UC Riverside Crowned 2007 Big West Champion:
With a 4-2 win over nationally-ranked UC Irvine on Saturday, May 26, UC Riverside (16-5) clinched its first-ever Big West title and received the league's automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament, making it the second time the Highlanders advanced to the NCAA Tournament since going Division I back in 2002. UC Irvine and Long Beach State finished the 2007 season tied for second in the Big West Conference with a 15-6 mark, while Cal Poly placed fourth at 13-8. Last year's champion, Cal State Fullerton, locked in the fifth spot, UC Santa Barbara finished sixth and Pacific and Cal State Northridge tied for seventh.

Four Big West Teams Extend Year To Postseason:
For the first time in 11 years the Big West Conference sent four teams to the NCAA Tournament. Big West champion UC Riverside, along with at-large selections Cal State Fullerton, Long Beach State (regional host) and UC Irvine were selected to the 2007 NCAA Baseball Tournament. The Big West was one of three leagues to receive four postseason berths.

Cal State Fullerton, UC Irvine Etch Themselves In College World Series History:
For only the third time, the Big West Conference had two teams playing for the national title at Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Neb. Cal State Fullerton made its 15th College World Series appearance, while UC Irvine was making its first run tfor the coveted crown. Both teams entered the CWS with a perfect 5-0 mark, but dropped their first contests to make a Big West matchup in the elimination game. In the first-ever Big West face-off in Omaha, the Titans and Anteaters played a 13-inning game that lasted 5 hours and 40 minutes - the longest game in CWS history. UC Irvine would prevail in the epic game, 5-4, and would face Arizona State for the second time in four days in front of the third-largest crowd in CWS history (29,034). After defeating the Sun Devils, 8-7 (10 innings), the Anteaters followed that up with a 7-1 loss to eventual national champion Oregon State in front of 29,921 fans (second largest crowd). During its run, the UC Irvine squad became the first CWS team to win back-to-back extra-inning contests and set a record with 12 hit batsmen, a mark that was owned by Cal State Fullerton's 2003 squad.

UC Riverside Produces Near Sweep Of Top Conference Honors:
UC Riverside picked up four of the five 2007 Easton Big West annual honors. Tabbed as one of the nation’s best pitching staffs, the Highlanders walked away with both pitching honors as James Simmons collected Easton Big West Pitcher of the Year and Joe Kelly nabbed Easton Big West Freshman Pitcher of the Year accolades. Teammate Joey Gonzales was named Easton Big West Freshman Player of the Year, while UCR’s head coach Doug Smith, received Easton Big West Coach of the Year. Picking up the fifth honor of the day is Cal Poly's Grant Desme, who was crowned 2007 Easton Big West Player of the Year.

All-American Status:
In the various publications that release All-America selections, eight Big West student-athletes received the distinguished honor, while six other players earned Freshman All-America status. Cal Poly's Grant Desme was the lone representative to be recognized in all six publications, including being tabbed a first team selection by Baseball America.

USA Baseball Has Big West Feel:
The USA Baseball National Team announced the 2007 20-man roster and two Big West Conference student-athletes made the elite list - Danny Espinosa (Long Beach State) and Joe Kelly (UC Riverside). Along with the two players, Long Beach State Head Coach Mike Weathers was tabbed Field Manager of this year's squad. This will be Weathers' third tour with USA Baseball, as he was an assistant for Team USA in 2003 and was chosen to represent the U.S. at the World Games in South America in 1970.

The 2007 MLB Draft:
The Big West Conference had 43 players selected in the 2007 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft, with UC Riverside’s James Simmons being the conference's first player taken, 26th overall by the Oakland A's. Simmons, 2007 Easton Big West Pitcher of the Year, is the highest Highlander drafted since Daron Kirkreit was taken 11th overall by the Cleveland Indians in 1993. Cal State Fullerton led the league with 10 players selected in this year’s draft. UC Irvine had eight Anteaters selected in this year's draft, while the 2007 Big West Champions, UC Riverside, were third among Big West schools with seven selections. Cal Poly, who finished the first day with three players selected, added one more draftee to its list in day two. Posting three draft selections apiece were Pacific and UC Santa Barbara. Cal State Northridge rounded out the 2007 draft with two selections.