After a breakout season to remember, the accolades have begun rolling in for Cade Horton.

In the 100th anniversary edition of their MLB awards, The Sporting News named the Cubs’ right-hander their 2025 NL Rookie of the Year winner on Thursday.

Horton is the first Cub to win The Sporting News’ award since Kris Bryant in 2015 and the first Cubs pitcher since Kerry Wood won in 1998. Athletics first baseman Nick Kurtz earned the 2025 AL honor.

The iconic publication’s awards are peer-voted, meaning Horton was chosen for the honor via votes from 320 MLB players per The Sporting News’ website. In that way, it differs from MLB’s official Rookie of the Year Award, which is voted on by members of the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA). That award is slated to be announced on Nov. 10.

Still, it’s a well-earned honor for Horton, who stormed on the scene in May and pitched to an 11-4 record with a 2.67 ERA in 23 appearances, 22 of them starts.

Over 118 innings, Horton posted a 1.08 WHIP and struck out 97 batters before a rib fracture kept him out of commission for the entirety of the Cubs’ playoff run.

Horton made a name for himself after the All-Star break when he posted a 1.03 ERA over 12 starts and 61.1 innings of work. He had an unprecedented 28.1 scoreless innings streak from July 9 to August 13, the longest such streak for a Cubs rookie.

The Cubs drafted the 23-year-old No. 7 overall out of the University of Oklahoma in 2022. He made 36 starts in his minor league career, posting a 2.79 ERA and a 1.03 WHIP in 151.2 innings across four levels of the Cubs’ farm system. He was named the Cubs’ Minor League Pitcher of the Year in his first full professional season in 2023.