WCC CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL

SAN BRUNO, Calif. --

Pepperdine captured the 2018 regular season West Coast Conference Championship for the first time since 2014 and collected four of the five major individual awards and placed five on the 2018 All-WCC first and second teams as announced by the league office. The Waves (29-22, 17-10 WCC) won the 18th WCC title in program history and snapped a two year run of regular season tri-champions.

Pepperdine won four major honors, led by WCC Player of the YearJordan Qsar (RS-Jr., OF/RHP), WCC Pitcher of the YearJonathan Pendergast (Jr., RHP), WCC Freshman of the YearCooper Chandler (RHP) and Rick Hirtensteiner was selected by his peers as WCC Coach of the Year for the first time. Loyola Marymount's Cooper Uhl (So., C) prevented the Waves sweep by earning WCC Defensive Player of the Year. All five individual awards -- along with the All-West Coast Conference First, Second and Freshman Teams -- were voted on solely by the league's 10 head coaches.

Qsar is the first Pepperdine student-athlete to capture WCC Player of the Year honors since 2012 (Joe Sever) and the 15th overall. Qsar batted .330 during league play with seven doubles, two triples, six home runs and a WCC-best 32 RBI. The redshirt junior enjoyed a career year for Pepperdine and ranked eighth in hits, second in slugging percentage (.620) and second in home runs. On the mound Qsar made nine appearances, including one start and struck out three in 9.2 innings and did not issue a walk.

Pendergast is the third Pepperdine hurler in five years to collect WCC Pitcher of the Year honors and the first since All-American A.J. Puckett accomplished the feat in 2016. A unanimous selection, Pendergast posted a WCC-best 7-2 record during league action with a 2.38 ERA, allowing just 17 earned runs in 64.1 innings while posting a 51/10 strikeout to walk ratio. Opposing batters hit .236 against with just 11 extra-base hits. Pendergast is the 16th Wave to collect Pitcher of the Year accolades and ranked second among league leaders in innings, fourth in ERA and ninth in strikeouts.

Chandler enjoyed a strong freshman campaign for Pepperdine and excelled after stepping into the Friday starter role after injuries knocked out the projected ace, posting a 4-1 record down the stretch with 20 strikeouts in his last 36.0 innings. During league play, Chandler went 5-1 with a 2.72 ERA, struck out 26 and walked 15. Opposing batters hit .269 with just eight extra-base hits. Chandler is the 11th Wave to earn WCC Freshman of the Year honors and the first since former Major Leaguer Barry Enright in 2005.

Uhl enjoyed a strong season behind the plate for Loyola Marymount and collected Defensive Player of the Year honors. The sophomore catcher threw out 12 would-be baserunners and committed just three errors en route to a .982 fielding percentage. In addition to his stellar defensive work, Uhl batted .314 with four doubles and nine RBI in his second season with the Lions. Uhl managed an LMU staff that posted a 4.56 team ERA during conference play. Uhl is the third LMU student-athlete to earn defensive player of the year honors and the first since Colton Plaia and David Fletcher won back-to-back honors (2013-14).

Hirtensteiner earned his first Coach of the Year honor after guiding Pepperdine to its first outright regular season WCC title since 2014 when the Waves advanced to the NCAA Super Regional. Pepperdine ranked second in team ERA (3.11) and fourth in team batting (.272) during league contests. A unanimous selection, Hirtensteiner guided the Waves to a string of six straight conference series wins despite the loss of projected staff ace Will Jensen, who owned a 5-0 record with a 0.74 ERA in 48.1 innings at the time of his injury. An All-American during his playing career at Pepperdine, Hirtensteiner was tabbed WCC Player of the Year in 1989.

First pitch of the 2018 WCC Baseball Championship is on Thursday at 3:00 p.m. PDT, when top-seed Pepperdine faces No. 4 San Francisco. That game will be followed by No. 2 Gonzaga vs. No. 3 Loyola Marymount at approximately 7:00 p.m. PDT. All games of the championship will be broadcast live on TheW.tv.

2018 West Coast Conference Player of the Year
Jordan Qsar, Pepperdine
2018 West Coast Conference Pitcher of the Year
Jonathan Pendergast, Pepperdine
2018 West Coast Conference Freshman of the Year
Cooper Chandler, Pepperdine
2018 West Coast Conference Defensive Player of the Year
Cooper Uhl, Loyola Marymount
2018 West Coast Conference Coach of the Year
Rick Hirtensteiner, Pepperdine

2018 All-WCC Baseball First Team

2018 All-WCC Baseball Second Team

2018 WCC Baseball Honorable Mention
Jon Allen, San Francisco; Joe Becht, Santa Clara; Tyler Cohen, Loyola Marymount; Joey Fiske, Saint Mary's; Nick Frasso, Loyola Marymount; James Free II, Pacific; Alek Jacob, Gonzaga; Connor Knutson, Portland; Shelby Lackey, Pacific; Alex LeForestier, Pacific; Ty Madrigal, Saint Mary's; Chris Murphy, San Diego; Niko Pacheco, Loyola Marymount; Billy Wilson, Loyola Marymount; Steven Wilson, Santa Clara

2018 All-WCC Baseball Freshman Team