LEADING OFF:  The Pac-12 heads into the final weekend of the regular season with just about everything still in play.  So far seven teams have punched their ticket to Scottsdale for the first Pac-12 Tournament but not a single seed has been decided.

The race for the regular season championship and number one seed comes down to three teams with two of them facing off this weekend.  No. 2 Oregon State has a magic number of 3 to clinch the number one seed, entering the weekend with a one-game lead over No. 4 Stanford and two-game lead over No. 23 UCLA.  The Beavers welcome the Bruins to Corvallis this weekend for a 3-game set while the Cardinal hosts USC.  Stanford owns the tie-breaker over both Oregon State and UCLA.  Should the Beavers and Cardinal be tied at the end of the weekend, Stanford would get the top seed.  The Bruins need to sweep OSU and have Stanford swept by USC in order to get the number one seed.

Utah visits California for a big series in Berkeley this weekend with the winner of the series clinching a spot in the tournament and the loser’s season coming to an end.  The Bears could finish as high as the six seed while Utah will be the eight seed if they qualify.

Arizona and Oregon will match-up in Eugene this weekend in and could wind up facing each other on Day 1 of the Pac-12 Tournament.  Arizona is currently in fourth place and Oregon fifth place in the standings.  However if either team sweeps this series, they could finish as high as the two seed in the tournament based on other results this weekend.

TICKETS ON SALE NOW!:  The inaugural Pac-12 Baseball Tournament is scheduled for May 25-29, 2022 at Scottsdale Stadium and tickets are now available at pac-12.com/tickets.  The double-elimination tournament will be spread over five days at the Spring Training home of the San Francisco Giants.  The bracket for the tournament can be found here.

The top eight teams in the Conference standings at the conclusion of the regular season will earn berths in the Pac-12 Baseball Tournament, from which the champion will receive the Conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Pac-12’s initial agreement with the City of Scottsdale runs through 2024.

Rankings Roundup

• USA Today Coaches:  #2 Oregon State, #4 Stanford, #23 UCLA
• Baseball America:  #2 Oregon State, #5 Stanford, #22 UCLA, #25 Arizona
• D1Baseball:  #2 Oregon State, #4 Stanford, #23 UCLA
• Collegiate Baseball:  #2 Oregon State, #4 Stanford, #13 Arizona, #14 UCLA
• NCBWA:  #2 Oregon State, #8 Stanford, #25 UCLA, #27 Arizona
• Perfect Game:  #3 Oregon State, #12 Stanford, #23 UCLA

RPI UPDATE:  Entering Wednesday, the Pac-12 had 10 teams in the Top 100 in Adjusted RPI, one of three conferences that can say that (ACC, SEC).  Oregon State leads the way at No. 2 going 31-11 against Top 100 teams and 6-2 against the RPI Top 25, the most Top 25 wins among Pac-12 teams. 

Stanford is the second highest rated Pac-12 team at No. 12 with Oregon is third at No. 24 thanks to the fourth toughest schedule in the country. 

Arizona is 5-1 against the Top 25 to sit at No. 37 while UCLA has the fifth highest adjusted RPI (No. 66) among Pac-12 schools but is 10-3 against the RPI Top 50.  It’s the second best win percentage (.769) against Top 50 teams behind Tennessee (17-3, .850) – minimum 3 games

FORWARD THINKING:  D1Baseball and Baseball America both released updated projections for the Field of 64 on May 11^th with both predicting five Pac-12 schools making the NCAA Tournament.

D1Baseball has Oregon State (No. 2 overall) and Stanford (No. 6 overall) as two teams hosting regionals with Oregon as a two seed and both Arizona and UCLA as number three seeds. 

Baseball America has Oregon State (No. 2 overall) and Stanford (No. 4 overall) at home for the regionals with Arizona and Oregon as two seeds with UCLA as a three seed.

MAD MAX:  UCLA’s Max Rajcic had a game for the ages on Friday against Washington State and earned plenty of national honors for the effort.  The sophomore hurler went 8 shutout innings, allowing just one hit and no walks while striking out a career-high 14.  Rajcic became the first pitcher in the John Savage Era to strike out at least 14 batters without a walk. 

