Cougars Head to Eugene For Series at No. 20 Oregon
WASHINGTON STATE (21-29, 9-18 Pac-12) at No. 20 OREGON (34-16, 16-11 Pac-12)
PK Park | Eugene, Ore. | May 16-18, 2024
Friday, 6:05 p.m. | Saturday, 6:05 p.m. | Sunday, 12:05 p.m.
WATCH | Pac-12 Networks
COUGARS HEAD TO EUGENE FOR SERIES AT NO. 20 OREGON
Washington State heads to Eugene for a three-game series at No. 20 Oregon beginning Thursday at 6:05 p.m., continuing Friday at 6:05 p.m. and Saturday at 12:05 p.m.
PROBABLE STARTERS
Grant Taylor | RHP | Sr. | 5-3, 3.79 ERA, 92 K, 78.1 IP VS. RJ Gordon | RHP | RS-Jr. | 6-4, 4.98 ERA, 71 K, 72.1 IP
Connor Wilford | RHP | Sr. | 4-6, 4.89 ERA, 58 K, 77.1 IP VS. Grayson Grinsell | LHP | So. | 6-2, 4.33 ERA, 77 K, 62.1 IP
Duke Brotherton | RHP | Sr. | 5-7, 5.00 ERA, 43 K, 63.0 IP VS. Kevin Seitter | RHP | Sr. | 6-4, 4.95 ERA, 69 K, 67.1 IP
FOLLOW ALONG
All three games will be televised on the Pac-12 Network, have live stats and on the radio through the WSU GameDay App, Varsity Network App, 104.7 FM and 1150 AM in Pullman and 920 AM in Spokane.
WHAT'S AT STAKE?
The Cougars enter the final weekend one spot out of the Pac-12 Conference Tournament. With three games remaining, WSU is one game back of ninth-place Washington (at Cal) and two back of eighth-place Stanford (at UCLA). The Pac-12 Conference Tournament begins Tuesday in Scottsdale.
THIS WEEK IN COUGAR BASEBALL PODCAST
Every Wednesday a new episode of This Week in Cougar Baseball Podcast presented by Coors Light will be released featuring head coach Nathan Choate, a member of the Cougar Baseball program and the host, Matt Chazanow.
ABOUT WASHINGTON STATE
Washington State enters the weekend with an 21-29 overall record including an 9-18 mark in Pac-12 Conference play after dropping two of three at home to USC last weekend. The Cougars lead the Pac-12 with 50 double plays turned and are tied for second with a .975 fielding percentage while third baseman Cole Cramer is fifth in the Pac-12 in hitting (.360) and Grant Taylor is second in the league in innings (78.1) and strikeouts (92). Head coach Nathan Choate is in his first season at WSU after five seasons at Loyola Marymount.
ABOUT OREGON
Oregon enters the week ranked as a high at No. 20 by Baseball America with a 34-16 overall record and a 16-11 mark in Pac-12 play. The Ducks took two of three at Washington last weekend. WSU leads the all-time series 159-136-1 against Oregon with UO taking two of three in Pullman last season after the Cougars took two of three in Eugene in 2022.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
2801 - WSU entered the season with 2,801 all-time wins, 13th in NCAA history, 5th in the Pac-12
2014 - WSU won 12-5 at UCLA March 16, the Cougars first win in Westwood since 2014
245 - Grant Taylor owns 242 career strikeouts, 4th-most in WSU history
92 - Grant Taylor owns 92 strikeouts this season, tied for 9th-most in WSU single-season history
29 - WSU's 29 wins last season were the most in 2015, notched fourth straight winning season
17 - Grant Taylor struck 17 Huskies in a 1-hit shutout in Seattle March 28
16 - WSU will play 16 games on the Pac-12 Networks this season, the most since 2017
13 - Chase Grillo's 13 career saves are tied for 4th-most in WSU history
2 - WSU swept Arizona State for the 2nd time in program history, each of last 2 series in Pullman
3 - 3 Cougars are in the Major Leagues;
RHP Ian Hamilton (Yankees), 1B Kyle Manzardo (Guardians), RHP Ryan Walker (Giants)
COUGAR BASEBALL TO JOIN MOUNTAIN WEST AS AFFILIATE MEMBER
Washington State Athletics entered into a conference affiliation agreement to have their baseball and women's swimming programs participate in the Mountain West Conference. The agreement will begin July 1, 2024. "Finding a home for our baseball and women's swimming programs has been a top priority for our athletic department and we appreciate the efforts of so many to get to this point," said WSU Interim Director of Athletics Anne McCoy. "This agreement offers both programs a competitive schedule in a west coast-based conference while providing a championship path for coming seasons. "We are grateful for the patience shown by our student-athletes and coaches as we have navigated this process," McCoy added. Affiliate status through the NCAA allows for member affiliates to compete for conference and national championships. Cougar Baseball has a long and storied history, including four College World Series, 16 regional appearances, and its 2,801 all-time wins rank 13th in NCAA Division I history entering the 2024 season. Swimming is another program on the rise at Washington State, as the past two seasons, multiple teammates have qualified for the NCAA Championships in back-to-back seasons for the first time in program history. In December of 2023, WSU entered into a football scheduling agreement with the Mountain West Conference to provide six games, three home and three road, for the 2024 season. That same month, WSU entered into an affiliate agreement with the West Coast Conference for 10 of its athletic programs. Those 10 include men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's golf, rowing, soccer, tennis and volleyball.
