WAC TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
Fresno State Bulldogs (0-0, 0-0 WAC)
Fresno State has won five-consecutive WAC Titles and made four consecutive NCAA Regional Appearances from 2006 to 2009, including a National Title in 2008 ... Jordan Ribera became the fifth Bulldog in the last seven years to be named the WAC Most Valuable Player. He also earned several All-American honors ... the Bulldogs have had 34 consecutive .500 or better seasons ... Fresno State has made 32 NCAA appearances, the most of any WAC schools ... seven Bulldogs garnered all-WAC honors last season and two Bulldogs were taken in the 2009 MLB Draft ... the Bulldogs return seven position starters and their entire starting pitching rotation from 2009.
Hawai‘i Rainbows (0-0, 0-0 WAC)
Hawai‘i is ranked No. 38 in Collegiate Baseball Magazine’s Preseason Top 40 Poll ... Hawai‘i won the WAC Tournament for the first time since 1992 and advanced to its first NCAA Regional since 2006 last season ... Hawai‘i first baseman Kolten Wong was named to the Collegiate Baseball Preseason All-America team ... Hawai‘i finished the 2010 season at 35-28 and ranked No. 30 in the Collegiate Baseball Top 30 Poll ... Hawai‘i returns four All-WAC selections from 2010 ... Hawai‘i led the WAC with team-low 5.05 ERA last season ... Kolten Wong was second in the WAC with 17 stolen bases.
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (0-0, 0-0 WAC)
The Bulldogs welcome back 20 letterwinners and seven position starters from a 2010 squad that shattered four school records for hits (697), runs (484), doubles (141) and RBI (441). Of the returning starters, four were named all-WAC performers last season highlighted by first team selection, Mark Threlkeld ... senior Clint Ewing and junior Mark Threlkeld have been tabbed preseason all-WAC selections by Baseball America and Perfect Game USA. Ewing, one of five seniors on the Tech roster, was named as the conferences’ catcher in both publications ... Threlkeld was named as the third baseman in the Baseball America preview while Perfect Game USA cited the junior slugger as the conferences’ DH selection.
Nevada Wolf Pack (0-0, 0-0 WAC)
Designated hitter/LHP Brock Stassi (first-team All-WAC pitcher, WAC Pitcher of the Year and second-team All-WAC utility), infielder/outfielder Brian Barnett (second-team outfielder), RHP Jeremy Cole (second-team) and left fielder Nick Melino (second-team) all return after earning All-WAC honors last season ... the Wolf Pack returns three starting pitchers and six position players ... Brock Stassi earned preseason All-WAC honors and preseason second-team All-America honors from College Baseball Lineup as a utility player this offseason ... Brian Barnett earned Preseason All-WAC honors, third-team All-America honors from College Baseball Lineup and was named Pro-Line National College Baseball Writers Association Preseason All-America.
NM State Aggies (0-0, 0-0 WAC)
Chace Perkins named preseason All-American by CollegeBaseballLineup.com (formerly PING!Baseball) after he finished the 2010 season with a team-leading 17 home runs, while he also posted a team-high .746 slugging percentage and a team-high 70 RBI ... he 2010 Aggie baseball team was in the top-10 nationally in on-base percentage (.449), slugging percentage (.572), OPS (1.021), batting average (.349), runs (613), hits (776), doubles (161) home runs (104), RBI (576) total bases (1272) and walks (382). NM State led the nation in on-base percentage, runs and RBI ... The Aggies hit 104 home runs in 2010, which ranked No. 7 in the nation. The year before, NM State belted 119 homers, which broke the old record of 115 bombs set in 2004.
Sacramento State Hornets (0-0, 0-0 WAC)
The 2011 Sacramento State baseball team will have a new head coach for the first time in 32 seasons as Reggie Christiansen takes over for long-time skipper John Smith ... Sacramento State has a huge talent infusion for 2011, with 17 newcomers set to join the squad ... f the 17 new faces on the rookie head coach’s team, pitcher Dallas Chadwick (18th round), catcher Derek Goodwin (46th round) and pitcher Hunter Greenwood (48th round) were selected in the Major League Baseball draft ... the Hornets will also have the services of designated hitter/first baseman Trevor Paine, who paced the Hornets in batting average, home runs, RBIs and total bases last season.
SJSU Spartans (0-0, 0-0 WAC)
San Jose State has three players who have made 100 or more starts in a Spartan uniform - Jason Martin (168), Danny Stienstra (126) and Craig Hertler (100) ... pitcher Blake McFarland was a 2010 first-team All-WAC honoree and a 2010 All-WAC Tournament selection ... pitcher Zack Jones was named the WAC Freshman of the Year, a first-team Ping!Baseball Freshman All-American and a College Baseball Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American in 2010 ... in 2010, Pitcher Roberto Padilla won 15 games and led Ohlone College to the state championship ... he was named the California and Coast-Pacific Conference Pitcher of the Year, a first-team All-Northern California performer and an ABCA/Rawlings Pacific Association All-American.
