2026 All-Big West Baseball Team & Awards
Big West Baseball Individual Awards History
All-Time All-Big West Team
The Big West is proud to announce its major award winners and its all-conference teams for the 2026 baseball season on the eve of the 2026 Big West Baseball Championship. The awards and teams were voted on by the league’s 11 head coaches.
 
Cal State Fullerton junior Paul Contreras and Cal Poly junior catcher Ryan Tayman were selected as Co-Field Players of the Year. UC Santa Barbara junior right-handed pitcher Jackson Flora was tabbed as the Pitcher of the Year. The Defensive Player of the Year honor went to Cal Poly graduate outfielder Casey Murray Jr. Cal State Bakersfield designated hitter Devon Wilkes and Long Beach State righty Luke Howe earned the Freshman Field Player and Pitcher of the Year awards, respectively. After leading their respective teams to a share of the regular-season title, UC Santa Barbara head coach Andrew Checketts and Cal Poly head coach Larry Lee were voted as Co-Coaches of the Year.
 
Contreras batted .364 with a league-leading 1.128 OPS, 14 home runs, 42 RBI and 40 runs in 49 overall games. In league play, the Titan outfielder had a .436 batting average with a 1.314 OPS, nine home runs, conference-best 31 RBI and 29 runs. Contreras is the 13th Titan to be named the league’s top position player, the last one coming a decade ago in 2016 when Dalton Blaser claimed the honor.
 
Tayman was the league leader in RBI (53), co-leader in home runs (16) and second in runs scored (48) and OPS (1.116), and third in batting average (.351) in 54 overall games. The Cal Poly catcher had a .366 batting average with a 1.176 OPS, conference-best 10 home runs, 30 RBI and 26 runs in 30 league games. Tayman is the eighth Mustang to win the top field player award. The last time Cal Poly won the award was in 2021 and 2022 with Brooks Lee.
 
In 14 overall games, Flora led the league in wins (10), ERA (1.03) and strikeouts (115) in 87.1 innings of work on the mound. In 10 conference games, Flora went 7-0 with a 1.12 ERA and 89 strikeouts in 64.1 innings. Flora joins Rodney Boone (2021) and Ryan Gallagher (2024) as Gauchos to win the league’s top pitcher.  
 
Murray Jr. fielded at a .986 clip during the regular season, getting charged with just two errors in 148 chances. While putting together a solid defensive performance, on offense the Mustang center fielder slashed had a .315 batting average with five home runs, 25 RBI and 44 runs. Murray Jr. is the sixth Mustang to be named the conference’s top defender after Chris Hoo (2014), Peter Van Gansen (2015), Nick Meyer (2018), Myles Emmerson (2021) and Ryan Stafford (2024).   
 
Wilkes had a .289 batting average with five home runs, 43 RBI and 29 runs in 53 games this season. Howe went 5-4 with a 5.04 ERA and 67 strikeouts in 85.2 innings of work.
 
Checketts and Lee each helmed their teams to a share of the regular-season title with identical 22-8 league records. The Gauchos went 37-16 overall and won their sixth regular-season trophy in program history and a fourth since 2019. It is Checketts’ fourth time winning the top coaching honor. For Cal Poly, the 2026 regular-season crown was just a second in Mustangs’ history, with their last championship coming in 2014. It is the second time that Lee has been named the conference’s best coach.
 
A total of 19 student-athletes were named to the All-Big West First Team. Outside of Tayman, three other Mustangs got the nod in junior third baseman Alejandro Garza, sophomore shortstop Nate Castellon and senior closer Nick Bonn. Two Gauchos in senior second baseman William Vasseur and sophomore outfielder Rowan Kelly join Flora on the team. Three spots were filled by Cal State Fullerton with Contreras, senior starting pitcher Mikiah Negrete and senior utility Nick Miller. CSUN took three slots as well with junior first baseman Matthew Pena, junior outfielder Matthew Thomas and sophomore designated hitter Andrew Becker. UC San Diego had two first-teamers in junior first baseman Gabe Camacho and junior shortstop Anthony Potestio. Hawai‘i had two pitchers on the list with junior starter Isaiah Magdaleno and junior reliever Tsubasa Tomii. UC Davis graduate closer Rowen Barnes rounds out the All-Big West First Team.
 
The 19-player Second Team features four Mustangs (Murray Jr., Brady Estes, Dylan Kordic, Carson Turnquist), four Gauchos (Chase Hoover, Kellan Montgomery, Corey Nunez, Nate Vargas), three Roadrunners (Wilkes, Evan Cloyd, Elijah Pelayo), two Tritons (J.C. Allen, Michael Crossland), one Rainbow Warrior (Hekili Robello), one Titan (Andrew Wright), one Matador (Colton Boardman), one Anteater (Frankie Carney), one Dirtbag (Jake Evans) and one Highlander (Matthew O’Brien).
 
Beyond the 38 first and second team honorees, 24 more conference standouts picked up honorable mentions for their 2026 performances.