This year in Pac-12 baseball

COMPLETE RELEASE 

Pac-12 Champion UCLA earned the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Championship and recorded an all-time program best 52 victories on the year. Oregon State’s Adley Rutschman was the best player in the nation, winning the Golden Spikes Award and nearly every major national outlet’s Player of the Year honor, in addition to being drafted with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 MLB Draft. The Conference also broke a league record with 70 MLB draft selections, including three of the top 10 picks in the draft.

Five Pac-12 baseball teams earned NCAA Championship bids, the most for the Conference since 2015 when six teams were selected. UCLA and No. 11 seed STANFORD battled through the elimination bracket of the regional round and won three-straight games to clinch a spot in the Super Regional, marking the second-straight year two Pac-12 teams have advanced to the second weekend. No. 16 seed OREGON STATE, ARIZONA STATE and CALIFORNIA also earned at-large berths.

The Golden Bears notched their first postseason appearance since 2015. Stanford and Oregon State are two of only four teams in the nation to be named a NCAA Regional host the last three years. OSU set a new program record after it secured its third-straight national seed.

The most decorated baseball conference in the country, Pac-12 baseball's 29 NCAA titles are more than double the next closest conference. Seven different Pac-12 institutions have claimed a baseball crown with USC leading the nation at 11.

PAC-12 CHAMPION BRUNS:
UCLA won its 10th all-time Pac-12 title and fourth since 2019 Pac-12 Coach of the Year John Savage took over in 2005. The Bruins set new program records for wins with 52 and conference wins with 24. The team also broke the school record with an .855 regular-season win percentage, which led the country. The Bruins were the No. 1 team in the nation in the USA Today poll for a program-record 11-straight weeks and earned the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament for just the second time in school history. UCLA found success behind its dominant pitching staff, which led the nation in ERA (2.60) and shutouts (11). Pac-12 Pitcher of the Year Ryan Garcia played a major role, as he led the league and ranked fourth in the country with a 1.44 ERA, the second-best national WHIP at .83 and a league-best 117 strikeouts.

BACK-TO-BACK GOLDEN SPIKES:
Oregon State’s Adley Rutschman became the second-straight and ninth all-time Pac-12 student-athlete to win the Golden Spikes Award, the most of any conference. He is the first Beaver to win the honor as the top amateur baseball player in the United States. Rutschman had a historic season for the Beavers in 2019, setting a school-record with 76 walks, including 26 intentional, which is the most in the nation. He batted .411, tied for the second-best single-season mark in OSU history, and added a national-best .575 on-base percentage, 17 home runs and 58 runs batted in. He also posted a .751 slugging percentage, which is second-best in a single-season at Oregon State.

California’s Andrew Vaughn won the award last year and was named a finalist once again in 2019. He is just the third student-athlete to be named a finalist the year after winning (Jim Abbot 1987-88, Mark Kotsay 1995-96).

RUTSCHMAN’S BIG HONORS:
On top of winning the Golden Spikes Award, Rutschman won nearly every major national award this season, including the Dick Howser Trophy, a Golden Glove Award, Buster Posey Catcher of the Year and National Player of the Year by ABCA, Collegiate Baseball, Baseball America, Perfect Game and D1Baseball.com. The last Pac-12 player to sweep every major national player of the year honor in the same season was USC's Mark Prior in 2001.

STOPPER OF THE YEAR:
UCLA’s closer Holden Powell was named the 2019 NCBWA Stopper of the Year winner, awarded annually to the top relief pitcher in college baseball. He is the second Bruin ever to earn the honor and the only other Pac-12 pitcher besides fellow Bruin David Berg (2013, 15) to win the award since it started in 2005. UCLA is now tied with Texas for the most all-time Stopper of the Year Award winners at three. A unanimous All-American and an All-Pac-12 selection as a sophomore, Powell boasted a 1.84 ERA with a 4-3 record and notched 17 saves this season. His save total was second, both in the country this year and in the all-time UCLA single-season record book, trailing only the NCAA-record 24 by Berg in 2013.

