15 College Baseball Pitchers Who Dominated On Friday Night | Week 5 Ace Report

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DBU RHP Micah Bucknam (Photo by Eddie Kelly / ProLook Photos)

Baseball America is tracking the outings of Friday aces. Here are 15 who stood out in Week 5, plus honorable mentions. Players are listed alphabetically.

You can see the top 200 draft prospects in the class here.

Trey Beard, LHP, Florida Atlantic

Florida Atlantic sophomore lefthander Trey Beard continues to garner national attention as plows through hitters with serious swing-and-miss stuff.

Beard threw six shutout innings with nine strikeouts, three hits allowed and two walks against Davidson to lower his season ERA to 2.00. The southpaw has struck out 52 batters and walked 11 in just 27 innings so far this year. Friday marked the first time in five starts that he failed to reach double digit punchouts.

Beard has thrown at least six innings while allowing one or fewer runs in three-straight starts.

Final line: 6.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 9 K

Micah Bucknam, RHP, Dallas Baptist

Prior to the season, longtime Dallas Baptist coach Dan Feefner told Baseball America he was confident that LSU transfer Micah Bucknam would take a sizable step forward despite posting a 9.00 ERA in two seasons in Baton Rouge.

Bucknam has largely pitched well in the Patriots’ Friday night role in a handful of strong starts. His most recent outing Friday was the best yet. Bucknam allowed two earned runs and struck out eight over seven innings against a very competitive UTSA squad.

Bucknam entered the offseason with the hopes of establishing more control and streamlining in his arsenal. So he ditched his two-seamer, according to Heefner, with the goal of helping his other pitchers better play off each other. The righty also offers a slider and curveball, which generated whiffs at a 44% and 57% clip, respectively, in his first four appearances this season.

Final line: 7.0 IP, 6 H, 3/2 R/ER, 2 BB, 8 K 

Samuel Dutton, RHP, Auburn

Auburn righty Samuel Dutton has become an Ace Report regular as he continues to enjoy a breakout season at the front of Auburn’s rotation.

The LSU transfer on Friday against No. 14 Vanderbilt threw seven innings, allowed two earned runs and struck out six. It marked the third time in five outings that Dutton pitched at least five innings while surrendering two or fewer runs. Dutton never pitched into the fifth inning in three collegiate seasons. He has also set a new career-high for strikeouts in a season.

Dutton’s slider and curveball have performed particularly well this season, drawing whiffs more than 40% of the time. He’s also decreased his cutter usage by roughly 10% while throwing the curve significantly more.

Final line: 7.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R/ER, 1 BB, 6 K

Hunter Elliott, LHP, Ole Miss

It wasn’t his six-inning, 10-strikeout performance against Eastern Kentucky, but Ole Miss ace Hunter Elliott offered yet another quality outing while facing his toughest competition yet in No. 3 Arkansas.

The Rebels’ southpaw offered five innings of two-run ball while striking out eight against just one walk. He retired seven of the last eight hitters he faced to earn his fourth win of the campaign.

Elliott’s success comes after he missed the entire 2024 season due to injury. He entered his most recent outing with a 49% whiff rate on changeups and a 71% out rate on balls in play.

Final line: 5.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R/ER, 1 BB, 8 K

Dominic Fritton, LHP, NC State

Another Ace Report returnee, NC State lefty Dominic Fritton twirled another gem with seven innings, one run allowed on two hits and two walks, and eight strikeouts against Virginia Tech.

Fritton retired 19 of his last 20 batters faced after surrendering a run in the first inning.

Fitton’s resurgence has been emphatic. Through five starts, he owns a 1.26 ERA and 39 strikeouts against 13 walks in 28.2 innings. Fritton’s success could go a very long way in helping the Wolfpack bounce back from a slow start to the season that saw them fall from No. 14 in Week 2 to unranked. 

Final line: 7.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R/ER, 2 BB, 8 K

Grayson Grinsell, LHP, Oregon

Grayson Grinsell didn’t pitch as deep into his outing as others on this week’s Ace Report, but the Oregon lefthander was no less potent. He struck out seven to just one walk over five shutout innings against Minnesota.

The outing was a much-needed boost after Grinsell got off to a rocky start in 2025 with 11 earned runs allowed in his first 15.2 innings. He has since seemingly found his footing, though, with just two runs allowed and 15 strikeouts over his last 10 frames.

Final line: 5.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 K

Nelson Keljo, LHP, Oregon State

A steady lefthanded reliever for Oregon State in 2024, junior Nelson Keljo moved into the Beavers’ Friday-night spot this season, a massive jump he’s handled excellently.

Keljo threw six scoreless innings and struck out four to keep Grand Canyon, a team with plenty of offensive firepower, at bay. He needed just 76 pitches to get through his outing.

Keljo has allowed just four runs in 23 innings so far this season and is averaging a remarkably efficient 16 pitches per inning.

