There are roughly three weeks left in the high school baseball regular season. As teams begin to focus on the final stretch, a crop of those programs are vying for league titles and league placement, which will determine their postseason fate.
It also means more pressure moments will present themselves. The question is, who will deliver?
Here is a short list of top baseball players in the area who have earned nominations for 2026 Daily News yearly awards like Player of the Year and Pitcher of the Year. As league champions are crowned and postseason runs are made, a hot hitting streak or spectacular pitching performance could solidify a player as this year’s Player or Pitcher of the Year.
Note: Just because a player is not listed, it doesn’t mean a player can’t emerge as yearly award winner. This is just a watch list, not a list of finalists.
Here are the watch lists for 2026 Daily News yearly awards. The players are listed in alphabetical order by last name.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR WATCH LIST
Caden Atkinson, Westlake, Sr.
Atkinson might be the best player on this page, who is among the area’s best at hitting and pitching. He’s batting .441 with 26 hits, 16 RBIs and nine doubles while posting a 3-1 record from the bump with a 1.27 ERA and 27 strikeouts in 33 innings of work.
Jameson Berigan, Thousand Oaks, Sr.
Berigan is batting .451 with 32 hits, 29 RBIs, six doubles and six home runs through 21 games this season. He’s also tallied 25 runs himself. He has an on-base percentage of .535 and a slugging percentage of .789.
Carson Sheffer, Oaks Christian, Sr.
Sheffer is batting .400 through 20 games with 26 hits and 14 RBIs thanks to eight doubles and three home runs. Sheffer has also scored 20 runs. In 83 plate appearances, he has just five strikeouts.
Brody Thompson, Alemany, Sr.
When it comes to impacting winning, Thompson is doing that in a multitude of ways with his bat and from behind the dish for the Warriors. He’s batting .355 with 22 hits, 15 RBIs, five homers and 23 runs scored. He’s also thrown out 10 of the 15 runners that’ve tried to steal on him.
James Tronstein, Harvard-Westlake, Sr.
The standout senior is batting .517 with 31 hits, two doubles, a triple and four home runs in 20 games this season. He’s drawn 14 walks, stolen seven bases and only he’s struck out only five times in 80 plate appearances.
PITCHER OF THE YEAR WATCH LIST
Carlos Acuna, Birmingham, So.
Acuna is arguably the best underclassman pitcher in the City Section. He’s 6-0 this spring with a 1.29 ERA and 74 strikeouts in 54 innings of work. He can hit a little, too, batting .318 with seven RBIs and a home run.
Dustin Dunwoody, Royal, Sr.
Dunwoody has been unhittable this spring. He’s 8-0 with an ERA of 0.15 and 81 strikeouts in 45 ⅓ innings. He’s faced 175 batters and allowed just 25 hits.
AJ LaSota, Notre Dame, Jr.
LaSota is 6-1 in seven appearances this season with an impressive 0.68 ERA. He’s fanned 28 batters in 30 ⅔ innings. He’s walked just eight of 120 batters faced.
Jackson Sellz, El Camino Real, Jr.
Sellz might be the best pitcher in the City Section. He’s 7-0 this spring with a 1.20 ERA and 38 strikeouts in 52 ⅔ innings. He’s only given up nine earned runs and walked six.
Armando Solorio, Sierra Canyon, Sr.
Solorio is in the mix for the Mission League Pitcher of the Year, pending on where the Trailblazers end up. He’s 6-0 with a 0.38 ERA. He’s given up just two runs in 36 ⅓ innings with 42 strikeouts.