SAN MATEO, Calif. – No. 22 Gonzaga captured the 2021 regular season West Coast Conference Championship, claimed three of the five major individual awards and placed four on the 2021 All-WCC first and second teams as announced by the league office. The Bulldogs (33-17, 20-7 WCC) won their fifth WCC regular season title in program history and third since 2016.
Gonzaga won three major individual honors, led by WCC Pitcher of the Year
Alek Jacob (Sr., RHP), Defensive Player of the Year
Brett Harris (Sr., IF) while
Mark Machtolf was selected by his peers as WCC Coach of the Year for the fourth time. San Diego’s
Thomas Luevano (Sr., IF) collected WCC Player of the Year honors. San Francisco’s
Luke Keaschall (IF) and BYU’s
Andrew Pintar (IF) shared WCC Freshman of the Year accolades and both earned All-WCC First Team selections.
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.
Luevano is the 11th San Diego student-athlete to capture WCC Player of the Year honors and the fifth since 2013. A 2020 Academic All-District First Team selection, Luevano batted .367 during league play with 11 doubles, triple, four home runs and 33 RBI. The senior ranked fifth among conference leaders in hits (36), third in doubles and second in batting average and RBI. Overall, Luevano batted .349 with 17 doubles, three triples, 11 home runs and led the conference with 65 RBI – 20 in front of second place.
Jacob is the sixth Zag to collect WCC Pitcher of the Year honors and the first since former Major League reliever
Tyler Olson capped a three-year run for Gonzaga in 2013. Jacob was the ace of a Bulldog staff, posting a sparkling pitching line: 6-1, 2.18 ERA, 57.2 IP, 72 Ks and 9 walks in seven conference starts. Jacob went 7-1 in 76.2 innings, posting a 2.82 ERA in 10 overall starts. A 2019 All-WCC First Team selection and a 2021 preseason All-WCC pick, Jacob tossed the fifth no-hitter in Gonzaga history in a 10-0 triumph at Pepperdine (4/16/21), striking out 12 Waves in the process.
Keaschall (San Francisco) and Pintar (BYU) each enjoyed truly outstanding freshman campaigns for their respective programs. An All-WCC First Team pick, Keaschall ranked seventh among WCC leaders in batting average, hitting .345 in league action with five doubles, three triples, five homers and 15 RBI for the Dons. Pintar posted eye-popping power numbers for the Cougars ranking second in home runs (9), third in average (.362) and fourth in RBI (23) despite missing a pair of games en route to All-WCC First Team selection.
Harris enjoyed a strong season patrolling the infield for Gonzaga and scooped up WCC Defensive Player of the Year honors. The junior committed two errors and posted a strong .969 fielding percentage and helped turn three double plays to go along with 30 assists and 32 putouts. In addition to his stellar defensive work, Harris batted .343 with 10 doubles and 20 RBI in his third season with the Zags. Harris is the second Gonzaga student-athlete to earn top defensive accolades and the first since
Joey Harris accomplished the feat in 2015.
Machtolf earned his fourth WCC Coach of the Year honor after guiding Gonzaga to the fifth WCC regular season title in program history and fourth since 2013. Under his tutelage, the Zags achieved a top-25 national ranking – and enter the 2021 NCAA Eugene Regional ranked No. 22 in the USA Today Coaches Poll. Gonzaga posted a 16-10 record in true road games – headlined by a series win at No. 11 TCU – and went 18-12 overall away from Spokane. The Zags ranked second among WCC leaders in team batting (.279), runs (320) and led the league in hits (478) during Conference contests.
In a sign of remarkable balance throughout the WCC this season, nine teams placed at least one student-athlete on the 13-member All-WCC first team, headlined by two picks from Gonzaga, Pepperdine and San Diego. Five WCC programs had at least three named to the first and second All-WCC teams, led by four each from Gonzaga and LMU.