ALL-AMERICANS:
Sixteen student-athletes from Arizona, Arizona State, California, Oregon State, Stanford, UCLA, USC and Utah earned All-America recognition. Of those 16, six were named unanimous All-Americans by six major national outlets (Collegiate Baseball, NCBWA, Baseball America, D1Baseball.com and Perfect Game) and two were named unanimous first team All-Americans (Adley Rutschman, OSU and Ryan Garcia, UCLA). Arizona State’s outfielder Hunter Bishop and first baseman Spencer Torkelson became the first pair of Sun Devils to earn unanimous All-American recognition since Mike Leake and Jason Kipnis in 2009. California’s first baseman Andrew Vaughn and UCLA’s closer Holden Powell also earned unanimous recognition. UCLA led all league teams with four All-Americans, followed by Oregon State with three.

IN THE RANKINGS:
UCLA was ranked No. 1 in the USA Today coaches poll for 11-straight weeks, a program record. With Oregon State ranked at No. 1 for the week of March 13, a Pac-12 squad claimed the top spot in the rankings 12-of-14 weeks this season. Additionally, Stanford ranked third and Oregon State ranked 14th in the final regular-season USA Today coaches poll of the season. UCLA and Stanford also ranked in the top 10 in the final Baseball America, D1Baseball.com, NCBWA and Collegiate Baseball polls.

ARIZONA (32-24, 15-14) boasted one of the best offenses in the country this year, owning the nation’s third-best batting average (.326), second-best OBP (.432), scoring average (9.8 runs per game) and slugging percentage (.533). The Wildcats finished the season on a 10-game win streak and newcomer Austin Wells won the program’s first-ever Pac-12 Freshman of the Year honor.

ARIZONA STATE (38-19, 16-13) started the season on a 21-game win-streak, the second-best start to a season in Pac-12 history, and were the last remaining undefeated team in the nation. The Sun Devils earned their first NCAA postseason appearance since 2016 behind unanimous All-Americans first baseman Spencer Torkelson and outfielder Hunter Bishop. ASU boasts the best home runs per game average in the nation at 1.65 per game and, with Torkelson’s 23 homers and Bishop’s 22, the Sun Devils are the only program in the country with two players to reach the 20 home run tally.

CALIFORNIA (32-20, 17-11) notched its first NCAA Championship bid since 2015 with a handful of regular-season upset-victories over No. 16 LSU, No. 14 Oregon State and No. 1 UCLA. Junior first baseman and 2018 Golden Spikes Award winner Andrew Vaughn was once again named a finalist for the prestigious honor, just the third student-athlete to be named a finalist the year after winning, and became the Golden Bears’ highest all-time draft pick after being selected third overall pick by the Chicago White Sox.

OREGON (27-29, 10-19) had one of its best offensive campaigns in recent years, with the Ducks surpassing the last three UO teams in runs scored (321), batting average (.261) and OBP (.372). Third baseman Spencer Steer had a record-breaking season of his own, setting four new school records during his junior season. He set a new standard for single-season RBI with 57, career RBI with 129, career multiple-RBI games with 37 and tied the single-season record for multi-RBI games with 16.

OREGON STATE (36-20-1, 21-8) hosted a NCAA Regional for a school-record third-straight year and was one of only four teams in the nation to be named a regional host the last three years along with Stanford. The Beavers were led by catcher and, undoubtedly the best player in college baseball this year, Adley Rutschman. The Pac-12 Player of the Year and Pac-12 Co-Defensive Player of the Year also won nearly every major national award this year: Golden Spikes Award, Dick Howser Trophy, Buster Posey Catcher of the Year and National Player of the Year by Collegiate Baseball, Baseball America, Perfect Game, ABCA and D1Baseball.com. Rutschman was selected with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 MLB Draft by the Baltimore Orioles, giving the Pac-12 an NCAA-best seven No. 1 overall draft picks all-time.

STANFORD (45-14, 22-7) earned its first Super Regional berth since 2014 and finished top-two in the Pac-12 title race for the third-consecutive season. Pac-12 Co-Defensive Player of the Year catcher Maverick Handley finished the season with nine pickoffs, the most in the country and seven more than any other league catcher. Junior Andrew Daschbach set a new program record after he hit four home runs against Cal Poly on May 14, the only Cardinal to ever accomplish the feat and only the second Pac-12 player to ever hit four homers in a single game.

UCLA (52-11, 24-5) won its 10th all-time Pac-12 title and fourth since Pac-12 Coach of the Year John Savage took over in 2005. The Bruins set new program records for wins (52) and conference wins (24). The team also broke the school record with an .855 regular-season win percentage, which led the country. The Bruins were the No. 1 team in the nation in the USA Today poll for a program-record 11 straight weeks and earned the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament for just the second time in school history. UCLA found success behind its dominant pitching staff, which led the nation in ERA (2.60) and shutouts (11).

USC (25-29-1, 13-15-1) capped off its season with a series win over then-No. 12 Oregon State, its first series victory in Corvallis since 2011. Pitchers Chris Clarke and Connor Lunn, and freshman infielder Clay Owens earned a spot on the All-Pac-12 team, marking the first time since 2016 multiple Trojans earned All-Conference honors. The Trojans’ closer Clarke also was named to the NCBWA All-America second team, the team’s first All-American since 2016.

UTAH (16-33, 6-24) ended the season on a high note, winning four of its last five games. Junior Oliver Dunn has been a source of consistent production for the Utes over the last three years as one of two players in the country that started in all 49 games last season, starting in 117-straight games overall. Dunn led the team in 11 offensive categories and hit .366 with 45 runs on the season. He was named to the All-Pac-12 team, Collegiate Baseball’s All-America third team and was drafted by the New York Yankees in the 11th round.

WASHINGTON (28-24, 12-17) had a record-breaking year, notably from its pitching staff which recorded a team-record 501 strikeouts. It also marked the first time in UW history that five pitchers recorded 50 or more K's. On the offensive end, catcher Nick Kahle became the team's all-time single-season leader in walks, tallying 59. Outfielder Braiden Ward led the Pac-12 for the second-straight year with 26 stolen bases on the year, becoming the first Pac-12 player to lead in consecutive years since Arizona's T.J. Steele in 2007-08.

WASHINGTON STATE’s (11-42-1, 3-26-1) young squad showed a ton of promise this season as 17 players made their debuts this season, including 12 freshmen. Freshman pitcher Brandon White, who was named the Pac-12 Player of the Week on Feb. 26, recorded 49 strikeouts, which is the fifth-most in WSU history by a freshman. Additionally, his 14 starts are tied for the most by a Cougar freshman in a single season. Freshman infielder Kyle Manzardo had a 10-game hitting streak earlier this season and his 11 doubles on the year is the third-most among Pac-12 freshmen.

2019 PAC-12 BASEBALL POSTSEASON HONORS

Pac-12 Player Of The Year/Batting Champion:
Adley Rutschman, Oregon State

Pac-12 Co-Defensive Players Of The Year:
Maverick Handley, Stanford & Adley Rutschman, Oregon State

Pac-12 Pitcher Of The Year:
Ryan Garcia, UCLA

Pac-12 Freshman Of The Year:
Austin Wells, Arizona

Pac-12 Coach Of The Year:
John Savage, UCLA

2019 PAC-12 BASEBALL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

ALL-AMERICANS 

Collegiate Baseball All-Americans
First Team
Adley Rutschman, C, OSU
Ryan Garcia, RHP, UCLA
Second Team
Jack Ralston, RHP, UCLA
Holden Powell RHP, UCLA
Korey Lee, C, CAL
Andrew Vaughn, 1B, CAL
Spencer Torkelson, 1B, ASU
Cameron Cannon, 2B, ARIZ\
Nick Quintana. 3B, ARIZ
Third Team
Oliver Dunn, 2B, UTAH

