The Coastal Plain League announced this afternoon that Wilson Tobs ace Trent Harris has been named the 2023 CPL Pitcher of the Year.

“First, I would like to thank the Tobs organization for believing in me and taking a chance on a kid who was just recovering from Tommy John surgery at the start of the 2022 summer,” said Harris. “But I couldn’t have done it alone. The CPL as a whole, has created great opportunities for me and my teammates. I’ve been a part of two great clubs in the past two years and being able to have fun in the clubhouse and on the field with my guys always enabled me to play loose and pitch with complete confidence. So thank you for my teammates, my coaches, and the staff at Wilson. All the things that are done behind the scenes makes all of this possible.”

The redshirt junior from UNC Pembroke spent his second consecutive summer wearing the Tobs’ black and gold in 2023 and was virtually untouchable. In six appearances - five starts - Harris ended with a 3-1 record and league-best 0.30 ERA. He was charged with just two runs - one earned - in 29 2/3 innings of work, while walking just eight and striking out 33. The 6-1, 195-pound righty also held opposing batters to a .200 average against him, sported a WHIP of 1.01 and a K/9 of 10.011.

“The CPL, as we all know, is a great league,” continued Harris. “One where talent bottlenecks in all facets of the game. This award, along with everything else that’s gone on this summer has made it one for my history books. It is a great honor and I want to thank everyone that voted for me. I love this game and I hope I can be mentioned with the greats in the North Carolina Baseball Museum one day.”

Harris repeated as a CPL East All-Star selection in 2023 after first accomplishing the feat in 2022. He also was a Second Team All-CPL honoree in 2022, and while the 2023 All-CPL teams won’t be announced until next week, he is sure to find his name among the First Team selections. 

And while Harris was slated to start on the bump for the East All-Stars this summer, he inked a free agent contract instead with the San Francisco Giants shortly after the CPL All-Star rosters were announced and reported to the Arizona Complex League (ACL). Harris’ father, Greg, won 45 games across eight seasons in the Majors, pitching for the San Diego Padres, Colorado Rockies and Minnesota Twins from 1988-95; and now the professional career for the younger Harris has begun. Going 3-0 with three saves and an 0.75 ERA with 21 strikeouts in 12 innings pitched for ACL Giants Black since signing, Harris has already earned his first promotion and is now with Single-A San Jose.

All player awards are selected after gathering feedback from head coaches and league officials, as well as seasonal statistical analysis. 

OUR ACE! Pitcher, Trent Harris has won the 2023 @cplbaseball Pitcher of the Year!

Congrats Trent! @trentharris_

Read more on https://t.co/QcPGJ1lqXd pic.twitter.com/aAldB6vKvm

— Wilson Tobs (@WilsonTobs) August 25, 2023

About Coastal Plain League

The Coastal Plain League is the nation’s premier summer collegiate baseball league. The CPL is currently comprised of 14 franchises playing in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. To date, the CPL has had nearly 1,750 alumni drafted and 181 alums make their Major League debut. Most notable alumni include Justin Verlander, Ryan Zimmerman, Mark Reynolds, Kevin Youkilis, Chris Taylor, Alec Bohm, Jake Cave, Chas McCormick and NFL Super Bowl champion Russell Wilson. For more information on the Coastal Plain League, please visit the league website at www.coastalplain.com, and be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok @CPLBaseball.