Pac-12 Baseball Weekly Rundown - February 22, 2024

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

LEADING OFF:  #7 OREGON STATE has looked the part so far of a team picked to win the Pac-12 and ranked in the Top 8 of all 5 major polls with a 5-0 start to the season.  The Beavers have used a combination of pitching and power hitting to outscore their opponents 52-17, slugging 14 home runs while compiling a 1.75 ERA to sweep a 4-game set in Surprise, AZ, followed by a win over #22 Texas Tech in Arlington, TX.  All-American Travis Bazzana racked up Pac-12 Player of the Week and Co-National Player of the Week by Perfect Game while hitting 9-20 (.450 AVG) with 3 homers, 7 RBI and 7 runs scored.  Mitch Canham's squad remains in Arlington this weekend for the Kubota College Baseball Series, highlighted by a matchup with #4 Arkansas on Friday night.

#24 UCLA also went unscathed in the opening week with a 3-game sweep of Gonzaga, led by shortstop Cody Schrier (7-12, 4 runs) and second baseman Duce Gourson (2 HR, 4 RBI, 4 runs).  Sophomore starting pitchers Michael Barnett and Finn McIlroy combined for just 1 earned run allowed over 10 innings.  The Bruins head to Fort Worth, TX this weekend for a 3-game set with #4 TCU.

ARIZONA and ARIZONA STATE have both come out swinging early, leading them both to 3-1 starts.  The Wildcats took 2 of 3 from #25 Northeastern in Tucson before putting up 24 runs on Utah Tech on Tuesday.  Outfielder Brendan Summerhill had a school-record tying 6 hits in that game, the most in D-1 so far this season, and is 11-19 (.579 AVG) with 11 RBI, 7 runs and 5 doubles in 4 games.  After a trip to San Diego this weekend, Arizona visits #5 TCU on Wednesday.  The Sun Devils have swatted 11 home runs in 4 games so far with sophomore Isaiah Jackson leading the way with 3 homers and a Pac-12 high 13 RBI.  Willie Bloomquist's squad has scored at least 9 runs in every game including a 9-6 win over a Kansas State squad that was ranked #24 by D1Baseball.

CALIFORNIA also is off to a 3-1 start, including a 6-3 win over that same Kansas State squad on Opening Day.  The Bears had 3 pitches combine for their first shutout of the season on Wednesday, an 8-0 win over BYU.  UTAH begins the 2024 campaign 3-1 on a road trip to Southern California.  After dropping the opener 1-0, the Utes outscored their opponents 25-9 in the last 3 games and stay in California this weekend for the Tony Gwynn Legacy.  The Nathan Choate Era is off to a successful start as Washington State took 3 of 4 on the road from Utah Tech.   6 different Cougars have already homered this season with Alan Shibley, Nate Swarts and Casen Taggert slamming 2 each.  WSU will be part of the Round Rock Classic this weekend before heading to #5 TCU on Tuesday.

Rankings

• USA Today Coaches:  #7 Oregon State, #23 Stanford, #24 UCLA, RV:  Oregon, Arizona, USC (Preseason)

• Baseball America:  #4 Oregon State, #24 UCLA (Feb. 15)

• D1Baseball:  #7 Oregon State, #20 UCLA (Feb. 15)

• NCBWA:  #4 Oregon State, #19 UCLA, #23 Stanford,  RV: Arizona, Oregon (Feb. 15)

• Perfect Game:  #8 Oregon State, #16 UCLA, #23 Stanford (Feb. 15)

NATIONAL AWARDS:

• Perfect Game National Players of the Week

  • Feb. 20 - INF Travis Bazzana, Oregon State (co-winner)

BEAVERS EARLY FAVORITES:  Oregon State, who has finished 2nd in the regular season standings each of the last 2 seasons, was picked by the Pac-12 coaches as the favorite to win the conference.  The Beavers received 8 of the 11 first place votes and are looking for its first Pac-12 title since 2017.  Stanford, who’s won the last 2 regular season titles, was 2nd and had 2 first place votes while UCLA was picked 3rd and received the other first place vote.

PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM:  For the 2nd straight year, the conference released a Preseason All-Conference team as voted on by the league’s 11 coaches.  Oregon State, Arizona State and California all led the league with 5 selections each. The 33-person team featured 18 players that earned Pac-12 honors last spring including 8 all-conference selections highlighted by preseason All-Americans Travis Bazzana (Oregon State), Malcolm Moore (Stanford), Austin Overn (USC), Duce Gourson (UCLA) and Micah Ashman (Utah).

