Baylor’s Troy Montemayor and Oklahoma State’s Tyler Buffett are among 40 pitchers named to the Midseason Watch List for the 12th annual National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Stopper of the Year Award, given to the top relief pitcher in NCAA Division I baseball.

Montemayor is among 10 underclassmen featured on the list. The sophomore leads the Big 12 in saves on the season with nine total, which also ranks 19th nationally. In 19 appearances for the Bears, he sports a 0.95 ERA with a 1-1 record and 16 strikeouts in 19 innings. He’s only allowed one extra-base hit and two earned runs over his outings.

Buffett ranks third in the league in ERA with a 1.90 mark. Named to the National Pitcher of the Year Award Watch List by the National College Baseball Hall of Fame, Buffett is 2-0 with four saves and a 1.93 ERA in eight relief outings in Big 12 play. He has allowed only three runs in 14.0 innings while racking up 14 strikeouts against league foes. In the month of March, Buffett appeared in 11 of OSU’s 18 games and went 4-0 with four saves and a 1.54 ERA to go along with 27 strikeouts in 23 1/3 innings. He was named the Big 12 Pitcher of the Week twice (March 7th and 28th).

The NCBWA will announce five finalists for the 2016 Stopper of the Year – the Division I national saves leader and four other relief pitching standouts – on Wednesday, June 8, prior to the start of NCAA Super Regional competition. The NCBWA’s All-America Committee will select the winner, with this year’s recipient to be announced during the 2016 College World Series.

A Big 12 pitcher has claimed the honor on four occasions (2011 - Corey Knebel, Texas; 2010 - Chance Ruffin, Texas; 2006 Don Czyz, Kansas; and 2005 - J. Brent Cox, Texas).