Final line: 6.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K

Aidan Knaak, RHP, Clemson

Clemson sophomore Aidan Knaak didn’t get off to the start many expected of him after he earned All-American accolades as a true freshman last year. The righty failed to pitch more than five innings in each of his first four starts, including two where he couldn’t complete the fifth. 

But Friday might be the shift in momentum that Knaak needed. He dominated in his ACC debut against Notre Dame with a career-best 12 strikeouts over seven shutout innings. He allowed just one hit and walked one.

Knaak’s calling card is his changeup, which produced an elite 57% miss rate entering Friday’s outing. He continued to dominate with his cambio. His ERA dropped from 5.30 to 3.86 thanks to his career performance.

Final line: 7.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 12 K

Logan Lunceford, RHP, Wake Forest

Missouri transfer righty Logan Lunceford’s breakout season continued Friday. He locked down Miami with eight strikeouts against just one walk and three hits allowed over seven innings.

The Wake Forest ace has consistently looked tremendous this season, racking up 50 strikeouts against just nine walks in 27 innings thanks to a potent fastball with ample carry through the zone. 

Lunceford was generating a 46% overall miss rate entering his start against the Hurricanes, including an astronomical 77% miss rate on curveballs. He easily ranks among the breakout stars of the first month of the season.

Final line: 7.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 8 K

JB Middleton, RHP, Southern Miss

Southern Miss junior JB Middleton put together the best start of his career to date on Friday night against Old Dominion with new career highs in innings (seven) and strikeouts (10). 

The 6-foot, 178-pound righty sat in the mid 90s and leaned on his high-80s slider to generate whiffs, which he’s done at a high rate all season. Middleton has also had a lot of success with an infrequently-used changeup so far this season.

Middleton’s start against Old Dominion was the perfect rebound after he allowed five runs in as many innings a week earlier against UNC Wilmington.

Final line: 7.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R/ER, 0 BB, 10 K

Ethan Norby, LHP, East Carolina

East Carolina lefty Ethan Norby put together the most impressive performance in the nation last week when he struck out 19 batters in seven innings against Coastal Carolina. While he didn’t come close to matching that gaudy strikeout total, Norby was still effective with seven shutout frames and six strikeouts against two walks versus William & Mary.

Norby has put together a statement season to date as he ranked No. 6 nationally in individual Weighted Run Allowed Efficiency (wRAE) entering his most recent appearance, according to 64Analytics. The southpaw was also one of just 18 Division I pitchers with a 40% or higher strikeout rate and at least 18 innings pitched on the year.

Final line: 7.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 K

Matt Scott, RHP, Stanford

One of the best pitchers in the 2025 draft, Stanford righty Matt Scott looked the part Friday when he threw six innings, allowed one run on three hits and a walk and struck out eight against Duke in the Cardinal’s first-ever ACC home game. 

Scott pitches behind a big fastball that can reach 99 mph with ample riding life when he keeps it up in the zone. He also offers a split-changeup and slider, which he can manipulate into more of a cutter with less depth.

Scott has recorded quality starts in three of his five appearances thus far in 2025.

Final line: 6.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R/ER, 1 BB, 8 K

Austin Turkington, RHP, Cal

Cal ace Austin Turkington returns to the Ace Report for the second straight week after offering 6.2 innings of one-run ball while striking out seven and walking three against No. 19 Virginia.

Turkington last week punched out a career-best 10 and allowed just one run on three hits and two walks over seven innings against Duke and this year owns a 3.38 ERA in 24 innings.

Over his last two starts, Turkington has picked up 17 strikeouts and allowed two runs in 13.2 innings.

Final line: 6.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R/ER, 3 BB, 7 K

Dominic Voegele, RHP, Kansas

Kansas started off its week with what will likely stand alone as the rarest accomplishment of the season, five consecutive home runs, and stayed hot at the plate Friday night in a 9-1 win over Baylor to open Big 12 play.

Even if the Jayhawks hadn’t kept up their torrent pace at the plate, righty Dominic Voegele put together a strong enough effort to propel his team to victory with no earned runs allowed over seven innings.

A First Team Freshman All-American last season, Voegele set a new career high in innings against Baylor and also turned in his cleanest start of the season, which had seen him allow 13 runs over his last 13.2 innings.

If he can fully get back on track, Voegele could be one of the best sophomore pitchers in the Big 12. 

Final line: 7.0 IP, 3 H, 1/0 R/ER, 1 BB, 6 K

Joey Volini, LHP, Florida State

With ace Jamie Arnold’s start pushed back to Saturday, Florida State opted to roll out lefty Joey Volini, who took advantage of his spot start in the ace role with six innings, eight strikeouts and no earned runs allowed. 

Volini is a softer thrower who averaged 90.1 mph on his heater entering Friday’s start against Boston College. He still generates plenty of whiffs, though, especially with his slider and curveball, which drew misses 50% of the time prior to Friday.

Volini will presumably slide back into Florida State’s Saturday spot once Arnold can return to schedule.

Final line: 6.0 IP, 4 H, 1/0 R/ER, 2 BB, 8 K

Honorable Mentions

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