Washington State University Athletics
Nick Lewis Named Mountain West Pitcher of the Year
May 21, 2026 | Baseball
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (May 21, 2026) – Washington State lefthander Nick Lewis was named the 2026 Mountain West Conference Pitcher of the Year, the conference office announced Thursday.
Â
Lewis is the first Cougar pitcher in program history to win Conference Pitcher of the Year. Two-way WSU legend John Olerud was named the conference player of the year and National Player of the Year in 1988. The Pac-10 Conference did not start the pitcher of the year award until 1999.
Â
Lewis had a breakout season for WSU, going 8-2 overall with a 3.39 ERA, 54 strikeouts and a .253 batting average against in 82.1 innings. Lewis finished the regular season leading the Mountain West in wins, ERA, innings and was fourth in batting average against while his eight wins are the most by a Coug since Joe Pistorese's eight in 2015.
Â
In nine conference starts, the redshirt-sophomore Lewis went 7-1 with a 2.83 ERA in 54 innings, pacing the league in innings and wins while posting the second-lowest ERA in MWC play. Lewis went six-plus innings in seven Mountain West starts including four of seven-plus innings and allowed just three earned runs or less in seven starts including five starts with two earned runs or less.
Â
Lewis earned the win at regular season-champion San Diego State to start conference play, moved to the Friday night role week two and went on to beat Grand Canyon and Nevada and closed the regular season wining his last five starts. Lewis notched a career-high nine strikeouts in seven innings at UNLV, fired a complete game home win over Fresno State and worked seven innings to beat Air Force in the Falcons' first home loss of the season.
Â
Lewis helped the Cougars finish the regular season with a 27-25 mark including a 15-9 record in conference play to earn the two seed at the Mountain West Conference Tournament. WSU's 15 conference wins are the most since 2010, the 14 road wins are the third-most since 2000, the seven series wins are the most since 2017 and six-straight series wins to close the year is the longest series winning streak since 1995.
Â
Washington State will face the winner of Air Force and UNLV Friday night at Sloan Park in Mesa, Arizona.
Â
Â
Lewis is the first Cougar pitcher in program history to win Conference Pitcher of the Year. Two-way WSU legend John Olerud was named the conference player of the year and National Player of the Year in 1988. The Pac-10 Conference did not start the pitcher of the year award until 1999.
Â
Lewis had a breakout season for WSU, going 8-2 overall with a 3.39 ERA, 54 strikeouts and a .253 batting average against in 82.1 innings. Lewis finished the regular season leading the Mountain West in wins, ERA, innings and was fourth in batting average against while his eight wins are the most by a Coug since Joe Pistorese's eight in 2015.
Â
In nine conference starts, the redshirt-sophomore Lewis went 7-1 with a 2.83 ERA in 54 innings, pacing the league in innings and wins while posting the second-lowest ERA in MWC play. Lewis went six-plus innings in seven Mountain West starts including four of seven-plus innings and allowed just three earned runs or less in seven starts including five starts with two earned runs or less.
Â
Lewis earned the win at regular season-champion San Diego State to start conference play, moved to the Friday night role week two and went on to beat Grand Canyon and Nevada and closed the regular season wining his last five starts. Lewis notched a career-high nine strikeouts in seven innings at UNLV, fired a complete game home win over Fresno State and worked seven innings to beat Air Force in the Falcons' first home loss of the season.
Â
Lewis helped the Cougars finish the regular season with a 27-25 mark including a 15-9 record in conference play to earn the two seed at the Mountain West Conference Tournament. WSU's 15 conference wins are the most since 2010, the 14 road wins are the third-most since 2000, the seven series wins are the most since 2017 and six-straight series wins to close the year is the longest series winning streak since 1995.
Â
Washington State will face the winner of Air Force and UNLV Friday night at Sloan Park in Mesa, Arizona.
Â
Players Mentioned
LHP
/ BaseballThis Week in Cougar Baseball: Mountain West Conference Tournament Week | 5/18/26
Monday, May 18
WSU Baseball: "Good Weekend" | Nathan Choate | Air Force Postgame | 5/10/26
Sunday, May 10
WSU Baseball: Highlights at Air Force | 5/9/26
Saturday, May 09
WSU Baseball: "Zero Walks" | Dustin Robinson/Nathan Choate | Air Force Postgame | 5/9/26
Saturday, May 09
