake’s 2009 season was one of the most dominant in school history, as he finished the year 16-1, leading the nation in wins. His 1.71 ERA and 162 strikeouts made him the choice of the American Baseball Coaches Association for Player of the Year.

Hairston joins Mike Kelly as the only Sun Devils to win a National Player of the Year award and return to Arizona State the following season. The 13 others all won the award in their final year of competition.