Crowder College Professional Athletes

Two pitchers from a junior college in Neosho, Missouri just helped send Milwaukee to its first World Series. Aaron Ashby and Jacob Misiorowski — both Crowder College alumni, both key cogs in the Brewers' pitching machine — were central figures as Milwaukee swept the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLCS, finishing the series Friday night with a 6-4 clinching win.

Ashby Steals the Show in the Clincher

The moment of the series belonged to Ashby. The left-handed reliever closed out the pennant with a 3-inning save in Game 4, striking out three and sealing a victory that sent Milwaukee to the Fall Classic. According to Yahoo Sports, it was just the seventh save of three or more innings in a postseason-clinching game in MLB history — a stat that puts Ashby in genuinely rare company alongside names like Madison Bumgarner and Lance McCullers Jr.

It wasn't Ashby's only contribution. He also appeared in Game 2 (a 7-4 Brewers win), throwing 1.2 innings with two strikeouts, and logged 2.0 innings with a strikeout in the series opener. By the time the confetti flew Friday, Ashby had been one of the most reliable arms in the Brewers' vaunted bullpen — a unit that defined Milwaukee's entire postseason formula.

Misiorowski Weathers a Rough Game 1

Misiorowski's NLCS began with more turbulence. The Brewers ace labored through 4.1 innings in Game 1, running up a 94-pitch count as the Dodgers fouled off 21 of his pitches and chased him before he could finish the fifth. He allowed one earned run, struck out five, and left with Milwaukee's bullpen tasked with protecting a one-run lead.

They delivered. The Brewers won 2-1, and Misiorowski's postseason ERA sat at 3.24 coming out of that start. The performance was, as Sportsnet put it, "an unusual combination of effective and disappointing" — but the Brewers leaned into their strengths and came away with the series-opening win anyway.

Misiorowski was vocal during the locker room celebration after the clincher, speaking on what it means to pitch in a World Series and praising the bullpen that carried the load when he and other starters couldn't go deep. That bullpen — anchored in no small part by the other Crowder alum — answered every time.

The Crowder Pipeline Is Very Real

Milwaukee's pitching success this October has drawn widespread attention, with multiple outlets noting the depth extends well beyond any single arm. But for fans of Crowder College, the story is impossible to miss: two alumni from the same small community college in southwest Missouri are now headed to the World Series together as key contributors on one of baseball's best staffs.

Ashby's historic save. Misiorowski's fire-eating ace role. The Brew Crew's first pennant in franchise history. For Crowder, this is a program-defining October.

A kid from Crowder College in Neosho, Missouri is throwing the hardest pitches in MLB postseason history. That's not hyperbole — it's now a matter of official record.

Milwaukee Brewers right-hander Jacob Misiorowski entered the 2026 playoffs as one of baseball's most electrifying arms, and he wasted no time proving it on the biggest stage. In his NLDS Game 1 start against the San Diego Padres, Misiorowski uncorked a 104.8 mph fastball — the fastest postseason pitch ever recorded since MLB began tracking velocity in 2008. It was just the opening salvo. According to The Sporting News, Misiorowski made MLB playoff history three times over in that outing, becoming the first pitcher to throw multiple 104+ mph pitches in a single postseason game.

The record-setting performance wasn't without turbulence. Misiorowski worked four innings, striking out six but surrendering two earned runs, finishing with a 4.50 ERA for the outing. Despite their ace operating at something less than his sharpest — Yahoo Sports noted he was "missing his A-game" — the Brewers rallied on home runs from Jackson Chourio and William Contreras to take Game 1, 3-2. Milwaukee had ranked last in MLB in home runs during the regular season, making the clutch power display all the more striking.

Misiorowski now holds three MLB records in just his second season, a remarkable trajectory for a pitcher who began his career at a community college in the Missouri Ozarks. His postseason role has been unambiguous: he is Milwaukee's ace, the man they trust with Game 1 of a series.

That trust carried forward into the NLCS. With the Brewers advancing past San Diego, Misiorowski is slated to start Game 1 of the NLCS against the Los Angeles Dodgers, with anticipation running so high that his expected matchup against Tarik Skubal is already driving ticket price interest in the series. Per Heavy Sports, Milwaukee also announced Robert Gasser for Game 3, reinforcing Misiorowski's status at the top of the rotation.

Fellow Crowder Alum Also Pitching In

Misiorowski isn't the only former Crowder Thunderbird active in Milwaukee's postseason run. Left-hander Aaron Ashby has contributed in a relief capacity throughout the NLDS. Ashby worked 1.2 innings in Game 1 and then turned in a stronger showing in Game 4, throwing three scoreless innings with three strikeouts as the Brewers closed out the Padres. It's a quiet but meaningful contribution from a pitcher who has navigated injury-interrupted seasons to find himself pitching in October again.

Together, Misiorowski and Ashby represent an unlikely postseason footnote: two alumni from the same small community college in Neosho, Missouri, both pitching critical innings for a Brewers team that has Dodger Stadium in its sights. Misiorowski is making history with every fastball. Ashby is doing the under-the-radar work that keeps leads intact. Crowder College has rarely had a better week.

From Neosho, Missouri to the postseason mountaintop — Jacob Misiorowski's journey from Crowder College to Milwaukee's ace has taken a turn that not even the most optimistic Brewers fan could have scripted.

