Wong enters his junior season on a roll in 2011.  The Hilo, HA native had the chance to leave his home state when he was drafted in the 16th round by the Minnesota Twins in out of high school. Instead, he was named a Freshman All-American in 2009 and then earned All-WAC honors last year.

Wong was also named the WAC Tournament MVP after helping Hawaii to its first conference tournament title since 1992. He wasn’t done there though.  After appearing in the program’s first NCAA Regional in four years, Wong was named the Cape Cod League MVP as a member of the Orleans Firebirds.

Wong was also recently named one to our Top 11 College Baseball 2B To Watch In 2011 list.

In this exclusive interview with College Baseball 360 Editor, Sean Stires, Wong discusses all those successes, his move from centerfield to second base, the new college baseball bat standards for 2011, and more.

Wong

5’9 – 190 – Jr. – Hilo, HA

Head Coach: Mike Trapasso

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The Hawaii baseball program will join the Big West Conference for the 2012-2013 academic year. The Big West and the University of Hawaii made the announcement at a recent press conference.

Hawaii’s football team will leave the WAC for the Mountain West Conference, while the school’s other 13 intercollegiate sports, including baseball, will join the Big West. The move becomes official on July 1, 2012.

“This is an historic day in UH Athletics,” said UH Athletics Director Jim Donovan. “As much as we have enjoyed our 31-year relationship with the Western Athletic Conference, this hybrid arrangement will allow us to continue traditional rivalries that our fans have grown to enjoy, and keep a footprint in the Western United States, where much of our recruiting base lies.”

Hawaii baseball coach Mike Trapasso echoed that sentiment. “This is an exciting move for our baseball program,” said Trapasso. “Two things it provides us is a stronger conference, top to bottom, and the travel will be so much easier for us. We will now be able to recruit in areas where we weren’t having much success. Altogether it’s a win-win situation for us.”

Mike Trapasso

Hawaii won the WAC Baseball Tournament this past season to earn the conference’s automatic NCAA Tournament bid. The Warriors were 2-2 at the Tempe Regional, with two wins over San Diego and two losses to host Arizona State.

The addition of Hawaii will give the Big West 10 member institutions. UC San Diego and Cal State Bakersfield also recently applied for membership in the conference.

Fresno State also recently announced that it will leave the WAC to join the Mountain West Confernce in all sports, while TCU announced plans to leave the MWC to join the Big East Conference.

By Collegebaseball360.com Editor Sean Stires

UCSD head coach Dan O'Brien (jacket) and his Tritons could be headed to the Big West.

A Big West Boom?

We started last week’s Notebook with the news that TCU was headed to the Big East Conference. This week we start with news that Hawaii, Cal State Bakersfield and UC San Diego have each applied for membership in the Big West Conference. Hawaii plans to join the Mountain West Conference for football, but the rest of its sports would join the Big West if membership goes through. The Big West would make travel much easier for Hawaii’s non-revenue sports since all nine current Big West teams are located in California.

Keep in mind, it’s UC San Diego – as in the Tritons –  not the University of San Diego – as in the Toreros – that wants to join the Big West. Dan O’Brien’s Tritons were the Division II national runner-ups this past season after advancing to the D II national semifinals in 2009. This year’s team won a school record 54 games with a record low eight losses. They would obviously have to make the move to Division One though to join the Big West.

CS Bakersfield, coached by Bill Kernen, just began playing college baseball in 2009 as part of the school’s transition to Division One. The Roadrunners won 13 games in 2009 and doubled that to 26 victories last season.

The Big West had put a moratorium on conference expansion back in 2005, but it just ended that ban last month.

The Call Of The Hall…

1988 NCAA Player of the Year John Olerud (courtesy Washington State)

He’s a long shot for induction, but former Washington State star John Olerud is on the Baseball Writers’ Association of America Hall of Fame ballot for the first time. The 17-year MLB vet was the 1988 college baseball Player of the Year. He was 15-0 with a 2.49 ERA on the mound that year, while also batting .464 with 23 home runs and 81 RBIs. Olerud was an integral member of the Toronto Blue Jays‘ World Series winning teams in 1992 and ’93, but his 2,239 career hits and 255 home runs are far from HOF benchmark numbers.

