OMAHA, Neb. — Arizona Baseball closer Tony Pluta has been selected as the 2025 NCBWA Stopper of the Year, the organization announced this morning prior to the Wildcats first game in the Men's College World Series.

The award, in its 20th season, is given annually to the nation's top relief pitcher. Pluta's recognition marks the first time an Arizona Wildcat has been selected as the Stopper of the Year and the first-ever NCBWA major award win for an Arizona Baseball player.

Pluta, a right-hander, posted one of the most dominant seasons of relief pitching in the history of Arizona Baseball this season. His 14 saves are a single-season program record and currently rank tied for the fourth most among all Division I pitchers. Pluta has seen time in 28 games this year and has allowed runs in only two of them, leading to a remarkable 1.26 ERA and a 0.82 WHIP.

Across 35.2 innings of work he has struck out 34 batters, allowed only two extra base hits, and limited opposing hitters to a .183 batting average. Over his last 14 outings, all of which have been scoreless, Pluta has allowed just nine hits and piled up 20 strikeouts while adding 10 saves to his record-breaking tally.

Pluta has been on the mound for the Wildcats in many of their most important moments down the stretch in 2025. He earned the win in the Big 12 Championship title game against TCU, tallied a save in the team's Eugene Regional opener against Cal Poly, worked multiple innings for the win in game two of the Chapel Hill Super Regional, and returned the next day to log a save in game three against No. 1 North Carolina to send Arizona and their 19th College World Series in program history.

In addition to his numerous successes on the field, Pluta has also excelled academically this season and throughout his entire career. The junior Aerospace Engineering major currently sports an impressive 3.89 GPA and was chosen as the 2025 Big 12 Baseball Scholar-Athlete of the Year, in addition to the pair of CSC Academic All-District nods he has earned.

Pluta and the Wildcats kick off the Men's College World Series later today with an 11:00 a.m. MST matchup against the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers. The game will be televised nationally on ESPN.