Sam Cozart is in the running for one of college baseball’s top relief honors after being named Thursday as one of 14 finalists for the Stopper of the Year Award. The freshman right-hander gave Texas a late-inning weapon in his first season in burnt orange, and now he is waiting for the winner to be announced June 12 at the Men’s College World Series.

For readers looking up Cozart now, the reason is simple: his freshman season has turned into national award season. He posted a 1.72 ERA in 47 innings, struck out 67 batters and held opponents to a.137 average, production that helped him finish second among rookies in the country with eight saves. He also was named a finalist for the Baseball America National Freshman of the Year Award, adding another line to a season that drew attention well beyond Austin.

His work was even sharper against SEC competition. Cozart finished league play with a 1.01 ERA and a 0.64 WHIP, and his seven saves were the most by any pitcher in the SEC. That combination of numbers explains why he landed among the 14 finalists and why Texas can now point to him as the fifth player in program history to reach that stage for the award.

The list around him gives the announcement more weight. J. Brent Cox, Chance Ruffin and Corey Knebel all won the Stopper of the Year Award after getting finalist recognition, while Dylan Volantis is the other Texas name on the program’s finalist roll. Cozart’s place beside them matters because he is still only a freshman, competing for a national pitching award while the sport waits for the final vote to be revealed.

That is the part that remains unresolved. Cozart has already done the part that can be measured: the saves, the strikeouts, the ERA, the poise in conference play. What he does not yet have is the result that will decide whether a breakout freshman season becomes an award-winning one, and that answer will come June 12 in Omaha.