Other former college players in this year’s Hall of Fame ballot are: Mark McGwire (USC), Bret Boone (USC), Barry Larkin (Michigan), Bobby Higginson (Temple), Rafael Palmeiro (Mississippi State), Charles Johnson (Miami), Tino Martinez (Tampa), Kirk Rueter (Murray State), John Franco (St. John’s), and B.J. Surhoff (North Carolina). Franco tossed a pair of no-hitters during his freshman year at St. John’s. Surhoff was the National Player of the Year in 1985. He was inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame earlier this year.

The results of HOF voting will be announced on January 11, 2011. The induction ceremony is July 24 in Cooperstown, NY.

Tigers Get Their Rings…

The Clemson baseball team recently received its 2010 College World Series rings. Jack Leggett’s squad received its hardware before last week’s Clemson-Michigan basketball game at Littlejohn Coliseum. Clemson finished 2010 with a 45-25 record after making its 12th trip to Omaha. CLICK HERE to see the video.

The Scouts Like Nino…

Nino Girratano

The Northern California Scouts Association has named University of San Francisco head coach Nino Giarratano its four-year college baseball Coach of the Year. The NCSA is comprised of at least 70 scouts who work for the 30 MLB clubs. Of Giarratano, Florida Marlins scout John Hughes said “He does such a great job at USF and his coaching staff does a great job overall. They do more than coach baseball at USF — they develop kids into great people. Nino is cooperative and communicates well with Major League Baseball scouts so that he can do what’s best for his players.” Giarratano was the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team head coach this past summer.

Two-Sport Playoff Push…

If you saw our latest Two-Sport Report last week, you know that several college baseball players who also play football were involved in the FCS (formerly I-AA) playoffs last week. In a head to head match-up, Landon Bennett (punter) and Wofford knocked Jacksonville State and freshman QB Coty Blanchard out of the playoffs with a 17-14 win. Wofford now takes on Georgia Southern.

Defending FCS national champion Villanova beat Stephen F. Austin 54-24 to advance to the FCS quarterfinals and the Wildcats have three baseball/football players. Matt Szczur (signed with the Chicago Cubs last summer) scored a touchdown, while Marlon Calbi threw a TD pass. Villanova next faces Appalachian State.

Top Performers Shine During Opening Weekend

Max Willett (NewMexico/CF)

CollegeBaseball360.com has recognized a group of players from throughout the nation for their “primetime performances” during the season’s opening weekend (Feb. 19-21). Leading the way are three top honorees – as New Mexico senior centerfielder Max Willett (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) and Oregon sophomore second baseman Danny Pulfer (Cypress, Calif.) share the inaugural honor as Co-Primetime Players of the Week while Ball State senior righthander Morgan Coombs (West Terre Haute, Ind.) is the first Primetime Pitcher of the Week. These three players headline the first Primetime Performers Weekly Honor Roll (listed below).

Willette batted 7-for-11 (RBI, 3R, 2B) in leading New Mexico to a series win at top-ranked Texas, while Pulfer hit .412 (7-for-17) and had a hand in nearly 40% of Oregon’s 32 runs (6 RBI, 6 R) during the Ducks’ breakout southern-California roadswing (highlighted by wins over #3 Cal State Fullerton and Long Beach State). Coombs delivered in a pressure-packed situation at #15 Arkansas, closing Ball State’s 5-2 win with 5.0 strong innings (UER, 4H, 8K) despite 8,000-plus spirited Razorbacks fans cheering against him.

Danny Pulfer (Oregon/2B)

Similar to the weekly awards presented on sister site CollegeSoccer360.com, the CB360 Primetime Performer honors various players based on any/all of the following “primetime” criteria…not solely based on raw stats.

Primetime Performer Award Criteria

• Must have been playing for or against a CB360 top-50 team (in the Composite National Rankings)  or performed a high level in a game that could be key to a team’s conference/NCAA postseason qualification.

Morgan Coombs (Ball St./RHP)

• Involved in clutch performances, such as late game-winning hits, noteworthy comebacks, game-changing plays, team leadership, etc.

• Performing at a top level against a team rated highly nationally (or within its conference), with bonus consideration given for key performances away from home field.

