10 Breakout Pitchers Of The 2022 College Baseball Season

It’s been said that college baseball is light on proven pitchers this season, and while that’s unequivocally true, it does mean that the door is open for new standout arms to emerge. 

These are 10 pitchers who stepped into the void, made big leaps from previous seasons and became big names on the scene in college baseball with breakout 2022 campaigns so far. 

Note that freshmen are not included on this list, so although the likes of Tennessee’s Chase Burns and Drew Beam and UCLA’s Thatcher Hurd have been outstanding, they are ineligible for this list, which focuses on players who returned to college this season. 

Jake Bennett, LHP, Oklahoma

After putting up a 6.34 ERA in 55.1 innings for the Sooners last year, Bennett has a 2.09 ERA, a 46-to-8 strikeout-to-walk ratio and a .205 opponent batting average in 43 innings this season. Crucially, he has also avoided the long ball. In 2021, he surrendered seven of them. This season? Just one. He gives Oklahoma a chance to win every single Friday night. 

Jake Brooks, RHP, UCLA

Brooks had a minor role on last season’s UCLA pitching staff. In 16 appearances, including three starts, he had a 5.31 ERA in 20.1 innings. This season, he moved to the front of the Bruins’ rotation and has thrived. In seven starts, four of which he has gone at least seven innings, he has a 2.12 ERA, 42 strikeouts compared to six walks and a .177 opponent batting average. 

Jonathan Cannon, RHP, Georgia

Expectations have long been high for Cannon at Georgia, but the canceled 2020 season and an early-season bout with mononucleosis in 2021 have contributed to the righthander not quite putting it all together. He’s developed into a workhorse for the Bulldogs this season, however, as he has a 1.71 ERA, a matching .171 opponent batting average, 46 strikeouts and just three walks in 47.1 innings. 

Chase Dollander, RHP, Tennessee

Dollander’s numbers, including a 4.04 ERA in 49 innings, were solid, if perhaps unspectacular, last season at Georgia Southern. This season at Tennessee, however, he’s channeled his electric stuff to become one of the best starters in the country and a major catalyst in the Volunteers reaching No. 1. In 38.1 innings, he has a 2.58 ERA, a 60-to-8 strikeout-to-walk ratio and a .159 opponent batting average. 

Tanner Hall/Hurston Waldrep, RHP, Southern Mississippi

Both Hall and Waldrep have taken big steps forward for Southern Miss, so it wouldn’t be fair to include one without the other. Last season, both were relievers for the Golden Eagles, but as it stands now, Hall handles Friday starting duties, while Waldrep goes on Sundays. The former has a 2.32 ERA and a 59-to-4 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 42.2 innings, while the latter has a 2.00 ERA and a 56-to-11 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 36 innings. 

Cooper Hjerpe, LHP, Oregon State

Hjerpe had a 4.21 ERA in 77 innings last season, but this season, his excellence has helped Oregon State withstand some injuries to other key pieces on the pitching staff. In 41.2 innings, the lefthander has a 1.94 ERA, 68 strikeouts compared to 10 walks and a .180 opponent batting average. Last weekend against Stanford, Hjerpe struck out 17 batters, which tied the Oregon State single-game program record. 

Quinn Mathews, LHP, Stanford

On a relatively thin Stanford staff last season, Mathews carried a fairly heavy load despite ending the season with a 6.08 ERA. He’s again carrying a heavy load this season, but he’s ready for it, as shown by a 2.70 ERA, 61-to-18 strikeout-to-walk ratio and .201 opponent batting average in 43.1 innings. You can also see his importance to the team in the way he’s used. After starting all season, last weekend against Oregon State, he closed out Friday’s win and then came back to throw seven innings of relief on Sunday.

Jared Poland, RHP, Louisville

Through his first three seasons, Poland had thrown 41.1 innings, with his most effective season coming in 2019 as a short reliever, when he had a 4.12 ERA in 19.2 innings of work. In 2022, he’s taken to a starting role quite nicely, putting up a 2.53 ERA with 35 strikeouts and nine walks in 32 innings to help give Louisville a steady rotation that it sorely lacked a season ago. 

Connor Staine, RHP, Central Florida

After transferring from Maryland, where he had a 6.49 ERA in 2021, Staine immediately jumped into the UCF rotation and almost literally couldn’t have been any better than he has been this season. In 30.2 innings, he’s allowed eight hits and two runs, both unearned, with 12 walks and 38 strikeouts. That’s a 0.00 ERA and a .082 opponent batting average. 

Levi Wells, RHP, Texas State

A Texas Tech transfer who had a 7.64 ERA in 17.2 innings last season, Wells has been a huge piece of the puzzle for a Texas State team that looks like the class of the Sun Belt and a team that could win a regional come June. He has a 1.56 ERA and a .186 opponent batting average in 40.1 innings and he’s coming off of throwing his first career complete game last weekend against Appalachian State.