2021 BASEBALL ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM

The Big West baseball all-conference team announcement encompassed five teams among the six major awards. Conference champion UC Irvine was involved in three of the awards with Mike Peabody being named Co-Field Player of the Year, Ben Orloff Coach of the Year and Taishi Nakawake Tri-Defensive Player of the Year. UC Santa Barbara’s Jordan Sprinkle was named Co-Freshman Field Player of the Year and Rodney Boone took home Co-Pitcher of the Year accolades. A Long Beach State duo also received recognition with Johnathan Lavallee earning Co-Pitcher of the Year honors and Devereaux Harrison collecting the Freshman Pitcher of the Year award. Cal Poly shortstop Brooks Lee earned both Co-Field Player of the Year and Co-Freshman Field Player of the Year accolades. Cal Poly catcher Myles Emmerson and CSUN outfielder Denzel Clarke also were included in the Tri-Defensive Player of the Year award.

Seven schools were represented on the all-conference first team with UCSB placing six and UCI five. UCSB’s Michael McGreevy made the first team for the second time in his career.

CO-FIELD PLAYER OF THE YEAR • MIKE PEABODY, UC IRVINE
Junior • Outfielder • Tustin, Calif. • Mater Dei HS
• Fourth Anteater to earn the award, joining Ben Orloff (2009), Taylor Sparks (2013) and Keston Hiura (2017) on the list
• Led the Big West with 24 hit by pitches, tying him for fourth in conference single-season annals
• Broke the UC Irvine career hit by pitch record with 48
• Led the conference with a .481 on base percentage
• Ranked in the Big West top 10 in several categories, including seventh in average (.353), fourth in runs scored (51), eighth in hits (66) and second in RBI (54)
• Had 19 games with multiple hits and 15 with multiple RBI
• Posted at least one extra base hit in 10 of last 16 games, with seven doubles, a triple and three home runs over that span

CO-FIELD PLAYER OF THE YEAR & CO-FRESHMAN FIELD PLAYER OF THE YEAR • BROOKS LEE, CAL POLY
Shortstop • San Luis Obispo, Calif. • San Luis Obispo HS
• First in Big West history to be named both Field Player of the Year and Freshman Field Player of the Year
• Sixth Mustang to earn Field Player of the Year distinction, and first Alex McKenna in 2018
• Fourth Cal Poly Freshman Field Player of the Year honoree – Matt Jensen (2009), Mitch Haniger (2010) and Nick Meyer (2016)
• Ranks No. 2 nationally with 27 doubles and No. 5 in doubles per game (0.49)
• Broke the Cal Poly single-season record with 27 doubles, which also tied him for fifth on Big West single-season list
• Topped the conference in RBI (57), slugging percentage (.626) and total bases (139)
• Stood among league leaders in average (9th – .342), runs scored (6th – 48), hits (3rd – 76) and home runs (t-3rd – 10)
• Led all Big West players with 16 multi-RBI games

CO-FRESHMAN FIELD PLAYER OF THE YEAR • JORDAN SPRINKLE, UC SANTA BARBARA
Shortstop • Palm Springs, Calif. • Palm Desert HS
• Third Gaucho to garner the top freshman honor, joining Chris Valaika (2004) and Robby Nesovic (2013)
• Led Big West and ranked 16th in the country with 25 stolen bases
• Took over starting shortstop job 10 games into the season, and posted at least one hit in 41 of the last 48 games, including five doubles and two homers over the last five
• Owned a 17-game hit streak at one point
• Ranked among top 10 in the Big West, including fifth in average (.358), sixth in slugging percentage (.558), third in runs scored (52), second in hits (77) and fourth in doubles (18)
• Tied for 10th on the Big West freshman single-season list with 77 hits
• Enjoyed 5-for-5 performance against nationally ranked UC Irvine on May 7

FRESHMAN PITCHER OF THE YEAR • DEVEREAUX HARRISON, LONG BEACH STATE
RHP • Vacaville, Calif. • Vacaville HS
• Second Dirtbag recipient of Freshman Pitcher of the Year and first since Chris Mathewson in 2015
• Tallied 10 saves to lead the Big West and rank No. 15 nationally
• Posted a 3-1 record with a 1.57 ERA, allowing just six earned runs and striking out 42 in 34.1 innings
• Allowed just two runs over his final 19.1 IP for a 0.93 ERA
• Three of his 10 saves came against NCAA Tournament teams UC Irvine and UC Santa Barbara
• Struck out two or more batters in 14 of his 18 appearances