• Overcoming adversity or extreme circumstances (for the team and/or individual).

Additional information and bio. data on the Primetime Performers, along with headshots and action photos, is being added to this release.

The other 17 members of the CB360 Primetime Performer Weekly Honor Roll include New Mexico senior 1B Justin Howard, two sophomores (LHP/1B Danny Hultzen and 3B Steven Proscia) from the Virginia team that took 2-of-3 at East Carolina en route to the #1 national ranking, and two players (so. RHP Jordan Pries, jr. SS Jake Schlander) from the Stanford team that swept Rice, along with the following clutch performers: Northwestern State so. OF/1B Colin Bear … Hawaii so. RF Collin Bennett … Georgia Tech so. LHP Jed Bradley … East Carolina so. LHP Kevin Brandt … Louisiana-Monroe jr. RHP Wil Browning … Pepperdine jr. LHP Matt Bywater … Florida sr. CF Matt den Dekker … TCU fr. RF/C Josh Elander … Gonzaga sr. CF Drew Heid … Kentucky so. RHP/1B Braden Kapteyn … Baylor sr. RHP Willie Kempf … and Fresno State jr. 1B Jordan Ribera.

The 20 honorees include nine pitchers (pair of 2-way players; 5 RHP/4 LHP), five first baseman (including both 2-way players, plus one who also played OF), three centerfielders, three corner outfielders (one also played 1B, one C), one second baseman, one shortstop, one third baseman and one catcher (also played OF). TCU’s Elander is the only freshman among the Primetime players, which also include a fifth-year senior, six seniors, three juniors and a big sophomore-class representation of nine honorees.

The group includes four Texas natives – Bear, Elander, Howard and Kempf – and four more from California (Bywater, Pries, Pulfer and Ribera), along with two Primetime players from Washington and one each from Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Mississippi, New York and North Carolina.

(from left) Oregon second baseman Danny Pulfer, Ball State closer Morgan Coombs and New Mexico centerfielder Max Willett headline CB360’s first group of Primetime Performers (photos courtesy of each school).

WILLETT – batting from the #6 spot – combined with Howard to lead a Lobos offense that hit .284 with 10 extra-base hits in a three-game road series versus #1-ranked Texas and its vaunted pitching staff. UNM shocked the college baseball world by taking the series in Austin (2-6/6-5/3-1), with Willett batting 7-for-11 (.636, RBI, 3 R, 3B, 2B, HBP, SF) and playing error-free in center field.

After a solid showing in the opener (2-for-4, 2B), Willett went 3-for-4 in UNM’s game-2 upset. He led off the 6th by placing and opposite-field triple into the right-center gap and scored moments later for a 5-4 deficit. Three innings later, moments after Howard’s game-tying home run, Willett delivered in a situational plate appearance – flying out the left field for a sacrifice fly that plated Devon Conley as the eventual winning run.

Willett’s game-3 effort (2-for-3, 2R, 2B) helped produce another win over the Longhorns. He hit a 1-out single up the middle and scored the game’s first run in the 4th, later adding the game’s final run in the 8th (after a 2-out double down the leftfield line).

A second team all-Mountain West Conference selection in 2009 (.355, 46 RBI, 4 HR, 15 2B, 12-13 SB, 15 sac. bunts, 0 errors), Willett played sparingly in his first three seasons at UNM – totaling only 59 games played and 31 starts spanning the 2006-08 seasons. He batted only .229 as a sophomore in 2007 before seeing his junior season (12 GS) cut short by a hand injury. He is a product of Colorado’s Thunder Ridge High School, where he played on state-championship teams in both baseball and football.

Primetime Performer Weekly Honor Roll (Feb. 19-21)

“It’s not so much what you do, as it is when you do it.”

