DALLAS (NCBWA) – The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) released its Dick Howser Trophy National Player of the Week awards presented by The Game Headwear for the period ending March 15. Memphis senior outfielder/pitcher James Smith IV was named National Hitter of the Week, while Florida State junior right-handed pitcher Trey Beard and West Virginia redshirt junior left-handed pitcher Maxx Yehl were named National Co-Pitchers of the Week. The NCBWA Board reviews candidates from each Division I Conference and names winners each Tuesday throughout the season.
Smith, a senior from Olive Branch, Mississippi, delivered a dominant weekend at the plate, batting .600 with nine hits, two doubles and three home runs. He powered Memphis offensively with a three-run homer and a grand slam on Saturday before adding another three-run shot in Sunday's contest. In Saturday's performance, Smith became the first Memphis player to record seven or more RBIs in a game since Austin Baskin drove in eight against Tulane on May 18, 2023.
Across the series, Smith led the Tigers in batting average (.600), hits (9), home runs (3), extra-base hits (5), RBIs (16), slugging percentage (1.333) and OPS (1.933). His 16 RBIs against Eastern Illinois more than doubled his season total entering the weekend, and he now leads the team with 27 RBIs. Smith also recorded his sixth multi-hit game of the season while extending his hitting streak to seven games.
In the middle game of a three-game sweep for now-No. 11 and then-No. 20 FSU at Wake Forest, Beard struck out a career-high 14 batters in a season-long 6.2 one-hit innings. He took a no-hitter into the sixth inning and allowed two baserunners in his third start of the year.
Beard's 14 strikeouts are a career best by two, and match his total punch-outs on the season in 7.1 innings coming into the day. In his 6.2 innings Saturday, a season-high, Beard allowed just one hit with a walk. While no-hitting Wake for 5.1 innings, the lefty did not allow a baserunner until two outs in the third. The one-out double in the sixth was followed by a wild pitch, but Beard stranded the runner at third with a strikeout and an inning-ending groundout that he fielded himself.
In four appearances and three starts, Beard has a 1.89 ERA and a 2-0 record in 19.0 innings pitched. He has allowed four earned runs on seven hits with 28 strikeouts and five walks. Beard has allowed no earned runs in two of his three starts and just one run in the third, going at least five innings in each start. This weekend's performance, in his ACC debut, helped FSU sweep Wake Forest from March 13-15. Beard's was the second of back-to-back shutouts, a Florida State first since 2013 and a feat not achieved in ACC action since 2000.
Yehl was dominant in an 8-0 road win at Baylor, tossing eight scoreless innings while striking out a career-high 12 batters. The junior lefty allowed just three singles and issued only one walk, retiring the final 12 batters he faced. His 12 strikeouts marked the most by a Mountaineer on the road since 2019 and capped a performance that improved his season ERA to 0.72, the second-best in the Big 12 and ninth in Division I. His 33 strikeouts through his first three starts are tied for the fourth-most among Big 12 pitchers.
Founded in 1962, the NCBWA is dedicated to the advancement of college baseball. Membership is open to writers, broadcasters and publicists of the sport. For more information about the NCBWA, visit the association's official Web site, www.ncbwa.com. For more information, contact NCBWA Executive Associate Director Mike Montoro (304-293-2821, mike.montoro@mail.wvu.edu).
2026 Dick Howser Trophy National Players of the Week
• Week ending Feb. 15: Tyce Armstrong, r-Sr., 1B, Baylor, Dee Kennedy, Jr., SS, Kansas State (Hitters); Chris Olivier, Sr., RHP, Lamar (Pitcher)
• Week ending Feb. 22: Will Gasparino, Jr., OF, UCLA (Hitter); Colin Fisher, Jr., LHP, Arkansas, Dax Whitney, So., RHP, Oregon State (Pitchers)
• Week ending March 1: Cider Cannon, Jr., C/RF, Duke, Weber Neels, Sr., C, Minnesota (Hitters); Andrew Herrmann, LHP, Graduate Student, Louisiana (Pitcher)
• Week ending March 8: Lorenzo Carrier, R-Sr., OF, Pitt, Quinton Coats, So., INF, Cincinnati (Hitters); Grayden Harris, So., LHP, Southern Miss (Pitcher)
• Week ending March 15: James Smith IV, Sr., OF/P, Memphis (Hitter); Trey Beard, Jr., RHP, Florida State, Maxx Yehl, r-Jr., LHP, West Virginia. (Pitchers)