Northeastern's Cam Schlittler Named AL Cy Young Winner
Brandon Poli
BOSTON -- Former Northeastern baseball right-hander Cam Schlittler (2020-22) has been named the 2026 American League Cy Young Award winner, becoming the first Husky to win the honor and the first former Northeastern player to claim a major MLB award since 2008. Schlittler is the seventh Yankee to win the Cy Young and the first since Gerrit Cole in 2023.
In his second Major League season, Schlittler went 14-6 with an American League-best 1.95 ERA, striking out 239 batters against just 49 walks in 193.2 innings (0.92 WHIP). His ERA is the third lowest in Yankees history behind Spud Chandler (1.64 in 1943) and Ron Guidry (1.74 in 1978) and the lowest by an AL pitcher since 2022. He led the league in pitching WAR (6.2) and opponent on-base percentage (.244), finished second in the AL in strikeouts and innings pitched, and tied Jack Chesbro (1904) for the fourth-most strikeouts in a season by a Yankee. Schlittler allowed one run or fewer in a Major League-best 21 starts and posted a 1.17 ERA over his final nine outings, pulling away from the AL field down the stretch. He was also dominant on the road, going 8-2 with a 1.16 ERA, the best road ERA among qualified big leaguers. Earlier this offseason, he was named the Players Choice AL Outstanding Pitcher, and he made his first AL All-Star team in July.
The Massachusetts native burst onto the scene in 2025, beginning the year in Double-A before making his MLB debut on July 9 against Seattle, a start in which he struck out seven. Schlittler went 4-3 with a 2.96 ERA and 84 strikeouts in 14 starts, allowing three runs or fewer in each of his first nine career starts and reeling off 17.2 straight scoreless innings in August. He then made history in his postseason debut, firing eight scoreless innings with 12 strikeouts and no walks in a winner-take-all Game 3 of the AL Wild Card Series against Boston, the first pitcher in MLB history with that line in a playoff game. He was named to the Baseball America All-Rookie Team, capping a climb that included South Atlantic League Pitcher of the Year honors at High-A Hudson Valley in 2024.
Schlittler arrived at Northeastern from Walpole High School in 2020 and went 1-0 with a 1.32 ERA in three appearances before the season was cut short. As a redshirt freshman in 2021, he led the CAA in wins (8) and ERA (1.88), ranking 11th nationally in the latter, while striking out 85 batters in 76.2 innings. He was named CAA Co-Rookie of the Year, becoming the fourth Husky to win the award and the first since Ian Fair in 2018. He also earned All-CAA First Team, CAA All-Rookie Team and CAA All-Tournament Team honors, as well as Freshman All-America recognition from Baseball America (second team), Collegiate Baseball and the NCBWA. Schlittler tossed eight innings in the opening game of the CAA Tournament against Charleston and took the ball again in the championship game on two days' rest as Northeastern won its first CAA title in program history. The Huskies finished with a school-record 36 wins.
Schlittler entered 2022 as the CAA Preseason Co-Player of the Year and a Collegiate Baseball Preseason Second Team All-American. He led the team with 91.2 innings that spring, and his 85 strikeouts ranked third in the conference. In three seasons at NU, Schlittler went 14-9 with a 2.67 ERA and 180 strikeouts in 182.0 innings before the Yankees selected him in the seventh round (220th overall) of the 2022 MLB Draft.