Player (Pos.) … School … Yr., Ht./Wt. … Hometown … Stats & Notes

Colin Bear (OF) … Northwestern St. … So., 6-3/210 … Houston, TX

Collin Bennett (RF) … Hawaii … So., 6-1 … Bellevue, WA

Jed Bradley (LHP) … Georgia Tech … So., 6-4/210 … Huntsville, AL

Kevin Brandt (LHP) … East Carolina … So., 6-2/190 … Fuquay Varina, NC

Wil Browning (RHP) … La. Monroe Jr., 6-3/200 … Kosciusko, MS

Matt Bywater (LHP) … Pepperdine … Jr., 6-2/195 … Thousand Oaks, CA

*Morgan Coombs (RHP) … Ball State … Sr., 6-1/190 … West Terre Haute, IN

Matt den Dekker (CF) … Florida … Sr., 6-1/210 … Ft. Lauderdale, FL

Josh Elander (RF/C) … TCU … Fr., 6-0/205 … Round Rock, TX

Drew Heid (CF) … Gonzaga … Sr., 5-10/175 … Touchet, WA

Justin Howard (1B) … New Mexico … Sr., 6-0/205 … Ennis, TX

Danny Hultzen (LHP/1B) … Virginia … So., 6-3/200 … Bethesda, MD

Braden Kapteyn (RHP/1B) …Kentucky … So., 6-4/220 … Lansing, IL

Willie Kempf (RHP) … Baylor … Sr., 6-0/195 … Castroville, TX

Jordan Pries (RHP) … Stanford … So., 6-0/190 … Alameda, CA

Steven Proscia (3B) … Virginia … So., 6-2/215 … Suffern, NY

*Danny Pulfer (2B) … Oregon … So., … 5-10/190 … Cypress, CA

Jordan Ribera (1B) … Fresno State … Jr., 6-0/220 … Fresno, CA

Jake Schlander (SS) … Stanford … Jr., 6-2/195 … Scottsdale, AZ

*Max Willett (CF) … New Mexico … Sr., 5-10/190 … Highlands Ranch, CO

* – Note: Pulfur and Willett shared the CB360 Primetime Player of the Week award, while Coombs was the inaugural Primetime Pitcher of the Week

Fresno State Picked To Win Another WAC Crown

DENVER, CO- Fresno State has been selected as the favorite to win the 2010 Western Athletic Conference regular season baseball crown in a vote by the league’s seven head coaches. The coaches also voted on a preseason all-WAC team with Fresno State and Nevada leading the way as each placed four players on the team. Fresno State junior second baseman Danny Muno was named the preseason player of the year, while Fresno State sophomore Derek Benny was picked the preseason pitcher of the year.

Fresno State received 32 points and five first place votes after a 32-30 season last year. The Bulldogs have won the WAC tournament title the past four seasons. New Mexico State ranked second with 27 points followed by Hawai‘i with 26, Louisiana Tech with 22, San Jose State with 19 points, Nevada with 15, and Sacramento State with six.

The preseason all-WAC team included four Fresno State players: sophomore outfielder Dusty Robinson, junior second baseman Danny Muno, sophomore catcher Trent Garrison and sophomore pitcher Derek Benny. Muno was picked as the preseason player of the year after hitting .379 last year with 85 hits, 74 runs, 41 RBI and 25 doubles. Benny was selected the preseason pitcher of the year after posting a 4-4 record with one save, 58 strikeouts and a 5.09 ERA last season.

Nevada also had four players on the team: senior outfielder Westley Moss, senior first baseman Shaun Kort, sophomore designated hitter Nick Melino and senior relief pitcher Tyler Graham. Hawai‘i had three players on the team: junior outfielder Sean Montplaisir, junior shortstop Greg Garcia and senior pitcher Nate Klein. New Mexico State also placed two on the team in senior utility Jared Jordan and sophomore relief pitcher Scott Coffman. San Jose State was represented by junior outfielder Jason Martin and senior third baseman Corey Valine. Sophomore pitcher Jesse Darrah represented Sacramento State.

The 48th year of WAC baseball begins Friday, February 19 when each of the league’s seven teams will open regular season play. The WAC Tournament will be held in Mesa, Arizona at Hohokam Stadium, May 26-29/30. The top six teams will advance to the tournament.

2010 WAC Preseason Poll

2010 Preseason All-WAC Team

Player of the Year
Danny Muno, Jr., Fresno State

Pitcher of the Year
Derek Benny, So., Fresno State

Can Fresno State Continue Recent Dominance?

2009 Regular Season Champ: San Jose State

2009 Tournament Champ: Fresno State beat New Mexico State 5-3

The Western Athletic Conference might never have been stronger from top to bottom as it was in 2009. The season did not end in a WAC team winning the College World Series as it did in 2008 with Fresno State, but for the first time in the conference’s 47-year history each team won at least 25 games. No less than five of the seven teams in the WAC improved from 2008, led by New Mexico State, which won 16 more games in 2009 than the year before.

Fresno State continues to be the national face of the WAC, winning the postseason tournament the last four years. The Bulldogs, the conference’s all-time leader with 32 NCAA appearances, are the only WAC team to advance to a regional tournament the last three years.

Fresno State is ranked (33rd) and New Mexico State and Hawaii have received votes in one (Collegiate Baseball) 2010 pre-season poll.

The WAC returns four freshman All-Americans this season (Fresno State’s Dusty Robinson, Hawaii’s Kolten Wong, Nevada’s Nick Melino and Sacramento State’s Jesse Darrah).

Fresno State

2009 Record: (32-30, 12-12)

Mascot: Bulldogs

Head Coach: Mike Batesole.

Location: Fresno, Calif.

Vitals: .283 BA, 89 HR, 453 R, 44 SB, .964 Fld% . . . 5.61 ERA, 374 SO, 218 BB, 10 SV

WAC Attack: The Bulldogs’ four tournament titles in a row ties a WAC record set by Arizona State (1975-78).

Seeing Double: Pitcher Taylor Garrison (4-3, 4.87 ERA) and catcher Trent Garrison (.219, 12 RBI) are twins. The two 19-year-old sophomores graduated from Vista Murrieta High School in Murrieta, Calif.

Flair For Dramatics: Jordan Ribera had a day (May 24) in the WAC Tournament last year that he’ll never forget. The infielder hit a two-run homer to break a 7-7 ninth inning tie to beat New Mexico State, 9-7, in the first championship game. In the second championship game that day, Ribera’ two-run, eighth inning homer broke a 3-3 tie, leading the Bulldogs to a 5-3 victory and the WAC crown.

Home Run Champ Missing: Tommy Mendonca, the 2008 College World Series Most Outstanding Player, hit a WAC-best 27 homers last year as a junior

Danny Muno

and set a Fresno State record with 44 career blasts. Mendonca was drafted in the second round by the Texas Rangers and is now playing professional baseball.

Among The Best: Second baseman Danny Muno ranked ninth in the nation last year with a .525 on base percentage, 28th with 74 runs scored and 10th with 25 doubles.  His brother, Kevin Muno, is a junior outfielder at San Diego.  They went head-to-head two years ago at an NCAA Regional when FSU beat SD en-route to winning the 2008 national title.  Dusty Robinson (.319, 45 RBIs, 12 doubles) was a Freshman All-American in 2009.

Decades Of Dominance: The Bulldogs have had 33 consecutive seasons of .500 or better.

Hawaii

2009 record: (32-26, 11-12)

Mascot: Rainbows

Head Coach: Mike Trapasso

Location: Honolulu, Hawaii

Vitals: .278 BA, 346 R, 64 HR, 38 SB, .975 Fld% . . . 5.74 ERA, 10 SV, 350 SO, 177 BB.

Playing The Big Boys: Hawaii will play a tough non-conference schedule in 2010, taking on the likes of Oregon, Oregon State, USC, Long Beach State, Fullerton, Stanford, and San Diego.

From Los Angeles to Honolulu: Nathaniel Klein, who spent two years (one as a redshirt) in the USC program, debuted for the Rainbows last year and went 3-4 with a 5.10 ERA in 11 games.

Patience Pays Off: Harrison Kuroda, the 2004 Gatorade Hawaii High School Player of the Year, pitched in just nine games over four seasons after graduating from the Mid-Pacific Institute (high school). The 5-foot-9 right-hander, though, pitched in 15 games in 2009 with a 4-1 record for the Rainbows.

Cheering On The Rainbows: Hawaii averaged 2,990 tickets issued each game last year at 4,312-seat Les Murakami Stadium, the most in 12 years at the school. The Rainbows drew over 3,500 for six games in ‘09.

