Expanding off the double-digit list of regional honorees announced earlier this week, six Big West players find themselves on at least one All-American team as three of the top five outlets have revealed their selections.
Gallagher, the 2024 Big West Pitcher of the Year, was selected to the NCBWA first team, the second team by the ABCA and Perfect Game’s third team to claim three All-America awards.
The redshirt sophomore went 10-1 with an ERA of 2.22 and WHIP of 0.84 over 14 appearances, all starts, and 89.0 innings for The Big West champion Gauchos. The Granite Bay, Calif., native led the league in ERA, WHIP, opponent batting average (.161) and hits allowed per nine innings (5.06) amongst starters. The Gaucho righty accumulated a conference fourth-most strikeouts (96) and fourth-best strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.84). Nationally, Gallagher is second in WHIP, seventh in ERA, fourth in hits allowed per nine innings and 12th in wins. Through two seasons, Gallagher’s career ERA of 2.72 ranks ninth in all of Division I.
Bremner was awarded second team honors by Perfect Game while landing on both the ABCA and NCBWA third team for a trio of postseason honors.
The 2024 All-Big West First Team selection and starter for UC Santa Barbara finished the season with an 11-1 record, a 2.54 ERA, a WHIP of .88, and a conference-leading 104 strikeouts in 88.2 innings of work. Riding the strength of a 98 mile-per-hour fastball, the San Diego, Calif., product is ranked 10th in NCAA Division I in ERA, 16th in hits allowed per nine innings (5.79), fifth in victories and sixth in WHIP.
UC San Diego’s Izaak Martinez, a closer for the Tritons, earned second-team distinction from the NCBWA and Perfect Game third team honors. Playing a fifth and final collegiate season while pursuing a graduate degree in public policy, Martinez becomes the first Triton in the Division I era to earn All-America baseball honors for UCSD.
Also a NCBWA Stopper of the Year finalist, the lefty from Glendora, Calif., led The Big West in multiple statistical categories, including a 1.85 ERA, while allowing just 16 runs and 40 hits, all conference lows. Martinez compiled a 4-3 record with nine saves and 61 strikeouts in 63.1 innings of work in 2024.
Myles Smith, UC Irvine outfielder and 2024 Big West Field Player of the Year, picked up second-team All-America honors from the ABCA.
Smith led the league in batting average (.401), on-base percentage (.533), slugging (.637), OPS (1.170), and was second in base on balls (50), base on balls per game (1.04), hits per game (1.52) and runs per game (1.17) to go with 10 home runs, 49 RBI and 56 runs scored. Nationally, the Torrance, Calif., product is fifth in on base percentage, 10th in base on balls per game and 15th in batting average. The junior ranks 22nd in NCAA Division I with a .475 career on-base percentage.
Two Big West players also dot the various Freshman All-America Teams announced this week. UC Irvine’s Ricky Ojeda was named to the NCBWA second team with Griffin Naess of Cal Poly earning first-team honors. Naess also got the nod for the second team of Perfect Game’s listings.
Naess, a starter for the Mustangs and the 2024 Big West Freshman Pitcher of the Year, went undefeated (7-0) with a 3.58 ERA and 62 strikeouts in 73.0 innings of work. Anteater reliever Ojeda had a 3.46 ERA in 25 appearances, collecting 74 strikeouts in 52.0 innings pitched.
Additionally, two Big West players have already been invited to the USA Collegiate National Team training camp as Anthony Martinez of UC Irvine and UC San Diego’s Anthony Eyanson have already been tapped as a part of the 56-player training game roster that features the premier non-draft-eligible college players for a two-game Stars vs. Stripes intrasquad series in Cary, N.C., on June 26-27. The full training camp roster is yet to be announced.
Following the conclusion of Collegiate National Team Training Camp on June 29, USA Baseball will announce two rosters - the International Friendship Series roster and the Summer League Tour roster.
Also, Major League Baseball and USA Baseball recently announced the field of players participating in the 2024 MLB Draft combine. Big West participants include Ryan Stafford and Jakob Wright of Cal Poly, Cal State Bakersfield’s Ryan Verdugo, UC Irvine’s Woody Hadeen and All-American Smith, Ryan Forcucci and Matt Halbach of UC San Diego and four players from UC Santa Barbara in Matt Ager, Ivan Brethowr, Zander Darby and All-American Gallagher.
The 319 Draft-eligible participants in this year’s combine will converge on Chase Field in Phoenix for the second-straight year from June 18-23. The combine will feature on-field scouted workouts, strength and conditioning assessments, meetings, educational programming and a high school game. MLB Network will have exclusive live coverage from Chase Field on Tuesday, June 18, beginning at 10 a.m. PT.