San Diego State’s 2011 baseball schedule is not completely finalized, but the bulk of it is in stone. Tony Gwynn’s Aztecs will open the 2011 campaign at home against Winthrop on February 18. They will host either San Diego or Vanderbilt the next day and then face Winthrop again on Feb. 20.

Click Here to see the tentative 2011 San Diego State schedule

After a game at Cal State Northridge the Aztecs come home for three games against Arkansas and another against Connecticut. They then go to Loyola Marymount and then return home to begin Mountain West Conference play for a three game series with New Mexico.

Including New Mexico, San Diego State plays 17 of its first 21 games against 2010 NCAA Tournament teams. They host another NCAA team when Oral Roberts visits April 1-3.

Other home MWC series are against Utah, TCU and BYU. They go on the road for conference series vs. BYU, Air Force, Utah, and UNLV. They also go on the road in late April for a three game series at Western Carolina.

The Aztecs host the Mountain West Conference Tournament in May.

Authentic college baseball caps are hard to find, unless you know where to look.  Find the hat of your favorite college baseball team at The Dugout, where you can also still get College World Series t-shirts and more!

TCU Picked To Win A Fifth Straight Crown

MWC Looks To Have Tight Race In 2010

2009 Regular Season Champion:  TCU

2009 Tournament Champion:  Utah beat San Diego State 9-3 in the championship game.

Last season proved to be an historic one for Mountain West Conference baseball.  For the first time ever the conference received three bids to the NCAA Tournament when Utah, San Diego State and TCU were all tabbed.  Utah was the #6 seed at the conference tournament and earned its berth after first eliminating TCU and then beating the Aztecs in the title game.  San Diego State’s Stephen Strasburg also became the first MWC player ever taken with the first overall pick in the Major League Baseball Draft when he was picked by the Washington Nationals last June.

2010 Mountain West Conference Preview

Air Force

2009 Record:  (14-37, 3-18)

Mascot:  Falcons

Head Coach:  Mike Hutcheon

Location:  U.S. Air Force Academy/Colorado Springs, CO

Vitals:  .291 BA, 57 HR, 68 SB, .365 OBP, .955 Fld%…8.34 ERA, 3 CG, 9 SV, 253 K, 153 BB, .369 opp. BA

Matt Alexander

Big Stick:  Senior DH/1B Matt Alexander (.383, 15 HR, 65 RBIs) was one of the top hitters in the MWC in 2009, and he’s back to lead the Falcons this season.  The preseason All-American was the conference RBI leader last year, while finishing second with his 15 HR and .710 slugging percentage.  He was also one of 16 semi-finalists for the Dick Howser Trophy.

Supporting Cast:  Fellow Senior Addison Gentry (.347, 9 HR, 40 RBIs, .575 slg%) provides protection in the order with some pop of his own.  Outfielders Ben Ausbun (.301, 6 HR) and Nathan Carter (7 HR, 15 SB) return as well.

Pitching Turnover:  The Falcons lose 8 of the 13 pitchers who toed the rubber in 2009, including team saves leader Aaron Kurcz (3-4, 7 SV).  Jake Petro and Casey Allen, who started 8 and 9 games, respectively, are also gone.  Senior RHP Alex Truesdale (2-9, 7.04 ERA), who had two of the staff’s complete games, is the top returnee.

Anchors Away:  Air Force plays a 3-game series vs. Navy in Savannah, GA Feb. 26-28.

BYU

2009 Record:  (30-24, 14-8)

Mascot:  Cougars

Head Coach:  Vance Law

Location:  Provo, UT

Vitals:  .310 BA, 57 HR, 98 SB, .388 OBP, .956 Fld%…5.45 ERA, 4 CG, 15 SV, 331 K, 239 BB, .295 opp. BA

BYU Bootcamp:  Members of the BYU baseball team were put through a two-day “boot camp” last fall by two Army Captains.  The 39 Cougars were taught the concepts of relying on each other through a series of drills and exercises designed to create better team unity.  The  players ate just a hard boiled egg and a hot dog on the first day of camp and then shared two granola bars and two packs of M & M’s on day two.  BYU coaches went through a similar two-day camp last August.