Freshman Flash: Outfielder Kolten Wong was named to five Freshman All-American teams after hitting .341 with 11 homers and 52 RBI last year.

Louisiana Tech

2009 Record: (29-22, 13-11)

Mascot: Bulldogs

Head Coach: Wade Simoneaux

Location: Ruston, La.

Vitals: .323 BA, 438 R, 92 HR, 60 SB, .962 Fld% . . . 7.24 ERA, 8 SV, 353 SO, 259 BB.

Getting The Love At Home: The Bulldogs have had a winning record at J.C. Love Field for 33 of the past 39 seasons. They were 18-6 last season at home.

Following Big Brother?: Outfielder Clint Stubbs (.304, 6 RBI in 79 at-bats), is

Devon Dageford

the brother of Drew Stubbs (University of Texas, 2006) of the Cincinnati Reds. Clint, a senior, played one season at Texas, hitting .250 in 12 games in 2007.

No Call On Draft Day: Devon Dageford was among the national leaders last year as a junior with 23 home runs (9th) and 68 RBI (54th) and also hit .385, slugged a WAC-best .862 and had a school-record 168 total bases but was not drafted last June.

Backstop Back: Senior Drew Thomas, who played 2006-08 with the Bulldogs, is returning this season after missing all of 2009 with an injury. Thomas, who was drafted in the 45th round by Arizona in 2005, hit .212 in 33 at-bats in 2008 as a backup catcher.

Slam Deja Vu: Devon Drageford made Dallas Baptist see double in back-to-back games last March. The outfielder hit a grand slam in a Bulldogs’ victory on March 26 at Love Field and then repeated the act the very next day.

Bulldog Power: Louisiana Tech ranked 13th in the nation last year in slugging at .545.

Nevada

2009 Record: (25-31, 10-13)

Mascot: Wolf Pack

Head Coach: Gary Powers

Location: Reno, Nev.

Vitals: .287 BA, 349 R, 44 HR, 51 SB, .968 Fld% . . . 6.14 ERA, 8 SV, 342 SO, 242 BB.

Alaska Pipeline:  Joe Kohan, the 2008 Gatorade Alaska High School Player of the Year, hit .253 in 87 at-bats last year as a freshman as an infielder.

Football Mentality: Senior shortstop Kevin Rodland (.267, 26 RBI), who played his freshman year in 2007 at Arizona (.170 in 30 games), was the last of four brothers to play quarterback at Snohomish (Wash.) High School.

Baseball Bloodlines: Junior pitcher/ DH Brock Stassi (.262, 18 RBI, 6-5, 6.63 ERA) is the son of Nevada Hall of Famer Jim Stasis (.381 career average in 1982-82). His great uncle Myril Hoag played with the New York Yankees with Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig.

Hitting Machine: First baseman Shaun Kort has a career batting average of .349 (229-for-657) in three seasons with 16 HR and 172 RBI. The left-hander has coaxed 93 walks and has struck out just 71 times in his career.

The Power Of Coaching: Head coach Gary Powers, a northern Nevada native (Minden) and former Wolf Pack pitcher (1970-71), is the longest tenured coach in the history of the school. The Wolf Pack has won 30 or more games 15 times in last 21 years under Powers and has been to four NCAA Regionals.

New Mexico State

2009 Record: (44-17, 12-12).

Mascot: Aggies

Head Coach: Rocky Ward

Location: Las Cruces, N.M.

Vitals: .353 BA, 668 R, 151 2Bs, 119 HR, 61 SB, .968 Fld% . . . 6.28 ERA, 15 SV, 446 SO, 247 BB.

Best With The Bat: The Aggies finished first in the nation in 2009 in runs scored per game (11.0), runs scored (668), slugging (.599) and walks (416) and were fourth in average (.353), second in home runs (119) and seventh in doubles (151).

Total  Turnaround: The Aggies’ 44-17 record in 2009 is the school’s first finish over .500 since joining the WAC in 2006. The Aggies were 69-103 from 2006-08.

Help From Dad: Gary Ward, the father of Rocky, won 1,022 games as head coach at Oklahoma State (1978-96) and New Mexico State (2001-02). Gary is in his seventh year as Rocky’s hitting coach at New Mexico State.

