CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Illinois closer Garrett Acton was added to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Stopper of the Year Midseason Update, the NCBWA announced Wednesday. The award is given to the nation's top reliever.
Acton is second in the nation with 13 saves, one away from tying the Illinois single-season record shared by Tyler Jay (2015) and Joey Gerber (2018). Acton has appeared in 20 games and has a 2-2 record with a team-best 1.59 ERA.
Acton has struck out 24 batters in 22 2/3 innings while limiting opponents to six hits for a .090 batting average. His 13 saves are four more than any Big Ten pitcher.
The Parkland College transfer has also got it done in the classroom, earning Illinois' Junior GPA Award for the highest GPA of all junior student-athletes at the University. Acton is a finance major at the Gies College of Business.
Player Year Team (Conference)
Garrett Action Jr. Illinois (Big Ten)
Jaime Arias So. Fresno State (MWC)
Evan Brabrand Sr. Liberty (A-Sun)
Trey Braithwaite So. Navy (Patriot)
Tyler Brown So. Vanderbilt (SEC)
Parker Caracci R-Jr. Ole Miss (SEC)
Jackson Cofer Sr. UNLV (MWC)
Matt Cronin Jr. Arkansas (SEC)
Fineas Del Bonta-Smith Sr. San Jose State (MWC)
J.C. Flowers Jr. Florida State (ACC)
Jacob Gilmore So. Illinois State (MVC)
Cole Gordon Sr. Mississippi State (SEC)
Nick Grabek So. Fairfield (MAAC)
Zack Greene Sr. South Alabama (Sun Belt)
Cody Greenhill So. Auburn (SEC)
Andrew Gross Sr. UT Arlington (Sun Belt)
Connor Hinchiffe Sr. La Salle (Atlantic 10)
Alek Jacob So. Gonzaga (WCC)
Stephen Jones Sr. Samford (SoCon)
Kasey Kalich So. Texas A&M (SEC)
Connor Knutson Jr. Portland (WCC)
Jack Little So. Stanford (Pac-12)
Grant Leonard Jr. Iowa (Big Ten)
Brandon Lewis Sr. Abilene Christian (Southland)
Chris Lincoln Jr. UC Santa Barbara (Big West)
Reeves Martin Jr. New Orleans (Southland)
Jeremiah McCollum So. Florida A&M (MEAC)
Hunter McGarry Jr. FGCU (A-Sun)
Jack Mulholland Jr. Oregon State (Pac-12)
Nathan Ocker Sr. Charleston (CAA)
Holden Powell So. UCLA (Pac-12)
Taylor Rashi Sr. UC Irvine (Big West)
Jason Ruffcorn Jr. Oklahoma (Big 12)
Kieran Shaw Jr. Harvard (Ivy League)
Zach Schneider Sr. Florida Atlantic (C-USA)
Aaron Schunk Jr. Georgia (SEC)
Braxton Smith Sr. Louisiana Tech (C-USA)
Carson Spiers Jr. Clemson (ACC)
Chad Sykes Sr. UNC Greensboro (SoCon)
Jonah Ulane So. Kansas (Big 12)
Fred Villarreal Jr. Houston (American)
Jacob Wallace Jr. UConn (American)
Willie Weiss Fr. Michigan (Big Ten)
Connor Whalen Sr. Southern (SWAC)
Chris Wright Jr. Bryant (NEC)