Line-Up Turnover:  BYU loses five players who each started at least 49 of 54 games last season.  Included in that group are Kent Walton (.377, 9 HR), Steve Parker (.361, 9 HR) and Stetson Banks (.348, 23 SB).  Walton and Parker were both drafted by the Oakland A’s, while Banks was selected by the L.A. Dodgers.  Senior OF Sean McNaughton (.290, 10 HR, 32 RBIs) is the team’s top returning overall hitter.

Perplexing Pitching:  Senior RHP Blake Torgerson (6-3, 5.66 ERA) is the only returnee of BYU’s top five pitchers from last season.  Marc Oslund (7-1, 2.49 ERA)  is serving a Church mission in North Carolina, starter Adam Miller (3-3, 4.04 ERA) is serving on mission in Mexico and Jeremy Toole (5-5, 5.77 ERA) was drafted by the San Francisco Giants.

The Family Law:  Senior 2B Andrew Law (.259, 18 SB) is the son of head coach Vance Law, who played both baseball & basketball at BYU before playing 10 Major League seasons for five teams.  The younger Law is the grandson of 1960 Cy Young winner Vernon Law (Pirates).  His brother, Tim, played baseball at BYU, and his uncles also played both baseball and basketball for the Cougars.

New Mexico

2009 Record:  (37-20, 15-8)

Mascot:  Lobos

Head Coach:  Ray Birmingham

Location:  Albuquerque, NM

Vitals:  .363 BA, 51 HR, 74 SB, .432 OBP, .976 Fld%…5.26 ERA, 1 CG, 12 SV, 394 K, 217 BB, .292 opp. BA

Rafael Neda

Rare Air:  New Mexico led the nation with its .363 team batting average and 47 triples in 2009.

Lobo Line-Up Lowdown:  Four Lobos hit above .400 last year and two of them, catcher Rafael Neda (.415, 7 HR, 49 RBIs, .629 slg%) and OF Ryan Honeycutt (.406, 6 HR, 53 RBIs), are back to lead the offense in 2010.  2009 MWC Player of the Year Mike Brownstein (.414, 11 triples, .611 slg%, 20 SB) and Kevin Atkinson (.400, 61 RBIs)  are both departed, as is Brian Cavazos-Galvez (.392, 15 HR, .737 slg%).   Australian Adam Courcha (.313, 30 starts) will assume a bigger role this year, as will Max Willett (.355, 46 RBIs, 12 SB)  and Justin Howard (.309, 6 HR, 41 RBIs).

Pitching Turnover:  Departed Friday starter John Hesketh (6-4, 3.45 ERA, 15 starts) was the only Lobo to make 10 or more starts last year, and closer Cole White (3-2, 2.33 ERA, 4 SV) is gone as well.  Reliever Gabe Aguilar (2-1, 1.98 ERA), who had the team’s best ERA as a freshman, will bolster the bullpen.  Rudy Jamarillo (4-2, 5.73 ERA) and Willy Kesler are expected to lead the weekend rotation, while hard throwing junior college transfers Mike Lachapelle (90 mph fastball) and Zach Cleveland (95 mph fastball) will look to make impacts as well.

Bring It On:  New Mexico’s only NCAA Tournament appearance was in 1962, but the lack of NCAA bids hasn’t kept Ray Birmingham from challenging his team.  The Lobos open the season with a 3-game series at 2009 College World Series runner-up Texas.  They play a 3-game set at USC March 5-7, two games at Arizona March 23 & 24 and two games at 2009 CWS team Arkansas in April.

San Diego State

2009 Record:  (41-24, 15-9)

Mascot:  Aztecs

Head Coach:  Tony Gwynn

Location:  San Diego, CA

Vitals:  .291 BA, 47 HR, 53 SB, .379 OBP, .974 Fld%…4.04 ERA, 4 CG, 24 SV, 571 K, 165 K, .264 opp. BA

Addison Reed

Big Season:  San Diego State’s NCAA Regional berth last year was the program’s first since 1991.  Aztec head coach Tony Gwynn was still in the middle of his Hall of Fame MLB career in ’91, while Stephen Strasburg was not quite 3 years old.  The 2009 Aztecs set a program record with their .974 fielding percentage.  SDSU was 1-2 at the Irvine Regional with losses to Virginia and Irvine.  It’s only win eliminated defending national champion Fresno State.