Not only did the right-hander take home the Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week for the second time in the last three weeks but Rajcic was also recognized nationally by the Golden Spikes Award, Dick Howser Trophy, Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, College Baseball Foundation and Perfect Game.

While not taking home a weekly award, Oregon State’s Cooper Hjerpe and Stanford’s Alex Williams were both named semifinalists by the College Baseball Foundation for the National Pitcher of the Year.  Hjerpe is 9-1 this season while leading the country in strikeouts per nine innings (14.4) while Williams is 7-1 and has allowed only two earned runs over his last seven outings (50.2 innings).

The Brooks Wallace Award also named their semifinalists for the top shortstop in college baseball.  Two Pac-12 athletes made the cut with Oregon's Josh Kasevich and UCLA's Cody Schrier.

Arizona’s Mac Bingham was named the Pac-12 Player of the Week, highlighted by his three-run homer on Sunday which led the Wildcats to a series win over No. 2 Oregon State.

And only fitting for a double scoop of good news for Stanford’s Braden Montgomery.  Montgomery was not only named the John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Week but was also named as a semifinalist for the for that annual award.

D1Baseball National Player of the Week

• April 5- LHP Cooper Hjerpe (OSU)

Collegiate Baseball National Players of the Week

• May 16- RHP Max Rajcic (UCLA)
• May 9- C/UTL Nate Baez (ASU)
• April 25- INF/OF Wade Meckler (OSU)
• April 18- C Tyler Lozano (USC)
• April 11- C Vincent Martinez (Stanford)
• April 4- LHP Cooper Hjerpe (OSU), LHP Quinn Mathews (Stanford)
• March 21- LHP Cooper Hjerpe (OSU)
• March 14- OF Jacob Melton (OSU), C Daniel Susac (Arizona), LHP Adam Tulloch (ASU)
• March 7- 1B/LHP TJ Clarkson (Utah), RHP Thatcher Hurd (UCLA)
• February 28- RHP Matthew Sox (Utah)
• February 21- RHP Josh White (California)

Golden Spikes Performance of the Week

• May 17- RHP Max Rajcic (UCLA)
• April 4- LHP Cooper Hjerpe (OSU)
• February 28- LHP Quinn Mathews (Stanford), RHP Matthew Sox (Utah)

Dick Howser Trophy Player of the Week

• March 15- C Daniel Susac (Arizona)

Dick Howser Trophy Pitcher of the Week

• May 17 - RHP Max Rajcic (UCLA)
• April 5 - LHP Cooper Hjerpe (OSU) – Co-winner
• March 8 - RHP Thatcher Hurd (UCLA) – Co-winner

Perfect Game/Rawlings Pitcher of the Week

• May 17 - RHP Max Rajcic (UCLA)
• April 5 - LHP Cooper Hjerpe (OSU)
• March 8 – RHP Thatcher Hurd (UCLA)

College Baseball Foundation Pitcher of the Week

• May 17 – Max Rajcic (UCLA)
• March 1 - Quinn Mathews (Stanford)

College Baseball Foundation Shortstop of the Week

• March 1 – Nik McClaughry (Arizona)

John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Week

• May 18 – Braden Montgomery (Stanford)

POWER PLAYERS: D1Baseball updated their Position Power Rankings last week with the Top 30 at each infield position, Top 75 relievers and their Top 100 in the outfield and among starting pitchers.  The following Pac-12 players made the lists:

• Catcher:  #2 Daniel Susac (Arizona), #27 Nate Baez (Arizona State), #30 Kody Huff (Stanford)
• First Base:  #9 Carter Graham (Stanford), #20 Nathan Martorella (California)
• Second Base:  #16 Brett Barrera (Stanford), #21 Tyresse Turner (USC), #30 Travis  Bazzana (Oregon State)
• Shortstop:  #19 Josh Kasevich (Oregon)
• Third Base:  #28 Ethan Long (Arizona State)
• Outfield:  #1 Jacob Melton (Oregon State), #20 Dylan Beavers (California), #22 Justin Boyd (Oregon State), #30 Brock Jones (Stanford), #33 Tanner O’Tremba (Arizona), #37 Joe Lampe (Arizona State), #59 Anthony Hall (Oregon), #64 Tanner Smith (Oregon), #66 TJ Clarkson (Utah), #92 Chase Davis (Arizona), #100 Wade Meckler (Oregon State)
• Starting Pitchers: #1 Cooper Hjerpe (Oregon State), #18 Alex Williams (Stanford), #41 Quinn Mathews (Stanford), #53 Max Rajcic (UCLA), #92 Charlie Hurley (USC), #94 Jacob Kmatz (Oregon State)
• Relievers:  #9 Ben Ferrer (Oregon State), #16 Stefan Raeth (Washington), #41 Kolby Somers (Oregon), #47 Quinn Flanagan (Arizona)

HEAD OF THE CLASS:  Ten baseball student-athletes were named finalists for the 2022 Senior CLASS Award with four of them coming from the Pac-12, the most by any conference.  Oregon had two players make the list, the only school with multiple finalists, with outfielder Tanner Smith and pitcher Kolby Somers.  They’re joined by Stanford pitcher Alex Williams and Oregon State pitcher Mitchell Verburg.  The award is for players that excel on and off the field and the winner will be announced during the 2022 College World Series.

Fans are encouraged to vote through June 6 at SeniorCLASSAward.com.

HITTING THE BOOKS:  CoSIDA has selected the 2021-22 Academic All-District Baseball Team with the Pac-12 accounting for 11 of the 13 slots in District 8 which covers the western United States.  These honorees advance to the CoSIDA Academic All-America ballot.

NATIONAL AWARDS WATCH LISTS

COLLEGE BASEBALL FOUNDATION PITCHER OF THE YEAR (Semifinalists)

• LHP Cooper Hjerpe, Oregon State
• RHP Alex Williams, Stanford

JOHN OLERUD TWO-WAY PLAYER OF THE YEAR (Semifinalists)

• OF/RHP Braden Montgomery, Stanford

GOLDEN SPIKES (Midseason)

• RHP Jake Brooks, UCLA
• LHP Cooper Hjerpe, Oregon State
• OF/INF Jacob Melton, Oregon State
• C Daniel Susac, Arizona

GOLDEN SPIKES (Preseason)

• OF Dylan Beavers, California
• OF Brock Jones, Stanford
• IF Ethan Long, Arizona State
• IF Sean McLain, Arizona State
• RHP Max Rajcic, UCLA
• C Daniel Susac, Arizona
• RHP Josh White, California

BUSTER POSEY (Collegiate Catcher of the Year)

• Cole Elvis, California
• Garret Guillemette, USC
• Kody Huff, Stanford
• Daniel Susac, Arizona

BROOKS WALLACE (Collegiate Shortstop of the Year)

• Josh Kasevich, Oregon (semifinalst)
• Nik McClaughry, Arizona
• Sean McLain, Arizona State
• Keshawn Ogans, California
• Cody Schrier, UCLA (semifinalist)

BUSTER POSEY (Collegiate Catcher of the Year)

• Cole Elvis, California
• Garret Guillemette, USC
• Kody Huff, Stanford
• Daniel Susac, Arizona

BOBBY BRAGAN COLLEGIATE SLUGGER AWARD

• OF Dylan Beavers, California
• C Cole Elvis, California
• OF Brock Jones, Stanford
• IF John Kasevich, Oregon
• OF Tanner Smith, Oregon
• C Daniel Susac, Arizona

STOPPER OF THE YEAR (Midseason)

• Holden Christian, Arizona
• Ethan Flanagan, UCLA
• Trevor Long, Arizona
• Kolby Somers, Oregon
• Alonzo Treadwell, UCLA

NCBWA STOPPER OF THE YEAR (preseason)

• Holden Christian, Arizona
• Stone Churby, Oregon
• Aaron Roberts, California
• Kolby Somers, Oregon
• Mitchell Verburg, Oregon State

SENIOR CLASS AWARD

• INF Sam Novitske, Oregon
• INF Jack Smith, Washington State
• OF Tanner Smith, Oregon (finalist)
• LHP Kolby Somers, Oregon (finalist)
• RHP Mitchell Verburg, Oregon State (finalist)
• RHP Alex Williams, Stanford (finalist)

PRESEASON ALL-AMERICAN TEAMS

COACHES CHOOSE CARDINAL:  The Pac-12 coaches took Stanford atop their preseason poll with the Cardinal receiving eight first-place votes for a total of 98 out of a possible 100 points.

