PRESEASON ALL-AMERICANS: COLLEGIATE BASEBALL | NCBWA | PERFECT GAME
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SAN BRUNO, Calif. – After hoisting the West Coast Conference Tournament Championship last season, Gonzaga was selected by the Conference’s ten head coaches to claim WCC regular season title in 2019. The Zags received five first place votes and 74 overall.
Bulldogs junior infielder and 2018 Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-American Ernie Yake was selected the All-WCC Preseason Team, along with Conference ERA leader (1.91), preseason All-American and one of the nation’s top relievers in junior Casey Legumina.
Defending regular season champion Pepperdine earned 66 votes to place second while featuring 2018 All-American pitcher Cooper Chandler on the All-WCC Preseason Team. Joining Chandler on the billing was junior infielder Quincy McAfee.
A single vote separated second and third place, as Saint Mary’s earned 65 votes and four first place votes for third. Saint Mary’s was represented on the All-WCC Preseason squad by junior two-way star Kevin Milam junior southpaw Ken Waldichuk, both of whom were named preseason All-Americans by various publications.
A 2018 Collegiate Baseball Second Team All-American, Waldichuk won the Conference’s pitching Triple Crown last season with the lowest overall ERA (2.05), most strikeouts (118) and most wins (8).
San Diego finished fourth among head coaches with 52 votes, highlighted by 2018 Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-Americans Shane McGuire and Adam Kerner making the All-WCC Preseason Team.
San Francisco earned 44 votes to enter 2019 in fifth, with senior infielder/catcher Riley Helland along with junior right-hander and one of the WCC’s top strikeout pitchers Riley Ornido earning All-WCC Preseason status.
A second close margin in the standings separated the Dons from BYU, who tallied 41 votes and one first place vote for sixth place. The Cougars were paced on the All-WCC Preseason roster by power-hitting senior outfielder Brock Hale.
LMU enters 2019 seventh in the preseason standings after grabbing 37 votes and placing junior infielder Nick Sogard on the All-WCC list.
Portland (32), Santa Clara (26) and Pacific (13) round out the poll and eighth, ninth, and tenth, respectively. Senior outfielder Cody Hawken represents the Pilots and James Free II was the Pacific Tigers’ representative.
All told, the 2019 All-WCC Preseason Team includes the following: a 2018 Collegiate Baseball All-American, four Freshman All-Americans, three 2019 preseason All-Americans and top-30 national statistical leaders in WHIP, ERA, saves and strikeouts.
First pitches for the 2019 WCC Baseball campaign will be thrown on Friday, February 15 with all ten teams in action. Log on to
www.wccsports.com and follow @WCCSports on Twitter for updates all season long.
2019 WCC Preseason Baseball Coaches Poll
| Team |
First Place
Votes |
Points |
| 1. Gonzaga |
(5) |
74 |
| 2. Pepperdine |
|
66 |
| 3. Saint Mary’s |
(4) |
65 |
| 4. San Diego |
|
52 |
| 5. San Francisco |
|
44 |
| 6. BYU |
(1) |
41 |
| 7. LMU |
|
37 |
| 8. Portland |
|
32 |
| 9. Santa Clara |
|
26 |
| 10. Pacific |
|
13 |
2019 All-WCC Preseason Baseball Team – Position Players
| Name |
Institution |
Yr. |
Pos. |
| James Free II |
Pacific |
Jr. |
C |
| Brock Hale |
BYU |
Sr. |
OF |
| Cody Hawken |
Portland |
Sr. |
OF |
| Riley Helland |
San Francisco |
Sr. |
IF/C |
| Adam Kerner |
San Diego |
So. |
C |
| Quincy McAfee |
Pepperdine |
Jr. |
IF |
| Shane McGuire |
San Diego |
So. |
C/IF |
| Kevin Milam |
Saint Mary’s |
Jr. |
IF/RHP |
| Nick Sogard |
LMU |
Jr. |
IF |
| Ernie Yake |
Gonzaga |
Jr. |
IF |
2019 All-WCC Preseason Baseball Team – Pitchers
| Name |
Institution |
Yr. |
Pos. |
| Cooper Chandler |
Pepperdine |
So. |
RHP |
| Casey Legumina |
Gonzaga |
Jr. |
RHP |
| Riley Ornido |
San Francisco |
Jr. |
RHP |
| Jonathan Pendergast |
Pepperdine |
Sr. |
RHP |
| Ken Waldichuk |
Saint Mary’s |
Jr. |
LHP |