Chayton Krauss has been named to the Tony Gwynn Trophy Starting 9, as announced by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association on Wednesday, placing him among the nation's premier student-athletes. The Starting 9 compose the finalists for the second annual Tony Gwynn Trophy, an honor awarded to the player who best embodies the legendary outfielder's legacy through community service, personal integrity, and excellence on both the field and in the classroom.
 
Krauss has established himself as one of the best players to don a DBU uniform. In just his third season on University Hill, the two-time First Team All-Conference USA selection has climbed up the ranks of the record books, currently fourth in program history with 47 career home runs and second all-time with 194 RBI. Already one of only four players in school history with 200 career hits and 40 career home runs, he would join Jason Krizan as the only Patriots with 200 hits, 200 RBI, and 40 home runs. For the 2026 season, he leads Conference USA with 16 home runs, 57 RBI, and 120 total bases while posting a glistening .993 fielding percentage, splitting time between first and third base.
 
Away from the diamond, the fifth-year senior from Coppell, Texas, has been exemplary of what it means to be a Patriot. Academically, Krauss has earned a spot on the Conference USA Commissioner's Honor Roll each of his three years at DBU and received the Conference USA Commissioner's Academic Medal in April. Away from campus, he has been involved in local and international service opportunities, including serving people with adaptive and special needs in the Miracle League, teaching baseball to local youth through Mercy Street, and traveling with DBU to the Dominican Republic to run baseball clinics for the local community.
 
In the two-year existence of the Tony Gwynn Trophy, Krauss is the first Patriot to take a spot on the Starting 9. The winner will be announced in June at the Men's College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska.