WACO, Texas — National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association today announced the Tony Gwynn Community Service Trophy Starting Nine, which includes BYU relief pitcher Ashton Johnson.
The annual Gwynn Trophy, now in its second year, honors collegiate baseball student-athletes who are active in their community and represent their programs with integrity, while excelling in the classroom and on the field. The winner of the 2026 Gwynn Trophy will be selected from the group of Starting Nine finalists, in a vote by NCBWA board members, select college baseball coaches and national media members.
Johnson, a senior lefthander from Holladay, Utah, has appeared in 42 games at BYU since joining the Cougar baseball program in the summer of 2024 as a junior college transfer from College of Southern Idaho.
Over two seasons, Johnson has a record of 6-5 with seven saves. He also has a career ERA of 3.66 in 86 innings, allowing just 24 walks while striking out 69. In addition to his success on the field, Johnson also excels in the classroom where he is neuroscience major with a 3.85 cumulative GPA. Following the 2025 baseball season he was named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team and earned the Big 12 Gerald Lage Award for athletic and academic excellence. Prior to coming arriving at BYU, Johnson was a two-time NJCAA Academic All-American at CSI.
Johnson is also very involved in a wide range of community service. He Is a two-year member of the SAAC and was the male student-athlete representative for BYU at the Big 12 Career Tour in Dallas in 2025. He is involved in a variety of service including the KIND Fund, buying school clothes for children in need and Mac’s Gift Children’s Cancer Foundation, making sure families dealing with childhood cancer have presents for Christmas.
In addition, he volunteers for the BYU Sports Hero Day, teaching baseball skills to youth in the community also works with Sole Hope to send shoes to children in Uganda.
“Ashton embodies what BYU baseball is all about on the field, in the classroom and in the service he performs,” said BYU head baseball coach Trent Pratt. “In addition to his success on the mound, he has been actively involved in a wide variety of service, including several projects to help families in need both locally and internationally. Ashton is also a model student-athlete with a 3.85 cumulative GPA in neuroscience and plans to attend medical school. He represents all that is great about collegiate athletics.”
Finalists for the Tony Gwynn Community Service Trophy include a decorated list of nine elite student-athletes in college baseball who represent five different conferences, including the ACC, Big 12, C-USA, MAC and the SEC. Included in the finalist are Johnson, LSU outfielder Chris Stanfield, Louisiana infielder Lee Amedee, Pitt outfielder Lorenzo Carrier, Mississippi State outfielder Bryce Chance, Arkansas infielder Camden Kozeal, DBU infielder Chayton Krauss, Louisville outfielder Zion Rose and Toledo outfielder Troy Sudbrook.