Howard College Professional Athletes

When the Los Angeles Dodgers went out and signed Tanner Scott this offseason, the expectation was that the Howard College product would help shore up a bullpen capable of going deep into October. Through the first week of September, he's making good on that promise.

Scott turned in back-to-back strong outings between September 6 and September 9, striking out five batters across two innings of work while lowering his ERA to 2.62. In Sunday's narrow 6–5 win over the Nationals, Scott worked a full inning, punching out three while allowing one earned run. Three days later against the Reds in a tighter 3–2 Dodgers victory, he was even cleaner — one inning, two strikeouts, no damage.

The numbers tell part of the story, but context fills in the rest. Scott's steadiness has stood out against the backdrop of a Dodgers bullpen that has been anything but consistent. Closer Edwin Díaz, signed to a three-year, $69 million deal over the offseason, has struggled mightily to justify that investment. Scott, by contrast, has quietly become one of the more dependable arms Dave Roberts can turn to in high-leverage moments, a notable turnaround after a rocky first season in Los Angeles.

For Howard College — the junior college out of Big Spring, Texas — Scott's emergence as a key piece on one of baseball's marquee franchises is a legitimate point of pride. He's the kind of pipeline success story that smaller programs build recruiting around.

The other Howard College alumni currently on MLB rosters — Connor Sadzeck with the Pirates and Brandon Young with the Red Sox — did not have notable activity reflected in the research period, leaving Scott as the clear headliner for the Hawks faithful this week.

With the Dodgers in the thick of playoff positioning and their bullpen construction under scrutiny, Scott's role figures to grow rather than shrink as September deepens. For a team built to win a World Series, a left-handed reliever posting a sub-3.00 ERA with consistent swing-and-miss stuff is exactly the kind of complementary piece that can make a difference when the calendar turns to October. Howard College alumni have reason to keep a close eye on the Dodgers' late-inning usage charts.

Tanner Scott is doing something no other MLB reliever has done in 2026 — but the Howard College product had a week he'd probably like to forget.

The Dodgers' closer enters the final stretch of August as the only reliever in baseball with 19 saves this season, a milestone that underscores his stranglehold on the ninth-inning role in Los Angeles. But Scott's rough patch against Atlanta cast a shadow over that achievement, and the Braves made him pay — twice.

The Atlanta Problem

Scott allowed an earned run in each of his two appearances against the Braves (Aug. 25 and Aug. 26), surrendering a total of two runs across 1.2 innings with one strikeout. The uglier moment came on Aug. 26, when a two-out rally in the bottom of the ninth ended with Ha-Seong Kim walking off the Dodgers 6-5. It was the kind of gut-punch loss that closers' nightmares are made of — and for Scott, it marked the second consecutive game Atlanta had gotten to him.

The Braves series wasn't a total collapse — Scott's ERA sat at 2.50 after the Aug. 26 appearance — but for a closer being counted on to protect leads in a postseason race, back-to-back tough outings against the same opponent raises legitimate questions heading into September.

The Bounce-Back

To Scott's credit, he didn't sulk. On Friday, Aug. 28, he returned to form against Detroit, tossing a clean inning with two strikeouts and no runs allowed. His ERA dropped to 2.45 on the night, a signal that the Braves series may have been a speed bump rather than a structural flaw.

The broader picture still favors Scott: 19 saves remains a singular achievement in this year's reliever landscape, and the Dodgers have shown no indication they're pulling him from the closer's role despite the turbulence. With Tyler Glasnow returning to the rotation and Shohei Ohtani reportedly nearing a comeback, the window for Los Angeles is very much open — and Scott remains the key to locking it shut at the end of games.

The Howard College Pipeline

Scott isn't the only Howard College alumnus active in the majors this week. Connor Sadzeck is on the Pittsburgh Pirates' pitching staff, though no appearances were logged during the Aug. 23–29 window. Brandon Young is in the Baltimore Orioles organization as well.

For a junior college in Big Spring, TX, putting multiple arms on MLB rosters is no small thing. But right now, Scott is the one carrying the flag — saves record and all.

When Edwin Díaz landed on the injured list with neck inflammation — his second IL stint with Los Angeles this season — the Dodgers needed someone to step into the ninth inning and not blink. Howard College alumnus Tanner Scott has been that guy, and then some.

Scott is posting a 2.24 ERA in 2026, cementing himself as one of the more reliable late-inning arms in the National League. The left-hander's week encapsulated what his season has looked like: steady, efficient, and largely unhittable. He worked 1.0 innings against Colorado on Thursday in a 6-4 Dodgers win, followed that with 1.1 innings in a tighter 7-6 victory Wednesday — allowing one earned run but absorbing the extra out — and then closed out his week with another clean 1.0-inning, one-strikeout performance against Pittsburgh on Saturday. Over those three appearances, his ERA ticked from 2.32 down to 2.24. That's the wrong direction for opposing hitters and exactly the right one for L.A.

The Bounce-Back Story

What makes Scott's 2026 run particularly compelling is the context behind it. This is a pitcher who has leaned into an unlikely personal brand — teammates call him "BBL," a nickname that, according to a recent deep-dive, wasn't entirely organic in its origins — to fuel a kind of inner confidence that's translated directly to results on the mound. Evan Phillips, one of Scott's fellow Dodgers relievers, admitted he initially didn't understand what the fuss was about. The numbers are making the case for him now.

Díaz's IL stint for neck inflammation — confirmed by MRI imaging taken Wednesday — opened the door, but Scott didn't just walk through it. He kicked it down. Fantasy baseball analysts have already taken notice, slotting him into updated closer rankings as a must-roster arm while Díaz's timeline remains unclear.

The Howard College Thread

Scott isn't the only Howard College product active in MLB this week. Connor Sadzeck remains on the Pittsburgh Pirates' roster, and Brandon Young is with the Baltimore Orioles organization. But Scott is the headliner, and by a wide margin — a Howard College alum running the ninth inning for the Los Angeles Dodgers is exactly the kind of story that doesn't get old in Big Spring, Texas.

For a junior college program in West Texas, producing a pitcher who's thriving in the highest-leverage role on one of baseball's marquee franchises is a remarkable testament to what Howard College has quietly built. Scott's 2.24 ERA isn't a fluke or a small-sample mirage at this point in the season — it's a statement.

The Dodgers bought in on Scott this offseason expecting a high-leverage weapon. With Díaz's body continuing to betray him, what they've gotten instead is their closer — and he's wearing the job well.