PRESEASON ALL-AMERICANS

D1 Baseball

• 1st Team - 2B Travis Bazzana (Oregon State)

• 3rd Team - OF Austin Overn (USC)

Baseball America

• 1st Team - C Malcolm Moore (Stanford)

• 2nd Team - C Caleb Lomavita (California), 2B Travis Bazzana (Oregon State)

• 3rd Team - 2B Duce Gourson (UCLA), SP Matt Scott (Stanford)

NCBWA

• 1st Team - 2B Travis Bazzana (Oregon State)

• 2nd Team - RP Austin Anderson (Oregon)

• 3rd Team - RP Micah Ashman (Utah)

Perfect Game

• 1st Team - INF Travis Bazzana (Oregon State)

• 2nd Team - 2B Duce Gourson (UCLA), DH Malcolm Moore (Stanford)

PRESEASON AWARD WATCH LISTS

Golden Spikes Award

• INF Travis Bazzana (Oregon State)

• OF Rodney Green Jr. (California)

• C Caleb Lomavita (California)

• C Malcolm Moore (Stanford)

Bobby Bragan National Collegiate Slugger

• Travis Bazzana (Oregon State)

• Emilio Corona (Arizona)

• Elijah Hainline (Oregon State)

• Malcolm Moore (Stanford)

• Bennett Thompson (Oregon)

• Jacob Walsh (Oregon)

• Mason White (Arizona)

NCBWA Stopper of the Year

• Austin Anderson (Oregon)

• Micah Ashman (Utah)

• Josh Emanuels (Washington)

• Chase Grillo (Washington State)

• Rashad Ruff (UCLA)

D1BASEBALL PRESEASON POSITIONAL PLAYER RANKINGS

Catchers (Top 50)

• #6 Malcolm Moore (Stanford)

• #7 Caleb Lomavita (California)

• #10 Ryan Campos (Arizona State)

• #49 Bennett Thompson (Oregon)

First Basemen (Top 50)

• #15 Mason Guerra (Oregon State)

• #44 Jacob Tobias (Arizona State)

• #50 Jacob Walsh (Oregon)

Second Basemen (Top 50)

• #1 Travis Bazzana (Oregon State)

• #4 Duce Gourson (UCLA)

• #45 Owen Cobb (Stanford)

Shortstops (Top 50)

• #8 Cam Clayton (Washington)

• #12 Cody Schrier (UCLA)

• #16 Elijah Hainline (Oregon State)

• #17 Mason White (Arizona)

• #50 Bryce Martin-Grudzielanek (USC)

Third Baseman (Top 50)

• #15 Trent Caraway (Oregon State)

• #18 Drew Smith (Oregon)

• #46 Nu’u Contrades (Arizona State)

Outfielders (Top 100)

• #8 Austin Overn (USC)

• #19 Rodney Green Jr. (California)

• #20 Gavin Turley (Oregon State)

• #22 TJ Clarkson (Utah)

• #29 AJ Guerrero (Washington)

• #32 Justin Cassella (Oregon)

• #78 Micah McDowell (Oregon State)

• #86 Brady Kasper (Oregon)

• #88 Harris Williams (Arizona State)

Starting Pitchers (Top 150)

• #36 Aiden May (Oregon State)

• #39 Matt Scott (Stanford)

• #47 Caden Aoki (USC)

• #79 Ian May (California)

• #91 Luke Jewett (UCLA)

• #106 Jacob Kmatz (Oregon State)

• #128 Jackson Kent (Arizona)

• #133 Nick Dugan (Stanford)

• #144 Grant Taylor (Washington State)

• #145 Tyler Stromsborg (USC)

Relief Pitchers (Top 50)

• #41 Micah Ashman (Utah)

• #45 Cody Delvecchio (UCLA)

• #48 Josh Blum (USC)

Impact Transfers (Top 130)

• #15 RHP Aiden May (Oregon State via Arizona)

• #24 INF Elijah Hainline (Oregon State via Washington State)

• #60 OF Justin Cassella (Oregon via Elon)

• #99 RHP Kassius Thomas (Stanford via Duke)

• #117 RHP Xavier Martinez (USC via Cal State Northridge)

• #119 OF Jeffery Heard (Oregon via Sacramento State)

BASEBALL AMERICA PRESEASON LISTS

• Best Pure Hitter - #2 Travis Bazzana (Oregon State)

• Fastest Runner -  #2 Austin Overn (USC)

• Best Defensive Outfielder - #3 Austin Overn (USC)

• Best Outfield Arm - #3 Nick McLain (Arizona State)

• Closest to the Majors - #3 Travis Bazzana (Oregon State)

FIELD OF 64 PRESEASON PROJECTIONS:

Baseball America:  Oregon State (1 seed), Stanford (2 seed), UCLA (2 seed), Oregon (3 seed), USC (3 seed), Arizona State (First Four Out)

D1Baseball:  Oregon State (1 seed), Stanford (2 seed), Arizona State (3 seed), Oregon (3 seed), UCLA (3 seed), USC (3 seed)

MADE IN AMERICA:  3 current Pac-12 players made the 2023 Collegiate National Team Roster that went 7-3 this summer, sweeping 5 games with Taiwan and going 3-2 against Japan. The Pac-12 was represented by INF Duce Gourson (UCLA), OF Rodney Green Jr. (Cal), and C Malcolm Moore (Stanford).  Former Stanford OF/P Braden Montgomery was also on the team prior to his transfer in August.

2024 PAC-12 BASEBALL TOURNAMENT: Once again, the Pac-12 Baseball Tournament returns to Scottsdale Stadium May 21-25, 2024 for year 3 at the Spring Training home of the San Francisco Giants. The tournament will once again feature pool play, with the top 9 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.

ON DECK (Full Schedule) 

2024 CONFERENCE STANDINGS (Expanded Standings) 

2024 PAC-12 WEEKLY AWARDS