Troy University Athletics
Smith Tabbed Sun Belt, National Pitcher of the Week
4/28/2026 1:00:00 PM | Baseball
TROY, Ala. - Troy's Hayden Smith earned both conference and national recognition after a stellar week on the mound with 11 shutout innings across two appearances.
The junior left-hander was named the Sun Belt Pitcher of the Week by the league office and the National Pitcher of the Week by the College Baseball Foundation on Tuesday.Â
"What a great honor for Hayden to earn both Sun Belt and National Pitcher of the Week honors," head coach Skylar Meade said. "He has continued to improve weekly as the year goes on, and this week's performance hopefully is a springboard to more great outings ahead." Â
Smith began the week with five hitless innings out of the bullpen against Jacksonville State last Tuesday, striking out three hitters. He issued his lone walk of the night in the fifth inning before retiring 13 consecutive hitters through the ninth.
The Kentucky transfer earned his first career start in Troy's series finale at Marshall on Sunday, leading the Trojans to their first shutout of the season to seal the series. Smith tossed six scoreless innings in the 1-0 victory, limiting Marshall to three hits with three strikeouts and no walks.Â
On the season, the Nicholasville, Ky., native leads Troy with a 2.31 ERA across his 12 appearances. In 26.1 innings, Smith has allowed just 18 hits, holding his opponents to a .191 average, while striking out 18 hitters to nine walks.
Smith is the third Trojan to earn both a Sun Belt and National weekly award. Jimmy Janicki (Week 5) and Aaron Piasecki (Week 10) both earned Sun Belt Player of the Week honors earlier this season. Nationally, Drew Nelson was named the John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Week (Week 9) and Janicki was named the Buster Posey Catcher of the Week (Week 10).Â
Troy is back in action at No. 5 Georgia at 2 p.m. CT on Tuesday before returning home for a three-game series with App State Friday through Sunday.
