CORVALLIS, Ore. -- Pac-12 sluggers will have to endure another season at the plate with Oregon State’s Kevin Abel on the mound.

On Monday OSU baseball announced the star right-hander will return for the 2021 season. Abel, the star of the Beavers’ 2018 College World Series title run, was named the freshman of the year by Baseball America after recording an 8-1 record with a 2.23 ERA.

However, he’s only pitched three games since that iconic season after being sidelined by Tommy John surgery in March 2019. Before the start of the shortened 2020 season, he was removed from OSU’s roster with speculation that he would turn pro this summer.

Unfortunately, last week’s Major League Baseball draft was condensed from 40 total rounds to five due to the pandemic. No teams gave Abel a call during those five rounds.

In 2017, Abel was drafted in the 35th round by the San Diego Padres following his senior year of school, but he chose to take the mound at Goss Stadium instead. It's a decision Beaver Nation was very pleased with, as OSU fans will now get another opportunity to watch him play.