NCAA Baseball single season strikeout record belongs to pitcher Derek Tatsuno with 234 strikeouts. Tatsuno played for Hawaii Rainbow Warriors.
Meanwhile, Paul Skenes has already racked up 200 strikeouts for LSU Tigers in 2023. He needs 34 strikeouts or more to mark his name in the history books.
A strikeout happens when a pitcher throws three strikes consecutively or a batter receives three strikes and an out is called. It is denoted by K.
Strikeouts are recorded for both the pitcher as well as the batter. The batter with the least strikeouts can be depicted as the toughest batter.
The single-season record for the most number of strikeouts in the MLB is held by Nolan Ryan who had 383 strikeouts (Live-ball era) to his name in 1973.
Most strikeouts in a season by a batter
The most strikeouts by a batter in 2023 are 100 by Mike Sears of Indiana State University. On the contrary, Mike has 19 home runs with 62 RBIs.
The list of players with the most number of strikeouts by season are:
- Nolan McLean - 107
- Carter Young - 84
- Elijah Cabell - 32
- Zach Presno - 98
- Brett Minnick - 94
- Evan Skoug - 98
In addition to his 107 strikeouts, Nolan McLean of Oklahoma State University batted .285 with 19 home runs and 47 RBIs in 2022.
Carter Young of Vanderbilt University had 84 strikeouts with 16 home runs and 52 RBIs. Young batted .252 in 2021 and later transferred to LSU. In 2022, Carter was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the 17th round.
Elijah Cabell of Florida State University had 32 strikeouts and batted .263 with 7 home runs in 2020. He also had 28 RBIs and in the 2021 draft, Cabell was picked by the St. Louis Cardinals.
Zach Presno of the Fresno State Bulldogs had 98 strikeouts and batted .221 with 10 home runs. He also recorded 45 RBIs in 2019.
Brett Minnick of the University of Northern Colorado had 94 strikeouts with 9 home runs and batted .251. He also had 41 RBIs in 2018.
In 2017, Evan Skoug recorded 98 strikeouts as a batter and batted .272 with 20 home runs. In addition, he had 71 RBIs in the same year.
Likewise, the most number of strikeouts in a season in MLB is recorded by Mark Reynolds who was struck out 223 times in 2009. Reynolds played for the Arizona Diamondbacks during that period.
Least strikeouts in a season
The least strikeouts in 2023 were recorded by Jacob Wilson. Jacob recorded only 5 strikeouts with 6 home runs and 61 RBIs in the 2023 year.
Meanwhile, the season-wise records for the least strikeouts are:
- Mason Grotto - 4
- Nick Carnevale - 4
- Matthew Williams - 1
- Luke Manzo - 9
- Clayton Andrews - 6
- Ernie Clement - 7
In 2022, Mason Grotto had only 4 strikeouts and batted .293 without a single home run. Grotto also recorded 19 RBIs for Fresno State.
Nick Carnevale also recorded only 4 strikeouts in the 2021 season and batted .200 with 3 RBIs. Nick did not register a single HR that season.
Matthew Williams registered only 1 strikeout in 2020 and batted .310 with one HR for the St. Bonaventure Bonnies. He also recorded 5 RBIs.
Luke Manzo had 9 strikeouts in 2019 and batted .280 without a single home run. In addition, he had 24 RBIs for the Charleston Cougars.
In 2018, Clayton Andrews recorded 6 strikeouts and batted .302 without a single HR for Long Beach State. He registered 26 RBIs that year.
Ernie Clement recorded 7 strikeouts in 2017 while representing the University of Virginia and batted .315 with 2 home runs and 34 RBIs.
Most Home Runs In a Season
Most home runs in a season are 48 by Pete Incaviglia in college baseball. Incaviglia achieved the feat in 1985 while playing for Oklahoma State.
Moreover, Pete Incaviglia also leads the list for the NCAA Division I baseball career home runs with 100 homers in 213 games from 1983-1985.
Brock Wilken of Wake Forest and Jac Caglianone of Florida Gators have 31 home runs in 2023. They are the joint-highest homers as of now.
The list of most home runs in a single season (college year):
- Pete Incaviglia (1985) - 48
- Jeff Ledbetter (1982) - 42
- Lance Berkman (1997) - 41
- Brandon Larson (1997) - 40
- Steve Hacker (1995) - 37
- Mike Willes (1988) - 35
- Daylan Holt (1999) - 34
- Troy Glaus (1997) - 34
- Nate Gold (2002) - 33
- Kevin Mench (1998) - 33
On top of the list, Pete Incaviglia was a left fielder for Oklahoma State and had a slugging percentage of 1.420. The next best is at 42 by Jeff Ledbetter who was actually the first player to cross the 40 homers barrier.
The last two hitters to have 40 or more homers in a single season are Lance Berkman and Brandon Larson. Berkman went on to play in the MLB for 14 years with World Series Championship in 2011.
The 1997 Most Valuable Player in the College World Series, Larson of LSU Tigers went on to record 8 home runs in Major League Baseball.
Brandon, the first baseman for Missouri State had 37 homers and was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the 1995 MLB June Amateur Draft.
Mike Willes had 35 homers and 285 RBIs for Brigham Young University in the 1988 season. Willes also became the Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year consecutively in 1987 and 1988.
Daylan Holt and Troy Glaus are shared at 34 home runs. Holt represented Texas A&M and in 1999 recorded 105 RBIs, a single-season record.
Most notably, Troy Glaus is a World Series MVP and Champion with Anaheim Angels in 2002. Glaus was also the AL home run leader in 2000.
Nate Gold and Kevin Mench are tied on 33. Gold was a member of Gonzaga and later played in the Minor Leagues. Mench went on to score an additional 89 homers in the MLB and batted .268.
Likewise, the most home runs in a single season in the MLB is 73 by Barry Bonds in 2001. Bonds achieved the feat while playing for the San Francisco Giants.