ONE FOR THE AGES

Paul Skenes delivers an all-time pitching performance in his first year in Baton Rouge, punctuating a season of sky-high expectations that ends in Omaha

- TEDDY CAHILL

COLLEGE PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Paul Skenes didn't want to leave the Air Force Academy a year ago. He liked being a part of the team, which had won the Mountain West Conference Tournament in 2022 and reached the Austin Regional final, and he had long wanted to serve in the military. But a combination of MLB's draft rules and the Air Force's service requirements led him to transfer so that he could more freely pursue a baseball career.

That led him to Louisiana State, where he dominated the sport this season. Skenes, following his start in super regionals, was 12-2, 1.77 with 188 strikeouts and 18 walks in 107 innings. He led the nation in strikeouts and had more than any college pitcher since Trevor Bauer racked up 203 in 2011. 

Skenes' sensational season helped lead LSU to the College World Series for the first time since 2017. It also pushed him to the top of draft boards, and he's expected to be the first pitcher taken this July-if not the first player drafted. College coaches and MLB evaluators both agree that they have not been a college pitcher like Skenes since at least Stephen Strasburg in 2009.

For those reasons and more, Skenes is the 2023 Baseball America College Player of the Year. He is just the second player in LSU program history to win the award, fittingly joining Ben McDonald, who won in 1989. Skenes is chasing McDonald's 202 strikeouts that season, which is both the program and SEC record. McDonald is also the only player in program history to be drafted first overall.

Coming into the year, Skenes wasn't quite sure what to expect at LSU. He was joining a team and a program with national championship expectations. He was a two-time All-American as a catcher/righthander at Air Force and he knew LSU would be different.

The reality, especially the fans' reception of him, has blown Skenes away.