McCullough Earns Freshman All-America Honors
Jun 02, 2020 | Baseball
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Registering a 2.25 earned run average and a team-best 29 strikeouts, K-State right-handed pitcher Connor McCullough was named to Collegiate Baseball's 2020 Freshman All-America Team, the publication announced Tuesday.
McCullough, a redshirt freshman, made four weekend starts in 2020, going 2-1 while putting together three consecutive quality starts to begin his collegiate career. His 29 strikeouts and 24 innings pitched ranked seventh and eighth in the Big 12, respectively, and were both tops among freshmen in the conference.
Through his first three starts, he posted a 0.95 ERA, with two earned runs given up on only eight hits over 19 innings pitched. The Arkansas transfer held opponents to a .202 average on the season, yielding only three extra-base hits over 24 innings.
McCullough earned his first collegiate win on February 21 against Missouri, as the 6-foot righty limited the Tigers to one run over six innings in a 5-1 victory in Corpus Christi, Texas. In his second victory, he punched out a season-high nine batters over seven innings of work without an earned run allowed in a 12-2 win over Fairleigh Dickinson (February 28).
He allowed zero or one run in each of his first three collegiate starts while throwing a minimum of six innings to go with at least six strikeouts.
McCullough's efforts helped the Cats to a team ERA of 2.07 – the sixth-best team ERA in the country and tops in the Big 12. K-State also ranked fourth in the nation as a pitching staff in hits allowed her nine innings (5.6) and fifth in WHIP (1.01), both of which were best in the conference.
Following his breakout campaign, the Maumelle, Arkansas, product was rated as the nation's No. 10 pitcher among freshmen, according to D1Baseball.com's analytics.
McCullough is the sixth Wildcat pitcher to collected Freshman All-America accolades from Collegiate Baseball, as current K-State lefty Jordan Wicks earned the honor in 2019.
The Wildcats ended the 2020 season with a record of 10-7, winning seven of their final nine games in head coach Pete Hughes' second season.
McCullough, a redshirt freshman, made four weekend starts in 2020, going 2-1 while putting together three consecutive quality starts to begin his collegiate career. His 29 strikeouts and 24 innings pitched ranked seventh and eighth in the Big 12, respectively, and were both tops among freshmen in the conference.
Through his first three starts, he posted a 0.95 ERA, with two earned runs given up on only eight hits over 19 innings pitched. The Arkansas transfer held opponents to a .202 average on the season, yielding only three extra-base hits over 24 innings.
McCullough earned his first collegiate win on February 21 against Missouri, as the 6-foot righty limited the Tigers to one run over six innings in a 5-1 victory in Corpus Christi, Texas. In his second victory, he punched out a season-high nine batters over seven innings of work without an earned run allowed in a 12-2 win over Fairleigh Dickinson (February 28).
He allowed zero or one run in each of his first three collegiate starts while throwing a minimum of six innings to go with at least six strikeouts.
McCullough's efforts helped the Cats to a team ERA of 2.07 – the sixth-best team ERA in the country and tops in the Big 12. K-State also ranked fourth in the nation as a pitching staff in hits allowed her nine innings (5.6) and fifth in WHIP (1.01), both of which were best in the conference.
Following his breakout campaign, the Maumelle, Arkansas, product was rated as the nation's No. 10 pitcher among freshmen, according to D1Baseball.com's analytics.
McCullough is the sixth Wildcat pitcher to collected Freshman All-America accolades from Collegiate Baseball, as current K-State lefty Jordan Wicks earned the honor in 2019.
The Wildcats ended the 2020 season with a record of 10-7, winning seven of their final nine games in head coach Pete Hughes' second season.
Players Mentioned
RHP
/ Baseball
LHP
/ BaseballK-State Baseball | Batcat Bash Recap
Tuesday, February 10
K-State Baseball | First Look - New Bats
Thursday, February 05
K-State Baseball | Media Day Press Conference - February 4, 2026
Wednesday, February 04
K-State Baseball | Practice Begins 2026
Tuesday, January 13
