By Ryne Rickman, UT Martin Sports Information Director
TUCSON, Ariz. – Collegiate Baseball newspaper unveiled its National Players of the Week this afternoon and University of Tennessee at Martin right-handed pitcher Winston Cannon made the list of 13 honorees.
Cannon becomes the first player in school history to nab this award. He joined North Carolina pitcher Austin Love, Memphis catcher Hunter Goodman, Dixie State pitcher Jimmy Borzone, Oregon State pitcher Cooper Hjerpe, Pepperdine outfielder Billy Cook, BYU outfielder Mitch McIntyre, Southeastern Louisiana pitcher Will Warren, Tennessee Tech outfielder Cody Littlejohn, Vanderbilt pitcher Kumar Rocker, Michigan State first baseman Bailey Peterson, Arkansas pitcher Patrick Wicklander and Wake Forest shortstop Michael Turconi on the National Players of the Week list powered by Diamond Sports.
A 6-3, 210-pound senior, Cannon displayed electric stuff during a start in the frontend of Friday’s doubleheader at Ohio Valley Conference regular season champion Southeast Missouri. He accumulated a career-high 11 strikeouts in just 5.2 innings, becoming the first Skyhawk to punch out at least 11 batters since Dalton Westfall fanned 11 SIUE batters (over eight innings) on April 22, 2017.
Cannon whiffed multiple batters in five of his six frames while punching out one batter in the fifth. His final two outs were each recorded via strikeout, ending his performance by fanning nearly half of the 25 Redhawk batters he faced.
A Cookeville, Tenn. native, Cannon concludes the regular season leading the OVC with 14 games started while also ranking in the league’s top-five in wins (6, third), strikeouts (83, third), innings pitched (81.0, third) and ERA (3.78, fifth). He was the staff ace on a pitching staff that shattered the program’s Division I record for team ERA (5.24).
Cannon ends his remarkable UT Martin career as the school’s all-time leader in games started (55), innings pitched (303.1) and strikeouts (286). He also ranks third in program history with 18 victories and 10th with 64 appearances.
Graphic courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information