Baseball

Santa Clara Claims Top Spot In Baseball Preseason Coaches Poll

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – Defending West Coast Conference Baseball Tournament champion Santa Clara has been selected as the favorite to capture the 2024 West Coast Conference Baseball crown in the Conference’s annual preseason coaches’ poll.
 
The coaches’ poll and preseason All-WCC team were selected solely by a vote of the conference's nine head coaches. Coaches cannot vote for their own teams and student-athletes. The preseason team is consisted of 10 position players and five pitchers. This year's preseason team consists of 11 position players due to a tie in voting. 
 
Santa Clara claimed five of the nine first-place votes to a total of 58 points. San Diego and Portland tied for second with 54 points each, but the Toreros claimed three of the remaining four first-place votes. The Pilots garnered one first-place vote. LMU and Saint Mary's tied for fourth place with 38 points each. Gonzaga came in next in sixth place, one point behind the Gaels and the Lions with 37 points. 
 
Santa Clara defeated Portland in the championship game of the 2023 WCC Baseball Tournament last season, earning the automatic qualifier into the NCAA Tournament. LMU enters the 2024 season as the defending WCC Regular Season champions.  

Seven members of the WCC Preseason Team earned postseason first-team recognition in 2023, including the 2023 WCC Co-Player of the Year - Christian Almanza from Saint Mary's. Four Pilots made the All-WCC Baseball First Team last season - Jake Holcroft, Nick Brink, Evan Scavotto and Zach Toglia. The other two members of last season's all-conference first team were Angelo Peraza (San Diego) and Connor Linchey (Saint Mary's). This is Holcroft's third straight appearance on the WCC preseason team. 
 
Santa Clara led the way with six members on the 2024 WCC Preseason Team, including three of the five pitchers. Portland featured four players, including three on the position team list, while Saint Mary's heard its names called three times and San Diego twice. 
 
The 2024 baseball season gets underway Friday, Feb. 16. The WCC Conference season begins on Friday, March 22, and runs through Saturday, May 18. The 2024 WCC Baseball Tournament returns to Las Vegas Ballpark and will be held from May 22-25.
 
2024 WCC PRESEASON BASEBALL COACHES POLL
School Points
  1. Santa Clara (5)
  58
  1. San Diego (3)
  54
            Portland (1)  54
  1. Saint Mary's
  38
            LMU  38
  1. Gonzaga
  37
  1. Pepperdine
  19
  1. San Francisco
  16
  1. Pacific
  10
 
2024 ALL-WCC PRESEASON BASEBALL TEAM - POSITION PLAYERS
 Name  Institution Position Class
 Christian Almanza  Saint Mary's INF     Gr.
 JonJon Berring  Santa Clara OF Sr.
 Coleman Brigman  Santa Clara OF     Gr.
 Khadim Diaw      LMU C So.
 Jack Gurevitch  San Diego INF So.
 Jake Holcroft  Portland OF Sr.
 Efrain Manzo  Santa Clara INF Jr.
 Angelo Peraza  San Diego UTIL Sr.
 Evan Scavotto  Portland INF Sr.
 Coleman Schmidt  Saint Mary's UTIL Sr.
 Zach Toglia  Portland INF Jr.
 
2024 ALL-WCC PRESEASON BASEBALL TEAM - PITCHERS
 Name  Institution Class
 Nick Brink  Portland Jr.
 Brandon Gomez  Santa Clara Jr.
 Blake Hammond  Santa Clara Jr.
 Cole Kitchen  Santa Clara Gr.
 Connor Linchey  Saint Mary's Gr.