MORROW, CRESSWELL NAMED TO POSEY AWARD WATCH LIST
Catchers Jacob Morrow and Will Cresswell were each named to the 2024 Buster Posey National Collegiate Catcher of the Year Watch List by The Wichita Sports Commission. The National Collegiate Catcher of the Year Award honors the nation's top Division 1 collegiate catcher as voted on by head coaches and sports information directors.
GRANT TAYLOR NAMED NATIONAL PITCHER OF THE WEEK AFTER 17-STRIKEOUT GAME
Senior righthander Grant Taylor was named the NCBWA Dick Howser Trophy National Pitcher of the Week, National Co-Pitcher of the Week by Perfect Game and Pac-12 Conference Pitcher of the Week after his 17-strikeout one-hit shutout win at Washington March 28. Taylor broke the previous WSU modern day record of 16 strikeouts set by John Olerud against Eastern Washington in 1988. It was the first shutout by a Cougar since Taylor shut out Arizona State in 2022 and the first one-hitter since Taylor and three relievers one-hit No. 15 Oregon State in Corvallis last season. The senior did not walk or hit a batter and allowed just a first-inning two-out infield single before retiring the next 25 Husky hitters. Fifteen of the 17 strikeouts were swinging, 17 strikeouts tied for the second-most by a pitcher in the country this season and are the most by a Pac-12 pitcher this season. Taylor struck out 10 straight hitters at one point after striking out the final hitter in the first inning and then struck out the side in the second, third and fourth innings before the first UW batter flew out to center to start the fifth inning. Taylor retired the next two hitters in the frame before striking out the side for a fourth time in the sixth inning, recorded two more strikeouts in the eighth inning and worked a perfect ninth with a strikeout, flyout to right field and a popout to shortstop to clinch the 4-0 Cougar win, WSU's first shutout against Washington since 1995 and first in Seattle since 1989.
IN THE CLASSROOM, IN THE COMMUNITY
- Last fall, WSU posted a semester team GPA (3.32) the highest team GPA in program history and has set a program record with a 3.23 cumulative team GPA
- This past fall, WSU partnered with WSU ROAR to host a Lentil Cookoff for third straight year. WSU ROAR is a two-year postsecondary education program for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
WSU WINS ROUND ROCK CLASSIC, KRAMER NAMED TOURNAMENT MVP
Washington State won the 2024 Karbach Round Rock Classic in Texas after defeating No. 24 Kentucky, 6-4 Friday and Kansas, 5-4 Saturday before dropping the tournament finale to Texas State Sunday evening. Kentucky also went 2-1 on the weekend but WSU won the head-to-head matchup while Kansas and Texas State each went 1-2. It was WSU's first tournament title since the 2010 Brooks Wallace Memorial Classic. Four Cougars earned Round Rock Classic All-Tournament Team honors led by first baseman Joey Kramer who was named the Tournament MVP.
