Western Kentucky junior Jack Bennett and sophomore Drew Whalen are listed on the National Pitcher of the Year Watch List, as announced by the College Baseball Hall of Fame and College Baseball Foundation on Friday afternoon.

In all, 54 of the nation’s best hurlers were selected to the list with three coming from Conference USA teams. The Hilltoppers are the only CUSA squad with two pitchers featured on the ballot.

Bennett, a native of Paducah, is off to a hot start in 2025 as he owns a perfect 6-0 record with a 1.87 ERA in nine starts. The right-hander has only allowed nine earned runs in 43 1/3 innings of work with 40 strikeouts and a .224 opponent batting average.

He was named the CUSA Pitcher of the Week after lead the Tops to a 2-0 win over Central Michigan in the second game of a doubleheader on Feb. 28. Bennett registered seven strikeouts in seven shutout innings – tied for the second-longest outing of his career – while only giving up three hits and one walk on his way to his second winning decision of the season.

Whalen, a native of Franklin, Tennessee, has made nine starts in 2025 and has posted a 7-1 record – the most wins of any pitcher in CUSA. His 1.94 ERA ranks second in the league behind Bennett. The right-hander has 57 strikeouts in 46 1/3 innings of work.

He was also named the Conference USA Pitcher of the Week after leading the Tops to a 4-3 win over Liberty to sweep the series last Sunday at Worthington Field in Lynchburg, Virginia. He registered six strikeouts in six scoreless innings while only giving up two hits and two walks on his way to his seventh win of the season.

The award will be presented later this year by the College Baseball Foundation.