Miami Gardens, Fla. – After shining in his St. Thomas University debut on Friday, Jan. 23, Diego Evans has been named the NAIA Ball Pitcher of the Week.

Starting in the second game of Friday's 2026 Season-Opening doubleheader against McPherson College on Friday, Evans held the Bulldogs off the scoreboard for six innings while striking out 12 batters and only allowing two hits. The Bobcats won the contest 3-0, part of a weekend sweep of McPherson.

Evans' 12 strikeouts sits fourth in the NAIA after the first week of the season, while hie 18.00 strikeouts per nine innings rate ties for the highest in the league. He is one of five pitchers in the NAIA to throw six innings or more and hold an Earned Run Average (ERA) of 0.00. As a team, the Bobcats' 2.88 ERA is the eighth lowest in the nation.

The Bobcats kick off a three-game series against Oakland City University on Friday, Jan. 30 at 3:00 pm with the two sides playing a doubleheader on Saturday, Jan.3 1 with first pitch slated for 1:00 pm.