UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State baseball senior pitcher Anthony Steele was named to the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Award watch list on Wednesday. The stopper of the year award recognizes the top relief pitcher in college baseball.
In his Penn State career, Steele has made 44 appearances, including two starts. He is 6-2 with a save. Steele has recorded 62 strikeouts in 54 innings.
Last season, Steele appeared in 26 games, tied for seventh in a season at Penn State. The lefty collected four wins and one save. He notched 32 strikeouts in 34.2 innings and held opposing hitters to a .220 average.
Steele had 13 outings going 1+ inning and allowing no runs.
In conference games, Steele went 2-1 with a save in 13 appearances and 12 strikeouts in 15.1 innings.
In 2023, Steele posted a 2-1 record in 11 appearances (one start) and struck out 21 batters in 14 innings, while holding hitters to a .192 average. He did not allow an earned run in eight of 11 appearances.
Penn State is set to open the 2025 season at the inaugural Puerto Rico Challenge on Feb. 14-16. Penn State will take on Missouri on Friday, Feb. 14 at 4 p.m. The Nittany Lions meet Stetson on Saturday at 10 a.m. and UConn on Sunday at 7 p.m. All games will be played at Estadio Yldefonso Solá Morales in Caguas.
In 2024, Penn State went 29-24 overall and 12-12 in Big Ten play in its first year under head coach Mike Gambino. The 29 wins are Penn State’s most under a first-year head coach.
Penn State posted its first winning record in the regular season since 2016 (28-27) and maintained a .500 or better mark from the entire season for the first time since 2011 (32-22). The Blue and White notched its best record in Big Ten play since going 12-12 in 2016.
Penn State reached the Big Ten Tournament Championship Game for the first time since 2000 and won three-straight games to open the Big Ten Tournament for the first time in program history.
The 2024-25 Penn State Baseball season is presented by The Family Clothesline.