CO-PITCHER OF THE YEAR • JOHNATHAN LAVALLEE, LONG BEACH STATE
RHP • Junior • Simi Valley, Calif. • Royal HS
• Eighth Long Beach State pitcher to capture the award, joining a group that includes former major leaguers Mike Gallo (1999), Abe Alvarez (2002-03) and Jered Weaver (2003-04)
• Finished 8-1 with a 1.89 ERA, allowing just 35 hits and 16 walks while striking out 73 in 62.0 innings of work
• Ranks 12th in the country in ERA, 10th in hits allowed per nine innings (5.1) and fifth in WHIP (0.82)
• In the Big West rankings, led the conference in ERA while ranking second in opponent batting average (.160) and tied for third in wins
• Tossed a two-hit shutout with a career-high 13 strikeouts in May 7 win at UC Riverside
• Earned Big West Pitcher of the Week on Apr. 12 after spinning seven innings of one-hit scoreless ball against Cal Poly
• Over last four starts, compiled a 0.60 ERA with just two runs allowed and 39 whiffs in 30.0 IP

CO-PITCHER OF THE YEAR • RODNEY BOONE, UC SANTA BARBARA
LHP • Sophomore • Orange, Calif. • Tustin HS
• First Gaucho in school history to receive the Pitcher of the Year award
• Notched a 10-4 record with a 2.20 ERA
• Struck out a Big West-leading 117 batters in 90.0 innings
• Strikeout total ranks third in UC Santa Barbara single-season history and eight short of the all-time record
• Tied for fifth in UCSB single-season annals for victories
• Ranks No. 5 nationally in victories and hits allowed per nine innings (4.80), No. 16 in strikeouts (117) and No. 24 in ERA
• Picked up three Big West Pitcher of the Week awards this season
• Fanned 10 or more hitters in five of his last nine starts

TRI-DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR • MYLES EMMERSON, CAL POLY
Senior • Catcher • Spring Valley, Calif. • El Capitan HS
• Fourth Mustang to earn the top defensive honor, following Chris Hoo (2014), Peter Van Gansen (2015) and Nick Meyer (2018)
• Starting catcher played all 56 games, owning a .991 fielding percentage with just four errors in 442 chances
• Threw out 11 would be base stealers
• Posted a .312 average with 14 doubles
• Ranked second on the team with 73 hits and 47 runs scored

TRI-DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR • DENZEL CLARKE, CSUN
Junior • Outfielder • Pickering, Ontario, Canada • Everest Academy
• First Matador to be recognized as Defensive Player of the Year
• Posted a 1.000 fielding percentage with 115 chances
• Collected two outfield assists
• Hit .324 with 11 doubles, eight home runs and 25 RBI
• Stole 15 bases in 17 attempts

TRI-DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR • TAISHI NAKAWAKE, UC IRVINE
Junior • Shortstop • Torrance, Calif. • El Camino College
• Fourth Anteater to be recognized since the award’s inception in 2011 – Brian Hernandez (2011), D.J. Crumlich (2012) and Christian Koss (2019)
• Posted a .965 fielding percentage with only eight errors in 231 total chances
• Ranks second in the Big West with 149 assists
• Leads UC Irvine turning 23 double plays
• Started all 56 games posting a .254 average with nine doubles and 30 RBI

COACH OF THE YEAR • BEN ORLOFF, UC IRVINE
3rd Season • 85-40 Career Record
• First Big West Coach of the Year honor
• Third skipper in school history to be honored, joining Mike Gerakos (1987) and Mike Gillespie (2009)
• First individual in Big West history to be named both Player of the Year (2009) and Coach of the Year with the same program
• Led the Anteaters to their second Big West title – and first since 2009 when he was UCI’s starting shortstop
• Team finished regular season 40-16 overall and 32-9 in conference play, the 32 wins a school record
• Helped program to its eighth 40-win season and third season with 40 regular season victories
• Helped UCI to its ninth Division I postseason appearance and first since 2014
• Directed a squad that has 16 comeback victories to its credit this season  
• Nation’s 10th youngest coach in Division I and 3rd-youngest in NCAA Regionals
• Anteaters rank second in Big West in both team batting average (.294) and ERA (3.83)