The 24-year-old right-hander closed out a staggering 2026 regular season on Sunday, Sept. 27, tossing 5⅓ scoreless innings against St. Louis in a 6-4 Milwaukee win to finish 16-5 with a 1.80 ERA. Then, on Oct. 3, he walked out to the mound at American Family Field to start NLDS Game 1 against the San Diego Padres. For Crowder College alumni tracking one of their own, it doesn't get bigger than this.

A Regular Season for the Record Books

The superlatives attached to Misiorowski's 2026 campaign are not hyperbole — they are traceable to the record books. He set a 101 mph record that The Sporting News described as one that "might never be broken," becoming the first pitcher to reach that threshold under conditions that make the feat essentially unrepeatable. He also joined an extraordinarily short list of pitchers — Sandy Koufax among them — by accomplishing a rare three-part statistical feat tracked across MLB history. And per Sports Illustrated, he became just the fourth pitcher since 2000 to post a strikeout total higher than his slugging percentage allowed, joining Pedro Martinez and Randy Johnson in that company.

Misiorowski's final regular-season line helped the Brewers close at 103-59 — a franchise-best record. He could become the fourth Brewer ever to win a Cy Young Award, joining Rollie Fingers (1981), Pete Vukovich (1982), and Corbin Burnes (2021). Not everyone agrees he's the lock: FanSided made a pointed case that Phillies ace Cristopher Sánchez's bWAR and workload deserve more consideration. But the momentum heading into October was squarely behind "The Miz."

Taking the Ball in October

Milwaukee named Misiorowski the Game 1 starter against San Diego, where he faced left-hander Robbie Ray, who got the surprise nod for the Padres. The matchup drew immediate attention — Yahoo Sports' full NLDS breakdown identified Misiorowski as a central figure in the series equation, and Sports Illustrated argued his presence gives the Brewers a clear early-series edge.

Fellow Crowder alum Aaron Ashby is also on Milwaukee's NLDS roster, giving the small Neosho, Missouri junior college a remarkable two-man presence on a playoff pitching staff. Ashby's role figures to be out of the bullpen as Milwaukee navigates what it hopes is a deep October run.

The Bigger Picture

What Misiorowski has done in 2026 is the kind of story that reframes the scouting conversation around smaller programs. Crowder College doesn't produce MLB starters with Cy Young pedigrees on a regular schedule. This is singular. The 24-year-old has gone from a junior college arm to a pitcher whose name sits alongside Koufax, Pedro, and Randy Johnson in the same breath — not as marketing copy, but as a matter of documented statistical record.

Game 1 of the NLDS is underway. The Brewers' season, and Misiorowski's legend, are both very much in progress.

Crowder College's MLB Week: Sept. 20–26

A small community college in Neosho, Missouri is quietly producing one of the most compelling pitching stories in baseball — and the final week of the 2026 regular season has put it squarely in the spotlight.

Miz on the Doorstep of History

Jacob Misiorowski enters the final week of the regular season one start away from rewriting the Milwaukee Brewers' franchise record books. The sophomore right-hander posted a 1.86 ERA on the year, cementing his status as MLB's most unhittable starter — a transformation Fox Sports called the product of Misiorowski maximizing everything within his control: his body, velocity, arsenal, and command.

His most recent outing came Sunday, Sept. 20 on Sunday Night Baseball against the Baltimore Orioles. In a planned abbreviated start, Misiorowski delivered three sharp innings, surrendering just one hit and striking out four before the Brewers' bullpen closed out a 3-0 win that completed the series sweep. Milwaukee also set a franchise record with its 98th victory of the season in that game — a milestone Misiorowski helped deliver.

The early hook wasn't a cause for concern. With the postseason looming and Milwaukee managing its ace carefully, the Brewers pulled Misiorowski after three innings by design. His season-long ERA, still sitting at a jaw-dropping 1.86, tells the full story: this has been a historically dominant sophomore campaign.

What exactly is at stake in the final outing? According to Sports Illustrated, one more solid start puts Misiorowski in elite franchise company — a distinction that would formalize what the numbers already suggest: he's the best pitcher the Brewers have had in a generation.

Ashby Quietly Holds His Own

While Misiorowski commands the headlines, fellow Crowder alum Aaron Ashby has quietly contributed out of the Brewers bullpen in the season's final stretch. Ashby worked two innings against the Philadelphia Phillies on Sept. 24 with two strikeouts, then turned in another two-inning, two-strikeout outing against the St. Louis Cardinals on Sept. 26 as Milwaukee closed out the regular season. His ERA settled at 3.12 — respectable work from a reliever helping to protect one of the most well-constructed pitching staffs in baseball.

Sports Illustrated noted that Misiorowski's brilliance has somewhat overshadowed another Brewers pitcher making history this year — a nod to the depth of talent surrounding Milwaukee's ace, a depth Ashby is part of.

The Crowder Connection

It's a remarkable footnote to a remarkable season: two active MLB pitchers from Crowder College, a two-year school with fewer than 5,000 students, are contributing to a Milwaukee rotation and bullpen that has set a franchise wins record. Misiorowski is the star, but the pipeline is real.

With one start left, Misiorowski has a chance to put a bow on the most dominant sophomore pitching season in Brewers history. For alumni of a small Missouri junior college, that's not a footnote — that's a headline.