GREENVILLE, N.C. (NCBWA) – As the 2018 collegiate baseball season gets ready to turn to May, 41 of the sport's top relief pitchers have been named to the Midseason Watch List for the 14th Annual National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Stopper of the Year Award, as announced today by the organization. Twelve of the 41 players were on the preseason watch list released in February, including Florida's Michael Byrne, who is the only returner among last year's five finalists for an award given annually to the top relief pitcher in NCAA Division I baseball. Byrne is one of 18 hurlers with double-digit saves (10) and owns a 1.62 ERA in 20 relief appearances. Among the 29 newcomers to the watch list are the nation's top three saves leaders. Jacksonville's Chris Mauloni has a NCAA-best 16 saves as a freshman, while Stetson's Brooks Wilson (15) and VCU's Mac McCarty (14) round out the Top 3. Duke's Jack Labosky sports a 0.00 ERA in 13 appearances to lead the group, while Little Rock's Justin Garcia and Jackson State's Jose Tirado have appeared in 24 games out of the bullpen. There are 21 conferences represented on the list with the Atlantic Coast, Big Ten and Southeastern Conference leading the way with four relief pitchers. Twenty-one of the 41 players currently lead their respective conferences in saves, while 31 on the watch list are upperclassmen. 2018 NCBWA STOPPER OF THE YEAR MIDSEASON WATCH LIST Sam Bordner Louisville Jr. ACC Robert Broom Mercer Jr. Southern Michael Byrne Florida Jr. SEC Parker Caracci Ole Miss So. SEC Brett Conine Cal State Fullerton Jr. Big West Clark Cota UNCW Jr. Colonial Matt Cronin Arkansas So. SEC Tanner Dodson California Jr. Pac-12 Durbin Feltman TCU Jr. Big 12 Justin Garcia Little Rock Sr. Sun Belt Joey Gerber Illinois Jr. Big Ten Ryley Gilliam Clemson Jr. ACC Carter Henry Houston So. American Athletic Michael Hobbs St. Mary's (Calif.) Fr. West Coast Nolan Hoffman Texas A&M Jr. SEC Jake Hohensee Nebraska Sr. Big Ten Brendan Jenkins San Francisco Sr. West Coast Seth Kinker Ohio State Sr. Big Ten Jack Labosky Duke Sr. ACC Joe LaSorsa St. John's So. Big East Zack Leban Kansas Jr. Big 12 Casey Legumina Gonzaga So. West Coast Jack Little Stanford So. Pac-12 Chris Mauloni Jacksonville Fr. Southern Jack Maynard UNCG Sr. Southern Mac McCarty VCU Jr. Atlantic 10 Brian Menendez UNLV Sr. Mountain West Max Meyer Minnesota Jr. Big Ten Dakota Mills Sam Houston State Sr. Southland Troy Montemayor Baylor Sr. Big 12 Jake Mulholland Oregon State So. Pac-12 Joe O’Donnell N.C. State Sr. ACC Aaron Pinto Stony Brook Sr. America East Chris Rivera Long Beach State Jr. Big West Ethan Roberts Tennessee Tech Jr. Ohio Valley Zach Schneider Florida Atlantic Jr. Conference USA Tyler Smith Canisius Sr. Metro Atlantic Athletic Logan Stoelke Louisiana Sr. Sun Belt Dylan Thomas Hawai'i So. Big West Jose Tirado Jackson State Sr. Southwestern Athletic Brooks Wilson Stetson Sr. Atlantic Sun Texas hurler J. Brent Cox won the inaugural Stopper of the Year Award in 2005, with Don Czyz of Kansas claiming the honor in 2006 and Luke Prihoda of Sam Houston State winning it in 2007. Georgia's Joshua Fields topped the field in 2008, San Diego State's Addison Reed grabbed the honor in 2009 and Texas' Chance Ruffin earned the honor in 2010. The Longhorns' Corey Knebel won in 2011, with Southeastern Louisiana's Stefan Lopez picking up the honor in 2012. UCLA's David Berg was crowned the winner in 2013, Louisville's Nick Burdi took home the 2014 honor and Berg became the award's first two-time winner in 2015. Miami (Fla.)'s Bryan Garcia was honored as the 2016 recipient followed by the Louisville' Lincoln Henzman in 2017. The NCBWA, founded in 1962, presents the Dick Howser Trophy to the nation's top player. It also selects All-America Teams for all Divisions, a Division I Freshman All-American team, Division I, II and III Players of the Week and Division I, II and III Players of the Year. 2018 NCBWA Stopper of the Year key dates:

• Mon., Feb. 12: Preseason Watch List

• Thu., April 26: Midseason Watch List

• Wed., June 6: Stopper of the Year finalists announced

• Sat., June 16: Stopper of the Year winner announced