WAC NOTES
FRESNO STATE PICKED BY COACHES
Fresno State has been selected as the favorite to win the 2011 WAC regular season baseball crown in a vote by the league’s seven head coaches. Fresno State received 32 points and four first place votes after a 38-25 season last year. The Bulldogs have won the WAC regular season title four out of the past five seasons. Hawai‘i, last year’s WAC Tournament champion, ranked second with 30 points and two first place votes. UH was followed by Nevada with 25, San Jose State with 24, New Mexico State with 16 points, Louisiana Tech with 14, and Sacramento State with six.
2011 PRESEASON ALL-WAC TEAM SELECTED
The coaches avoted on a preseason all-WAC team with Fresno State leading the way as it placed seven players on the team. Hawai‘i junior second baseman Kolten Wong was named the preseason player of the year, while San Jose State senior Blake McFarland was picked the preseason pitcher of the year. The preseason all-WAC team included seven Fresno State players: junior outfielder Brennan Gowens, junior outfielder Dusty Robinson, senior first baseman Jordan Ribera, senior shortstop Garrett Weber, senior third baseman Danny Muno, junior catcher Trent Garrison and senior starting pitcher Greg Gonzalez. Hawai‘i had four players on the team: junior second baseman Kolten Wong, senior designated hitter Jeff Van Doornum, junior starting pitcher Matt Sisto and junior relief pitcher Lenny Linsky. Nevada had two players on the team:senior outfielder Brian Barnett and senior utility player Brock Stassi. San Jose State also placed two on the team in senior starting pitcher Blake McFarland and sophomore relief pitcher Zack Jones. New Mexico State was represented by senior outfielder Chace Perkins. Wong was picked as the preseason player of the year after hitting .357 last year with 89 hits, 57 runs, 40 RBI and 15 doubles. McFarland was selected the preseason pitcher of the year after posting a 7-4 record with 71 strikeouts and a 3.62 ERA last season.
THREE WAC PLAYERS EARN PRESEASON ALL-AMERICA STATUS
Three WAC players earned preseason All-America nods. Fresno State first baseman Jordan Ribera and Hawai‘i second baseman Kolten Wong were named to the Louisville Slugger Preseason All-America team, as selected by the writers of Collegiate Baseball. Both players received second team honors. Ribera and Nevada outfielder Brian Barnett were named to the 11th annual Pro-Line National College Baseball Writers Association Preseason All-America team.
2011 WAC TOURNAMENT RETURNS TO MESA’S HOHOKAM STADIUM
After a succesful 2010 tournament, the WAC baseball tournament will return to Mesa, Arizona this May. The event will be played at Mesa’s Hohokam Stadium, the Chicago Cubs Spring Training home. The City of Mesa, Mesa Convention & Visitors Bureau and Phoenix Regional Sports Commission worked in tandem to secure the event for a second-straight season, which features Hawai‘i, Fresno State, Louisiana Tech, Sacramento State, Nevada, New Mexico State and San Jose State. The City of Mesa will once again host the double-elimination tournament with the winner earning the WAC’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The top six teams from the WAC’s regular season standings will advance to the tournament. The WAC Baseball Tournament is no stranger to the state of Arizona and the City of Mesa. The league’s championship has been played in Arizona 10 times (1963, 65, 67, 69, 71, 73, 75, 76, 78, 2010) and the event was held in Mesa in 1971, 1973 and 2010. Mesa has fast become the third largest metropolitan city in the state of Arizona offering a variety of lifestyle and leisure pursuits that are in high demand by visitors and residents alike. Now boasting 460,000 residents, Mesa’s population is greater than such well-known cities as Minneapolis, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, and Miami. Mesa is unique among cities in the Phoenix area as it is embraced by the Sonoran Desert – a playground for sought-after outdoor recreation and one-of-a-kind attractions. As a sports destination, Mesa shines offering some of the nation’s best training facilities for field sports paired with unbeatable year-round weather and award-winning hotels. Mesa has been recognized as one of the country’s most desirable destinations for hosting dynamic sporting events and athletic competitions on all levels: amateur, youth, collegiate, and professional. Hohokam Stadium is best known as the winter home of the Chicago Cubs and is major league baseball’s most popular spring training venue. Boasting one of the largest capacities in the Cactus League, more than 240,000 attendees pass through its gates each March. In addition to hosting Cactus League Spring Training, Hohokam Stadium is also the home of the Mesa Solar Sox of the Arizona Fall League. Hohokam Stadium and adjacent training facility opened in February 1997. The stadium seats 13,030 and includes one practice field and one practice infield.