NATHAN CHOATE NAMED COUGAR BASEBALL HEAD COACH
Nathan Choate was named the 18th head baseball coach in program history this past June. Choate arrived at WSU after leading Loyola Marymount to a 2023 West Coast Conference title. Choate was named the 2023 WCC Coach of the Year after leading LMU to their first outright regular season title in 25 years. He coached a pair of Lions to All-America honors while five players earned All-WCC honors in addition to the WCC Pitcher of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year. Choate's 2023 LMU club tallied road wins at Vanderbilt and Oklahoma State while in the classroom, the Lions posted a 3.18 team GPA including 24 players with a 3.0 or higher. Throughout his coaching career, Choate has accumulated 28 players selected in the MLB Draft, seven of which went in the top-10 rounds, 10 All-Americans, two College World Series appearances, three Team USA pitchers, four Fresh[1]man All-Americans, two Big West Freshman Pitchers of the Year, two WCC Pitchers of the Year and nine All-Conference Pitchers.
COUGAR COACHING STAFF
Joe Perez begins his first season as the Cougars Assistant Coach/Recruiting Coordinator and will serve as the infield coach and assist with the hitters after working the previous eight seasons as the Associated Head Coach and Recruiting Coordinator at Central Arizona College, one of the premier junior college programs in the country, where worked with the infielders and hitters. Perez, the 2021 ABCA National Assistant Coach of the Year, helped the Vaqueros to a pair of Junior College National Championships, three Western District titles, two Region I Championships and three ACCAC Conference Championships. Prior to his time at Central Arizona, Perez spent four seasons at Grand Canyon University where he worked with Choate for Head Coach Andy Stankiewicz assisting with Infielders.
Eric Hutting begins his first season as the Cougars Assistant Coach and will work with the catchers while assisting with the pitchers and hitters after working the past two seasons with Choate at Loyola Marymount as an assistant coach, working with the catchers and assisting with the LMU hitters. Hutting helped Loyola Marymount to a 2023 West Coast Conference title last season while the Lions captured the West Coast Conference Pitcher of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Freshman of the Year and Choate was named WCC Coach of the Year. LMU claimed its first outright regular season title in 25 years with a 29-24 mark including an impressive 21-6 record in conference play while a pair of Lions earned All-America honors with five players receiving All-WCC honors.
Brandon Vial begins his first season as the Cougars Director of Player Development after working the past two seasons as an assistant coach at Lewis-Clark State College, helping coach the pitchers and catchers as the Warriors reached the NAIA National Championship game in 2022 and 2023. The 2022 LC pitching staff finished the season second in the NAIA with a 3.21 ERA. In the summer of 2022, Vial was the head coach of the Walla Walla Sweets in the West Coast Summer League while in the 2021 summer, Vial was named the Northwoods League Coach of the Year after leading the St. Cloud Rox pitching staff to a record-setting summer.
JOHN OLERUD NAMED PAC-12 PLAYER OF THE CENTURY
The Pac-12 Conference inducted Coug legend John Olerud into the Pac-12 Hall of Honor in 2019. Olerud was named the Pac-12 Conference's Baseball Player of the Century in 2016. During his three seasons in a Cougar uniform, Olerud (1987-89) had one of the finest careers of any Cougar student-athlete, in any sport, in Washington State history, rewriting the WSU record books and becoming the only Cougar baseball athlete ever to be named College Athlete of the Year. In 1988, Olerud became the only player in NCAA history to win 15 games on the mound and hit 20 home runs in the same season, going 15-0 with 23 home runs that year. Olerud went 26-4 overall with a 3.17 ERA over 241.1 innings during his three seasons, hitting .434. He set two Pac-10 records and 10 Pac-10 North marks, highlighted by his sophomore season when he was named Athlete of the Year by Baseball America. In January prior to his junior year at WSU, Olerud suffered a subarachnoid hemorrhage, a type of brain seizure. He missed the first 28 games of the spring season, but returned to hit .359 for WSU over the final 27 games. Prior to his senior season, Olerud signed a contract with Toronto and went directly to the Major Leagues. In 1993, he became the first Blue Jay to win a batting title, hitting .363. Olerud played for Toronto, the New York Mets and Yankees, Seattle and Boston during his 17-year career, winning back-to-back World Series titles with Toronto in 1992 and 1993. In 2001 he joined his father, John Sr., in the WSU Athletics Hall of Fame, and is a member of the College Baseball, State of Washington and Inland Northwest Sports Halls of Fame. The John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Award, given annually by the College Baseball Hall of Fame, was named in his honor and in 2016, he was named the Pac-12 Conference Player of the Century.