Oregon State was second with 84 points and one first-place vote, Arizona was third with 77 points and UCLA with two first-place votes had the fourth-most points with 75.

PERFECT TIMING:  Perfect Game announced their Midseason Awards for this season and Oregon State lefty Cooper Hjerpe was named their Midseason Pitcher of the Year. 

Their Midseason All-American teams featured Hjerpe on the first team and two more on the second team with Arizona catcher Daniel Susac and Oregon State outfielder Jacob Melton. 

Their Midseason All-Freshman team was heavily Pac-12 influenced.  The hitters included Cal catcher Caleb Lomavita, Oregon first baseman Jacob Walsh, Oregon State second baseman Travis Bazzana and UCLA shortstop Cody Schrier.  The pitchers were a pair of Bruins with Thatcher Hurd and Ethan Flanagan.

PAC TO THE PROS:  MLB’s Opening Day saw 48 former Pac-12 stars on big league rosters.  Stanford led the way with eight former Cardinal suiting up, with Arizona State placing six big leaguers and five each for Arizona, California, UCLA and USC.

Former Sun Devil Spencer Torkelson, one of the top prospects in all of baseball, made his debut with the Detroit Tigers on Opening Day while former Beaver Steven Kwan got off to an historic start to his career.  The Cleveland Guardians outfielder reached base 18 times in his first five career games, the most in a player’s first five games in MLB’s Modern Era (since 1901).

FEELING A DRAFT:  D1Baseball released their MLB Draft Midseason Top 150 prospects with 12 Pac-12 players making the list with the rough estimate of the round they would be drafted in:

• #2- Arizona catcher Daniel Susac (1^st round)
• #13- Cal outfielder Dylan Beavers (1^st round)
• #30- Oregon State outfielder Jacob Melton (2^nd round)
• #32- Oregon State pitcher Cooper Hjerpe (2^nd round)
• #40- Stanford outfielder Brock Jones (2^nd round)
• #62- Oregon shortstop Josh Kasevich (3^rd round)
• #82- Oregon State outfielder Justin Boyd (4^th round)
• #93- Oregon pitcher Adam Maier (5^th round)
• #120- Arizona State outfielder Ethan Long (5^th round)
• #137- Oregon outfielder Anthony Hall (6^th round)
• #145- Arizona state infielder Sean McLain (6^th round)
• #149- UCLA pitcher Max Rajcic (6^th round)

AMERICAN MADE:  Seven Pac-12 players were part of the 45-man roster for the 2021 Collegiate National Team.  Normally this would include exhibitions against international opponents but instead played an 11-game intrasquad series last summer at Appalachian League ballparks.  The roster included OF Dylan Beavers (CALIFORNIA), OF Brock Jones (STANFORD), OF/1B Ethan Long (ARIZONA STATE), INF/OF Sean McLain (ARIZONA STATE), C Daniel Susac (ARIZONA) and RHP Josh White (CALIFORNIA).

NEXT GENERATION:  The Class of 2021 recruits will get their first taste of Pac-12 play this season and it was a strong class across the board for the conference.  

Baseball America ranked UCLA’s class number one in the country for the first time in their 22 years for rankings.  The class is highlighted by a pair of Top 100 pitchers in RHP Thatcher Hurd (#44) and LHP Gage Jump (#57) along with Top 100 outfielder Malakhi Knight (#72).

Three other schools made their Top 25 with Oregon State (#6), USC (#17), and Washington (#24).

ON DECK (Full Schedule) 

CONFERENCE STANDINGS (Expanded Standings) 

PAC-12 BASEBALL WEEKLY AWARDS