DALLAS (NCBWA) – The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association has named its Dick Howser Trophy Players of the Month for March presented by The Game Headwear, tabbing Arizona State sophomore infielder Landon Hairston as its National Hitter of the Month and USC junior left-handed pitcher Mason Edwards as the National Pitcher of the Month.
A hometown kid from nearby Queen Creek, Arizona, Hairston slugged his way through March, hitting .500 (36-for-72) with 19 of his 36 hits going for extra bases. He mashed 14 homers, including 12 in his final 16 games of the month, and clubbed five doubles, driving in 31 runs, while scoring 31 of his own. Hairston reached base at a .581 clip and swiped five bags to go along with it, helping the Sun Devils to a 13-5 month, which included a pair of series wins to start Big 12 play. For the year, Hairston is tied for second nationally with 17 home runs and he is one of just six players in the country with double-digit doubles and homers. His .469 batting average paces the Big 12 and ranks third nationally and tops among Power Four conferences. Hairston leads the country with a 1.578 OPS and is the only player in the nation with a slugging percentage over 1.000, currently sitting at 1.027. Additionally, Hairston is the national leader with four grand slams on the season, tying an ASU school record and sitting just two shy of the NCAA single-season record. His 48 RBI on the 2026 campaign place him third in the country, but all 48 of them have come out of the leadoff spot in the Sun Devil lineup, which is 16 more than any other leadoff man in the country.
Over the month of March, Edwards posted a 3-0 record across four starts and logged a 1.21 ERA. He struck out 43 batters and walked just 12 in 22.1 innings of work, holding opponents to a .127 batting average. The local product out of Los Angeles, California, allowed just three earned runs on 10 hits for the month and picked up victories against Illinois (6.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 11 SO), at Northwestern (6.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 10 SO), and against Washington (6.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 12 SO) on his way to being named the Big Ten Pitcher of the Week three times. In each of his March starts, and each of his last six consecutive appearances dating back to Feb. 20, Edwards has punched out 10 or more batters. His season low of nine strikeouts came on opening day, which has led to a No. 2 ranking in the NCAA with 74 total strikeouts and an eye-popping 16.51 K/9. Edwards is also second nationally with an 0.67 ERA on the season and leads the country with 2.45 hits allowed per nine innings.
This marks the 11th consecutive year that the NCBWA has honored a national hitter and national pitcher of the month. 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, ncbwa.com.