2021 West Coast Conference Player of the Year:
Thomas Luevano, San Diego |
2021 West Coast Conference Pitcher of the Year:
Alek Jacob, Gonzaga |
2021 West Coast Conference Freshman of the Year:
Luke Keaschall, San Francisco & Andrew Pintar, BYU |
2021 West Coast Conference Defensive Player of the Year:
Brett Harris, Gonzaga |
2021 West Coast Conference Coach of the Year:
Mark Machtolf, Gonzaga |
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| 2021 All-WCC Baseball First Team |
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| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
School |
| Reese Alexiades |
Sr. |
OF |
Pepperdine |
| Ky Bush |
Jr. |
LHP |
Saint Mary's |
| Holden Christian |
Jr. |
LHP |
LMU |
| Billy Cook |
Sr. |
INF |
Pepperdine |
| Thomas Gavello |
So. |
INF |
Pacific |
| Brett Harris |
Sr. |
INF |
Gonzaga |
| Alek Jacob |
Sr. |
RHP |
Gonzaga |
| Luke Keaschall |
Fr. |
INF |
San Francisco |
| Thomas Luevano |
Sr. |
INF |
San Diego |
| Jake Miller |
So. |
RHP |
San Diego |
| Andrew Pintar |
Fr. |
INF |
BYU |
| Chad Stevens |
Jr. |
INF |
Portland |
| Jack Winkler |
Jr. |
INF |
San Francisco |
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| 2021 All-WCC Baseball Second Team |
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| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
School |
| Josh Agnew |
Sr. |
RHP |
LMU |
| Landen Bourassa |
Sr. |
RHP |
San Francisco |
| Sam Brown |
Fr. |
INF/LHP |
Portland |
| Brandon Buckley |
Gr. |
RHP |
Santa Clara |
| Julian Bury |
Sr. |
OF |
LMU |
| Jason Dicochea |
Sr. |
INF |
Santa Clara |
| Cole Gambill |
So. |
OF |
BYU |
| Gabriel Hughes |
Fr. |
RHP/INF |
Gonzaga |
| Cody Jefferis |
So. |
INF |
San Diego |
| Mitch Mcintyre |
Sr. |
OF |
BYU |
| Kenny Oyama |
Jr. |
OF |
LMU |
| Christian Peters |
Sr. |
RHP |
Portland |
| Tyler Rando |
Sr. |
C |
Gonzaga |
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| 2021 WCC Baseball Honorable Mention |
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| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
School |
| Peter Allegro |
So. |
RHP |
Portland |
| James Arakawa |
Jr. |
INF |
Pacific |
| Mike Bowes |
Gr. |
OF |
Santa Clara |
| Alec Cargin |
Sr. |
C |
LMU |
| Jack Costello |
Fr. |
UTL |
San Diego |
| Brett Gillis |
So. |
INF/RHP |
Portland |
| Michael Hobbs |
Sr. |
RHP |
Saint Mary's |
| Jake Holcroft |
Fr. |
OF |
Portland |
| Brody Jessee |
Fr. |
RHP |
Gonzaga |
| Briley Knight |
So. |
OF |
Portland |
| Alex LeForestier |
Sr. |
INF |
Pacific |
| Adam Lopez |
Sr. |
3B |
San Diego |
| Shane McGuire |
Jr. |
C/1B |
San Diego |
| Reid McLaughlin |
So. |
RHP |
BYU |
| Eli Morse |
Jr. |
RHP |
Portland |
| Andrew Orzel |
Sr. |
INF |
Gonzaga |
| Tora Otsuka |
Jr. |
OF |
San Diego |
| Alex Pham |
Jr. |
RHP |
San Francisco |
| Austin Reyes |
Gr. |
INF |
Santa Clara |
| Ryan Robinson |
So. |
RHP |
San Diego |
| Kieran Shaw |
Sr. |
RHP |
San Diego |
| Carter Smith |
Fr. |
RHP |
BYU |
| Michael Spellacy |
Sr. |
RHP |
Gonzaga |
| Liam Steigerwald |
Sr. |
RHP |
Saint Mary's |
| Grayson Sterling |
Fr. |
INF/OF |
Gonzaga |
| Jacob Talamante |
Sr. |
OF |
Saint Mary's |
| Jake Tsukada |
Fr. |
INF |
Portland |
| Trystan Vrieling |
Fr. |
RHP |
Gonzaga |
| Jordan Vujovich |
Jr. |
OF |
San Francisco |
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| 2021 All-WCC Baseball Freshman Team |
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| Name |
Pos. |
School |
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| Sam Brown |
INF/LHP |
Portland |
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| Jack Costello |
UTL |
San Diego |
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| Thomas Gavello |
INF |
Pacific |
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| Jake Holcroft |
OF |
Portland |
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| Gabriel Hughes |
RHP/INF |
Gonzaga |
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| Luke Keaschall |
INF |
San Francisco |
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| Andrew Pintar |
INF |
BYU |
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| Grayson Sterling |
INF/OF |
Gonzaga |
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| Jake Tsukada |
OF |
Portland |
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| Trystan Vrieling |
RHP/INF |
Gonzaga |
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