Oregon State Baseball Trio Earn Baseball America Preseason Honors
In this story:
The three-time college baseball national champion Oregon State Beavers are no strangers to preseason accolades.
This morning, additional honors were bestowed upon three of Mitch Canham's 2026 Beavers. Baseball America named sophomore starting pitcher Dax Whitney to it's All-American preseason second-team, junior starting pitcher Ethan Kleinschmit to the same list's third-team, and true freshman pitcher/infielder jack-of-all-trades Mason Pike to it's Freshman of the Year preseason watch list.
MORE: State of the Beavs: What Can Oregon State Learn From Indiana's Championship Run?
For Whitney & Kleinschmit, this publication marks their third preseason All-American honor, after Perfect Game and D1Baseball.com last month.
Whitney, Oregon State's Saturday starter last season, struck out 120 batters last season. Of all the returning pitchers in NCAA Division I, none can match that tally. The sophomore from Blackfoot, Idaho finished last season with a nod on D1Baseball.com's All-American third-team.
Kleinschmit, Oregon State's Sunday starter last season, finished the season with an impressive 3.56 earned run average and 113 strikeouts across 91 innings pitched. His performances in the Corvallis Regional and Super Regional - a marathon session against St Mary's that kept the bullpen fresh, followed by an eleven strikeout pitchers' duel with several Florida State's arms - will go down in Beavers' baseball lore. At season's end, he was named to the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) All-American third-team.
MORE: Oregon State MBB Sneaks Past San Diego in Overtime
Pike, a dual-role infielder in pitcher entering his first season of college baseball, arrives in Corvallis after a stellar prep career in Washington. The Puyallup native was named Washington's Gatorade Player of the Year after amassing all-state and all-league selections for four straight years.
Oregon State opens its 2026 baseball slate in just over a week: Friday February 13th. The Beavers will play the Big Ten Conference's Michigan Wolverines at 1 PM PST, 2 PM local time from Surprise, Arizona. Tickets for the orange & black's season-opening four games in Surprise can be purchased online.
More Reading Material From Oregon State Beavers On SI
Have you checked out State of the Beavs?
Each week, veteran sports broadcaster and writer Matt Bagley examines the news and storylines at play for Oregon State University Athletics. Occasionally joined by contributors for On SI's coverage of the Beavers, as well as the occasional guest spot from Beavers past, present, and future. Get caught up with the playlist below. New episodes are typically released on Tuesday mornings.
Want to interact with the show? Talk to Matt: mbagleyradio@gmail.com
Subscribe on Apple
Subscribe on Spotify
Matt fell in love with radio during his college days at Oregon Tech, and pursued a nine year career in sports broadcasting with Klamath Falls' and Medford's highest-rated sports radio stations. He currently lives in McMinnville wine country and is excited to talk about the Beavers again.