Three teams were represented among the Big West Conference’s top baseball honors. Big West Conference Champion UC Santa Barbara took home three of the top conference awards as Eric Yang was tabbed Big West Conference Field Player of the Year, Rodney Boone grabbed Big West Conference Freshman Pitcher of the Year and Andrew Checketts earned Big West Conference Coach of the Year. UC Irvine witnessed Trenton Denholm receive Big West Conference Pitcher of the Year and Christian Koss selected as Big West Conference Defensive Player of the Year. Grabbing the last honor, Big West Freshman Field Player of the Year, was Hawai’i’s Scotty Scott.
Seven schools were represented on the all-conference first team with the Gauchos leading the way with a program-best seven selections. Three individuals claimed a repeat selection to the first team – UC Riverside’s Connor Cannon, UC Santa Barbara’s Tommy Jew and Hawai’i’s Maaki Yamazaki.
FIELD PLAYER OF THE YEAR • ERIC YANG, UC SANTA BARBARA
Junior • Catcher • West Hills, Calif. • El Camino Real HS
• Hit .383 on the season and posted a .492 on-base percentage to finish second in the Big West Conference.
• His 77 hits placed him second in the league.
• Was walked 30 times, ranking fifth in the conference, which included 16 hit by pitches.
• In 418 chances at the catcher position, Yang recorded 371 putouts to place sixth in the league.
• He halted 10 base runners to finish fifth in the Big West.
• Becomes third Gaucho to earn Big West Field Player of the Year and first since Cameron Newell shared the title in 2015.
PITCHER OF THE YEAR • TRENTON DENHOLM, UC IRVINE
Sophomore • El Dorado Hills, Calif. • Oak Ridge HS
• In 99.2 innings of work, Denholm (9-4) sports a conference-low ERA of 1.81, placing him 14th in the country.
• Held his opposition to a miniscule .178 batting average to pace the league.
• Struck out 93 batters to rank second in the Big West.
• Allowed just 5.51 hits per nine innings to ranks 12th in the country.
• Tossed four complete games this season.
• Spearheaded a UCI pitching staff that registered a 3.54 ERA to rank 18th in the nation.
• Four-time Big West Pitcher of the Week in 2019, increasing his career total to five, a distinction just seven pitchers in Big West history have earned.
• College Baseball Foundation Pitcher of the Year Award semifinalists
• Marks the sixth time in 12 years an Anteater earned Big West Pitcher of the Year distinction, and first since Andrew Morales did so in 2014.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR • CHRISTIAN KOSS, UC IRVINE
Junior • Shortstop • Riverside, Calif. • JW North HS
• A catalyst for the Anteaters’ defense that paces the league and ranks 12th in the nation with a .981 fielding percentage.
• Owns a league-best 160 assists and tied for second place in double plays with 32.
• Earned Big West Player of the Week honors on May 27.
• Third UC Irvine player to earn Big West Defensive Player of the Year honors since the award’s inception in 2011.
FRESHMAN FIELD PLAYER OF THE YEAR • SCOTTY SCOTT, HAWAI’I
Freshman • Outfielder • Houston, Texas • Cypress Ranch HS
• Playing in all 50 Hawai’i ballgames, he finished fourth on the team with a .291 batting average.
• Scored a team-best 36 runs, while driving in an additional 20.
• Finished just outside the conference’s top 10 in both at bats (203) and walks (25).
• Tallied a .982 fielding percentage in the outfield, committing just two errors.
• Becomes the first Hawai’i student-athlete to receive Freshman Field Player of the Year accolades.
FRESHMAN PITCHER OF THE YEAR • RODNEY BOONE, UC SANTA BARBARA
Freshman • Pitcher • Orange, Calif. • Tustin HS
• In 81.0 innings, he tallied an impressive 8-0 mark this season and sports the league’s seventh-best ERA of 2.78.
• Finished the regular season tied for fifth in the Big West with 80 strikeouts
• In his final outing of the season he tossed 8.1 innings, allowing zero earned runs on five hits and striking out a career-high 12 Mustangs, to clinch the conference title.
• Member of the UCSB pitching staff that ranks sixth in the nation with a 3.21 ERA.
• Earned Big West Pitcher of the Week accolades on May 27.
• Boone is the third Gaucho to claim Big West Freshman Pitcher of the Year honors, the other two coming in 2004 and 2008.
COACH OF THE YEAR • ANDREW CHECKETTS, UC SANTA BARBARA
• Guided the Gauchos to their first Big West Conference title since 1986.
• Headed back to the postseason for the first time since 2016. The program’s 12th postseason appearance and the fourth since Checketts became head coach in 2012.
• The Gauchos led the Big West in batting average, on base percentage, slugging percentage, runs scored, hits, doubles, triples, home runs and stolen bases. On the pitching side of the ledger they paced the league in ERA, strikeouts, fewest hits allowed and saves.
• Led UC Santa Barbara to the second-best won-loss percentage in the country - 45-9 (.833). The 45 wins ties the 1986 team for most victories in program history.
• First-time honoree for Checketts and fourth time a Gaucho was named coach of the year (1986, 1996, 2001).
The complete 2019 Big West Baseball All-Conference Team may be viewed from the link at the top of the page.