Mike Sodders

Leaving Las Cruces: The Aggies will have to replace two outstanding hitters in 2010 with the departure of seniors Bryan Marquez and Richard Stout. Marquez was second in the WAC with a .414 average, led the conference with 83 runs, 171 total bases, 85 RBI and a .795 slugging average and was third in homers with 22. Stout led the league in SB with 23, was third in runs with 73 and hit .346.

Aggie Accolade:  Mike Sodders is one of just three WAC players (along with Fresno State’s Dusty Robinson and Louisiana Tech’s Devon Dageford) named as a preseason All-American.  Sodders, a junior infielder, hit a WAC-best .422 last year with 13 homers and 68 RBI.

Sacramento State

2009 Record: (27-27, 8-14)

Mascot: Hornets

Head Coach: John Smith

Location: Sacramento, Calif.

Vitals: .317 BA, 389 R, 63 HR, 60 SB, .968 Fld% . . . 6.33 ERA, 11 SV, 318 SO, 209 BB.

Captain John Smith: The Hornets coach spent three years in the United States Army Special Forces as a Green Beret before becoming a coach.

Big League Presence: Former San Francisco Giants and California Angels pitcher Jim Barr is in his 16th season as Smith’s pitching coach at Sacramento State.

Helping Out The WAC: Sacramento State is an affiliate member of the Western Athletic Conference in baseball because three full-time WAC schools (Boise State, Idaho, Utah State) do not have a baseball team.

Arms Leader: Jesse Darrah was named a Freshman All-American after going 9-2 with a 5.64 ERA in 2009. He is the first Hornet freshman in history to win nine games and he did not lose a decision after March 7.

The Power Of Versatility:  Josh Powers (.358, 44 RBI) started games at four different positions (3B, SS, C, 2B) and was one of four Hornets to start all 54 games in 2009 and was sixth in nation with 26 doubles.

Help On The Way: The Hornets are expected to get pitchers Jose Ramirez (senior left-hander) and Trevor York (senior right-hander) back this season from injury. Ramirez and York combined to start 27 games in 2008 and just one in 2009.

San Jose State

2009 Record: (41-20, 15-7)

Mascot: Spartans

Head Coach: Sam Piraro

Location: San Jose, Calif.

Vitals: .339 BA, 472 R, 43 HR, 36 SB, .978 Fld% . . . 4.66 ERA, 17 SV, 453 SO, 210 BB.

Pitching And Defense: The Spartans led the WAC in ERA (4.66), strikeouts (453), saves (20) and allowed the fewest hits (546) and unearned runs (27) in 2009. They also led the conference in fielding percentage (.978) and made the fewest errors (51).

Family Affair: Junior 1B Breyon Canez is the cousin of junior outfielder

Danny Stienstra

Kolton Klauer and senior infielder Karson Klauer. All three graduated from San Beinto HS in Hollister, Calif.

Putting Bat On Ball: Junior infielder Danny Stienstra was the sixth toughest hitter to strike out in the nation last year (once every 23.4 at-bats). Stienstra hit .337 with 27 RBI and fanned just eight times (27 walks) in 187 at-bats. Stienstra tied Nevada’s Westley Moss for finishing the season with the most at-bats without hitting a home run.

Young Spartans: San Jose State has just three seniors (Karson Klauer, Corey Valine and Alex Sofranec) on its roster this year.

Top Talent Lost: The Spartans sent seven players to professional baseball off its 2009 team: catcher Anthony Aguilera (Rockies), infielder Kyle Bellows (Indians) and pitchers David Berner (Astros), Max Peterson (A’s), Trevor Gibson (Rockies), Ryan Shopshire (Blue Jays) and Jack Adams (Royals).

Taking One For The Team: Outfielder Jason Martin led the WAC and was third in the nation last year by getting hit with a pitch 25 times. Martin was fifth in WAC with 86 runs scored and 12th in hitting (.376).

2010 WAC Predictions

WAC Player of Year: Devon Dageford – Louisiana Tech

WAC Pitcher of Year: Daniel Simon – New Mexico State

Conference Champion: Fresno State

(By Collegebaseball360.com contributor Joe Santoro)