NCBWA Division I All-Americans
First Team
Adley Rutschman, C, OSU
Andrew Vaughn, 1B, CAL
Cameron Cannon, 2B, ARIZ
Hunter Bishop, OF, ASU
Ryan Garcia, SP, UCLA
Holden Powell RP, UCLA
Second Team
Spencer Torkelson, 1B, ASU
Jack Ralston, SP, UCLA
Chris Clarke, RP, USC
Third Team
Korey Lee, C, CAL
Nick Quintana, 3B, ARIZ
Garrett Mitchell, OF, UCLA
Jake Mulholland, RP, OSU

Baseball America All-Americans
First Team
Hunter Bishop, OF, ASU
Cameron Cannon, 2B, ARIZ
Ryan Garcia, SP, UCLA
Adley Rutschman, C, OSU
Andrew Vaughn, 1B, CAL
Second Team
Holden Powell, RP, UCLA
Spencer Torkelson, 1B, ASU
Third Team
Brandon Eisert, RP, OSU
Korey Lee, C, CAL

D1Baseball.com All-Americans
First Team
Adley Rutschman, C, OSU
Andrew Vaughn, 1B, CAL
Hunter Bishop, OF, ASU
Ryan Garcia, SP, UCLA
Second Team
Korey Lee, C, CAL
Spencer Torkelson, 1B, ASU
Holden Powell, RP, UCLA
Third Team
Cameron Cannon, SS, ARIZ

ABCA/Rawlings All-American Teams
First Team
Adley Rutschman, C, OSU
Andrew Vaughn, 1B, CAL
Hunter Bishop, OF, ASU
Ryan Garcia, P, UCLA
Second Team
Spencer Torkelson, 1B, ASU
Garrett Mitchell, OF, UCLA
Holden Powell, RP, UCLA
Third Team
Nick Quintana, 3B, ARIZ
Will Matthiessen, UT, STAN
Jack Ralston, P, UCLA

Perfect Game All-Americans
First Team
Adley Rutschman, C, OSU
Andrew Vaughn, 1B, CAL
Hunter Bishop, OF, ASU
Ryan Garcia, SP, UCLA
Second Team
Korey Lee, C, CAL
Spencer Torkelson, 1B, ASU
Cameron Cannon, 2B, ARIZ
Third Team
Holden Powell, RP, UCLA

Collegiate Baseball Freshmen All-Americans
Jesse Bergin, RHP, UCLA
Dayton Dooney, DH, ARIZ
Austin Wells, C/1B, ARIZ
Alex Williams, RHP, STAN

NCBWA Freshman All-America Team
First Team
Austin Wells, C, ARIZ
Dayton Dooney, 2B, ARIZ
Second Team
Alex Williams, SP, STAN

Perfect Game Freshman All-Americans
First Team
Austin Wells, C, ARIZ
Dayton Dooney, 2B, ARIZ
Second Team
Alex Williams, SP, STAN

NATIONAL HONORS 

Golden Spikes Award
Adley Rutschman, C, OSU

Collegiate Baseball National Player of the Year
Adley Rutschman, C, OSU

Baseball America Player of the Year
Adley Rutschman, C, OSU

D1Baseball.com Player of the Year
Adley Rutschman, C, OSU

Perfect Game Player of the Year
Adley Rutschman, C, OSU

ABCA Player of the Year
Adley Rutschman, C, OSU

Dick Howser Trophy
Adley Rutschman, C, OSU

National Collegiate Catcher of the Year
Adley Rutschman, C, OSU

NCBWA Stopper of the Year
Holden Powell, RP, UCLA

ABCA West Region Coach of the Year
John Savage, UCLA

ABCA/Rawlings Gold Glove Team
Gabe Matthews, 1B, ORE
Adley Rutschman, C, OSU

NCBWA District Players of the Year
Dristrict VIII
Adley Rutschman, C, OSU
Andrew Vaughn, 1B, CAL

Google Cloud Academic All-American
Hunter Bishop, OF, ASU

Buster Posey National Collegiate Catcher of the Year Finalists
Adley Rutschman, Jr., OSU

USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award Finalists
Adley Rutschman, Jr., C, OSU
Andrew Vaughn, Jr., IF, CAL