Pac-12 Baseball Weekly Rundown - March 30, 2023

Schedule // Standings // Pac-12 Stats // Pac-12 Stats (PDF) // NCAA Statistics 

LEADING OFF: Through three weeks of Pac-12 play, two unexpected names sit atop of the conference standings. Arizona State, having only played two league series, has the best winning percentage at 5-1 after its weekend sweep of rival Arizona and sits in front of No. 7 Stanford and USC, who are tied for second at 7-2. While it's no surprise to see the defending Pac-12 Champion Cardinal up there, the Trojans joining them is certainly one. After having won just eight total conference games and two total league series last spring, USC now has seven Pac-12 wins with three straight series victories, which included a home sweep of Washington State last weekend. First-year head coach Andy Stankiewicz is quickly teaching this Trojans squad how to win.

Stanford has also bounced back from its conference-opening loss to the Trojans, winning six straight en route to sweeps over Oregon State and Utah. No one had a bigger weekend than Washington though as the Huskies took down red-hot then-No. 7 UCLA in LA to win the league matchup against the Bruins for a third straight season. The Pac-12's other first-year head coach, UW's Jason Kelly, also has his squad rolling at 16-6 overall and 4-2 in league play.

The Huskies will try to keep the momentum going into April as they welcome Oregon State to Husky Ballpark for a big series in week four of Pac-12 action. The Beavers have had an uncharacteristic start to the season, but did pick up their first league series victory winning two of three at home over California. No. 12 UCLA will travel to Pullman for three against Washington State, while Oregon and Arizona face off in Tucson as the Wildcats try to end a six-game conference skid. USC visits Utah and Arizona State, winners of 10 of its lat 11, will be at California to round out the final two conference series on the weekend.

Stanford heads to Norman, Oklahoma for a four-game set against the Sooners on its league bye week. The series gets underway Thursday at 4:30. p.m. PT with all four games available to watch on ESPN+.

Seven midweek games are scheduled for April 3-4 with next week's conference series beginning on Thursday, April 6 on Easter weekend.

RPI: 

• The Pac-12 has the third-best RPI ranking as a conference behind only the SEC and the ACC.
• Five Pac-12 teams sit in the top 50 of the RPI rankings through March 28. UCLA holds the top RPI ranking in the conference at No. 7 overall, with Stanford at No. 19, Oregon at No. 23, Washington at No. 41 and Arizona at No. 45. 
• Five more teams are in the top 100: Arizona State (67), USC (87), Oregon State (91), California (96), Utah (98).

STACKING UP:

• The Pac-12 has the third-best non-conference winning percentage among all conferences so far in 2023 with a 113-47-1 mark. The SEC is on top with a 224-43-1 record, followed by the ACC in second at 177-48.
• 10 of 11 league teams are at .500 or better through five weeks of the season, while eight of 11 have winning percentages of .600 or better.

RANKINGS ROUNDUP:

• USA Today: #7 Stanford, #12 UCLA, RV - Washington, Arizona State, Oregon, USC, Oregon State
• D1Baseball: #7 Stanford, #12 UCLA
• Baseball America: #6 Stanford, #12 UCLA
• Collegiate Baseball: #11 Stanford, #13 UCLA, #29 USC, #30 Washington
• NCBWA:  #8 Stanford, #12 UCLA, RV Arizona State, Oregon, Oregon State, USC, Washington
• Perfect Game:  #7 Stanford, #12 UCLA, Also Considered: USC, Washington

QUICK HITTERS:

• USC's first-year head coach Andy Stankiewicz picked up his first signature series win against then-No. 3 Stanford at home the weekend of March 10, the Trojans' first over the Cardinal in eight years. USC continues to stay hot, grabbing victories in nine of its last 11 and winning its first three Pac-12 series this season after winning just two in all of 2022. The Trojans' seven league wins are one shy of their total of eight from a year ago. 
• Stanford climbed back into the top 10 in USA Today's rankings thanks to a second straight Pac-12 sweep, this one over Utah. Two-way star Braden Montgomery is starting to heat up at the plate, hitting .417 through 21 games - the first Cardinal to hit .417-plus since former Cardinal great Jed Lowrie batted .446 through 21 in 2004.
• Arizona State's sweep over rival Arizona was its first since 2019 and only its second since 2009. Freshman third baseman Nu'u Contrades earned Pac-12 Player of the Week honors after going 7-14 (.500) with eight RBI, three runs scored, two doubles and two home runs in the series. He also plated the winning run in Saturday's series-securing victory and scored it in the series finale Sunday. The Sun Devils head into the weekend at Cal having won 10 of its last 11 and five straight after beating UNLV in Las Vegas on Tuesday. 
• UCLA currently has the seventh-best ERA in the country at 3.14, but after giving up 30 runs in its last four games, dropping three of those, the Bruins will look to put the lid back on at Washington State this weekend. 
• Dating back to last season, Washington has won five consecutive Pac-12 series, posting a 12-3 record over those 15 games, but has lost 11 straight to the Beavers, a streak they will try to reverse in Seattle this weekend. Husky slugger Will Simpson leads the Pac-12 and ranks 13th in the nation with 11 home runs in 2023, which includes homers in three of the last five games. On the other side of the ball, UW closer Case Matter has made seven straight appearances without allowing a run. The Huskies' 1-2 starting punch of Kiefer Lord and Stu Flesland has been a winning combination as the two combined to strikeout 13 at UCLA last weekend.
• Oregon's Tanner Smith had a huge weekend for the Ducks as they swept Northwest State at home. The senior outfielder earned a Collegiate Baseball National Player of the Week nod after batting .643 in the series with four home runs, two doubles, 10 RBI and seven runs scored. In the series opener he set a new program career record for hits, before becoming the first Duck to ever homer in five consecutive games in the finale.
• The Ducks head out on the road for just the second time this season, where they will try to win their first series in Tucson since 2012.
• Oregon State will look to make it two straight Pac-12 series wins in Seattle this weekend after taking two of three at home against California to go along with a midweek win over Seattle U on Wednesday. The Beavers have not only won their last 11 against the Huskies, but have won the last eight at Husky Ballpark. Junior Garret Forrester has reached base safely in 24 consecutive games, drawing eight walks in his last five games. The junior has 123 walks for his career, which trails only Adley Rutschman (156) in the OSU record books.
• Arizona will be happy to be home this weekend, hosting Oregon for three at Hi Corbett Field where they have won 10 straight and are 10-2 overall this year in Tucson.
• In a midweek win over Linfield College (9-1), Washington State hit four home runs in a game for a second time this season, with all four coming from different players (Elijah Hainline, Kyle Russell, Sam Brown and Jake Harvey).
• California's starting pitching has thrived in 2023 so far, boasting an ERA of 2.38. Overall the pitching staff ranks No. 31 in the country at 4.03. 
• Utah freshman Cameron Gurney went 49 at-bats to start his career without striking out. At once every 23.3 at-bats, he is the toughest freshman to strike out in the country, toughest of all Pac-12 players and No. 5 of all players in the NCAA.
• Washington State took two of three at Oregon State in its Pac-12 opener on the weekend of March 10, the Cougars' first series win in Corvallis since 2009.
• Stanford junior catcher Albert Rios set a Cardinal record and matched the Pac-12 record with 11 RBIs in a 24-9 Stanford victory over CSU Bakersfield on Sunday, March 5. The 11 RBIs matched the previous Pac-12 record of 11 set by UCLA's Bill Scott vs. Washington in a game that started on March 29, 1999 and was completed on March 30, 1999 due to rain. 
• Oregon State head coach Mitch Canham picked up his 100th career victory on Tuesday, March 7 as the Beavers beat San Diego 9-4 in Corvallis. 

NATIONAL AWARDS:

• Collegiate Baseball National Players of the Week
  • Feb. 20 - C Josiah Cromwick, Oregon
  • Feb. 27 - RHP Trent Sellers, Oregon State
  • Mar. 6 - 1B/OF/C Kiko Romero, Arizona
  • Mar. 13 - RHP Connor Wilford, Washington State
  • Mar. 20 - RHP Dakota Hawkins, Washington State; 2B Luke Keaschall, Arizona State
  • Mar. 27 - OF Tanner Smith, Oregon
• Perfect Game National Players of the Week
  • Mar. 7 - RHP Kiefer Lord, Washington - National Pitcher of the Week

STAT LINES:

• NCAA Top-10 Team Rankings: Batting Avg. - Arizona State (22nd, .313); Hits - Arizona State (26th, 268); Doubles - Arizona (7th, 61); Triples - USC (1st, 19); Home runs - Oregon (37th, 37); Sacrifice Flys - Washington State (14th, 17); Walks - Oregon State (15th, 150). ERA - UCLA (7th, 3.14); Shutouts - UCLA, Washington, Washington (11th, 3); Strikeouts-Per-9 Innings - Washington State (16th, 11.0); Fielding percentage - Washington (8th, .984); Double plays - Arizona, Arizona State, Oregon State (41st, 10). 
• NCAA Top-10 Individual Rankings: Batting Avg. - Braden Montgomery, Stanford (27th, .417); Doubles - Kiko Romero, Arizona (23rd, 11); Triples - Austin Overn, USC (1st, 9); Hits - Kiko Romero, Arizona (67th, 37); Runs - Ryan Campos (45th, 31); RBI - Mac Bingham, Arizona; Kiko Romero, Arizona; Will Simpson, Washington  (66th, 30); Sac Flys - Mac Bingham, Arizona (3rd, 5); Sac Bunts - Bruer Webster, Utah (3rd, 7); On-base percentage - Braden Montgomery, Stanford (12th, .550); Slugging percentage - Kiko Romero (36th, .785). ERA - Kelly Austin (11th, 1.38); Saves - Chase Grillo, Washington State; Micah Ashman, Utah (16th, 5) Strikeouts - Trent Sellers, OSU (12th, 50).

WE'RE GOING STREAKING:

• No. 7 Stanford and Oregon both enter the weekend on a league-high six game winning streak. Since losing their Pac-12 opening series at USC, the Cardinal have reeled off six straight wins via two Pac-12 sweeps of Oregon State and Utah. Arizona State has the second-longest streak at five games.
• Multiple Pac-12 hitters have streaks on the line at the plate heading into the fourth weekend of conference play. Arizona State's Jacob Tobias is on a conference-high nine-game streak; Washington's Will Simpson is at eight; Oregon's Tanner Smith and Stanford's Owen Cobb are both at six. 

D1 BASEBALL POSITION RANKINGS (As of March 28):

• Top 50 Catchers - No. 7 Ryan Campos (Arizona State); No. 24 Malcolm Moore (Stanford); No. 26 Caleb Lomavita (California); No. 29 Johnny Tincher (Washington).
• Top 50 First Basemen - No. 8 Kiko Romero (Arizona); No. 20 Sam Brown (Washington State); No. 22 Will Simpson (Washington); No. 36 Garret Forester (Oregon State).
• Top 50 Second Basemen - No. 4 Luke Keaschall (Arizona State); No. 7 Ethan Gourson (UCLA); No. 10 Travis Bazzana; No. 44 Drew Bowser (Stanford).
• Top 50 Shortstops - No. 18 Cam Clayton (Washington); No. 24 Cody Schrier (UCLA); No. 31 Luke Hill (Arizona State); No. 37 Nik McClaughry (Arizona).
• Top 50 Third Basemen - No. 6 Tommy Troy (Stanford); No. 14 Sabin Ceballos; No. 21 Kyle Karros (UCLA); No. 42 Nu'u Contrades (Arizona State).
• Top 50 Relievers - No. 19 Micah Ashman (Utah); No. 23 Josh Mollerus (Oregon); No. 44 Josh Emanuels (Washington); No. 47 Garrett Clarke (USC).
• Top 100 Starting Pitchers - No. 23 Quinn Matthews (Stanford); No. 27 Kiefer Lord (Washington); No. 28 Kelly Austin (UCLA); No. 33 Alonzo Tredwell (UCLA); No. 41 Stu Flesland; No. 45 Ross Dunn (Arizona State); No. 48 Matt Scott (Stanford); No. 60 Jake Brooks (UCLA); No. 64 TJ Nichols (Arizona); No. 67 Paulshawn Pasqualotto (California); No. 75 Trent Sellers (Oregon State); 

2023 MLB OPENING DAY: Former Oregon State standout and the 2019 No.1 overall pick Adley Rutschman may have made his MLB debut for the Baltimore Orioles in 2022, but Thursday marked his first Opening Day in the big leagues. Rutschman had a monster day, hitting a home run in his first at-bat and going 5-for-5 overall with 4 RBI in a 10-9 Baltimore win over Boston, joining Hall-of-Famers Billy Herman and Babe Ruth as the third player ever to go 5-5 and get multiple RBI on Opening Day. UCLA great Gerrit Cole made some history himself, recording the most strikeouts by a Yankee pitcher on Opening Day with 11 in New York's 5-0 shutout of the Giants. Rutschman and Cole highlight a total of 54 former Pac-12 stars on 2023 Opening Day rosters. It's the second-most players from a conference behind only the SEC (SEC 89, Pac-12 54, ACC 42, WCC 21, American 20).

CARDINAL PICKED TO REPEAT: For a second consecutive year the Pac-12 coaches took defending champion Stanford atop their preseason poll with the Cardinal receiving nine first-place votes for a total of 99 points.

UCLA collected the other two first-place votes to come in second with 90 points and Oregon State was in third with 77 points. Arizona (74 points) and Oregon (68 points) rounded out the top five in fourth and fifth, respectively. 

INAUGURAL PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM: For the first time in Pac-12 history, the conference announced a Preseason All-Pac-12 Team, voted on by the league’s coaches. 

Stanford led the way with eight selections. Preseason All-Americans Braden Montgomery (UTL), Ryan Bruno (LHP), Carter Graham (INF), Quinn Mathews (LHP) and Tommy Troy (INF) earned the honor along with Cardinal infielder Drew Bowser, outfielder Eddie Park and pitcher Joey Dixon.

The 32-person team also includes preseason All-Americans Travis Bazzana (INF) and Ben Ferrer (RHP) from Oregon State, Chase Davis (OF) from Arizona and pitcher Alonzo Tredwell of UCLA. 

Tredwell and UCLA teammate Cody Schrier (INF), both 2022 Freshman All-Americans, were two of six Bruins selected, which was second-most behind Stanford. 

FRESH (AND FAMILIAR) FACES:  The Pac-12 has a pair of new head coaches in 2023 - Washington’s Jason Kelly and USC’s Andy Stankiewicz - but neither are new to the West. 

Kelly in particular is no stranger to the Pac-12, returning to Washington to begin his head coaching career after previously spending seven years as the Huskies pitching coach from 2013-19 under Lindsay Meggs, who announced his retirement following the 2022 season. Kelly was a key part of UW’s first-ever trip to the Men’s College World Series in 2018 before stints as the pitching coach at Arizona State and last season at LSU. Kelly was also previously honored as the 2018 D1Baseball National Assistant Coach of the Year.

Stankiewicz, a former Major League Baseball player, came to USC last summer after a highly successful 11-year run at Grand Canyon in which he won five regular season Western Athletic Conference titles and was named the WAC Coach of the Year four times. Over the last two seasons, Stankiewicz guided Grand Canyon to its first ever NCAA Division I postseason appearance in 2021 then led the program to its first ever at-large bid this past season.

NATIONAL AWARDS PRESEASON WATCH LISTS

GOLDEN SPIKES

• Chase Davis; OF; Arizona
• Quinn Mathews; LHP; Stanford
• Braden Montgomery; OF/RHP
• Cody Schrier; INF; UCLA
• Tommy Troy; INF/OF; Stanford

BOBBY BRAGAN COLLEGIATE SLUGGER AWARD

• Drew Cowley, INF, Oregon
• Chase Davis, OF, Arizona
• Carter Graham, INF, Stanford
• Jacob McKeon, OF, Washington State
• Tanner Smith, OF, Oregon
• Jacob Walsh, INF, Oregon

PRESEASON ALL-AMERICAN TEAMS

• D1 Baseball - First Team: RP Ryan Bruno (Stanford), 2B Tommy Troy (Stanford).
• Baseball America - First Team: 2B Tommy Troy (Stanford)
• Collegiate Baseball - First Team: INF Carter Graham (Stanford), SP Quinn Matthews (Stanford)
• NCBWA - First Team: INF Carter Graham (Stanford)
• Perfect Game - First Team: 2B Tommy Troy (Stanford), SP Quinn Matthews (Stanford)

AMERICAN MADE: Two Pac-12 players were part of the 26-man roster for the 2022 Collegiate National Team that represented Team USA and finished in third place at Honkbalweek Haarlem last July at  Pim Mulier Stadium in Haarlem, Netherlands. The final squad was named after completing the 2022 Collegiate National Team Training Camp, a five-game intrasquad series played throughout North Carolina. The roster included RP Ryan Bruno (Stanford) and RP Ross Dunn (Arizona State). 

2023 PAC-12 BASEBALL TOURNAMENT: After an exciting inaugural event last May, the Pac-12 Baseball Tournament returns to Scottsdale Stadium May 23-27, 2023 for year two at the Spring Training home of the San Francisco Giants. The tournament will look different in 2023 after the Pac-12 coaches approved format changes during the offseason.

Switching from a double-elimination format to pool play, the top nine teams in the Conference standings will earn berths to the tournament. The teams will be split into three pools based on their regular season finish with the top team from each pool advancing to the semifinals. The fourth semifinal spot will be determined by the top record of the non-advancing teams, with any tiebreakers going to the higher seed.  

The champion will receive the Conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Pac-12’s current agreement with the City of Scottsdale runs through 2024.

ON DECK (Full Schedule) 

CONFERENCE STANDINGS (Expanded Standings) 

2023 Pac-12 Baseball Weekly Awards