Big Shoes To Fill:  Strasburg (13-1, 1.32 ERA, 195 K) famously became the number one overall pick by the Washington Nationals in last year’s MLB Draft.  His ERA and strikeouts led the NCAA.  While he was the centerpiece of the Aztec pitching staff, he is not the only loss the staff has to overcome…

Depleted Pitching:  Fellow Starters Tyler Lavigne (8-2, 3.05 ERA) and Jon Berger (4-5, 5.83 ERA) are gone as well.  Those two and Strasburg combined for 26 of the team’s 41 wins, 353 of 571 strikeouts and all four of the staff’s complete games last season.  Closer Addison Reed (0.65 ERA, 20 SV) returns to lead the staff, but it will be up to a new set of faces to give him the save opportunities he had last year.

The Line-Up:  The Aztecs lose team triple crown winner Erik Castro (.382, 11 HR, 56), but return Cory Vaughn (.326, 10 HR, 51 RBIs) who finished second to Castro in the three key stats, while leading the team with 15 stolen bases.   Mitch Blackburn (.312), Pat Colwell (.300) and Ryan O’Sullivan are among other top returnees.  O’Sullivan hit 6 home runs and also won four games in 11 starts on the mound as a freshman.

Early Test:  SDSU opens the season by hosting a four-game series vs. 2009 NCAA Regional host Oklahoma.  OU closer Ryan Duke and Addison Reed are both on the NCBWA Preseason Stopper of the Year Watch List.

TCU

2009 Record:  (40-18, 15-5)

Mascot:  Horned Frogs

Head Coach:  Jim Schlossnagle

Location:  Ft. Worth, TX

Vitals:  .308 BA, 67 HR, 59 SB, .387 OBP, .969 Fld%…4.24 ERA, 1 CG, 15 SV, 404 K, 186 BB, .265 opp. BA

Super Season:  TCU had a season of first in 2009.  The Horned Frogs were a number one seed and hosted an NCAA Regiional for the first time in program history last year, and they didn’t waste the opportunity.  After going 3-0 vs.

Kyle Winkler

Wright State (1) and Oregon State (2) TCU advanced to its first-ever Super Regional as well, falling two games to one in Austin, TX to eventual national runner-up Texas.

TCU Turnover:  The top three batters, Matt Vern (.360, 17 HR, 54 RBIs, 16 SB), Matt Carpenter (.333, 11 HR, 13 SB, 6 triples, 47 RBIs) and Chris Ellington (.331, 6 HR, 52 RBIs), are gone from last year’s Super Regional squad.  Seniors Matt Curry (.315) and Bryan Holaday (.300, 10 HR, 48 RBIs) and Sophomores Taylor Featherston (.322, 5 HR, 8 SB) and Jason Coats (.316, 6 HR) head the list of returnees who will have a chance to step into those roles.

The Great Equalizer:  TCU is loaded with returning pitching in 2001.  The Horned Frogs return their top four pitchers, Paul Gerrish (7-2, 3.84 ERA), Kyle Winkler (7-1, 4.15 ERA), Tyler Lockwood (4-2, 4.71 ERA), and Eric Marshall (2-2, 1.48 ERA, 9 SV), while losing just 3 of 13 pitchers who saw action last year.  Marshall is on the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Watch List.  Winkler has been invited to the 2010 USA Baseball Collegiate National Team Trials.

Tough Tests:  TCU plays its first 7 and 9 of its first 11 games of the season vs. 2009 NCAA Tournament teams, and just three of those games ( vs. Sam Houston State) are at home.  The Horned Frogs play at Baylor, at Cal State Fullerton (3) and single games vs. Rice and Missouri at the Minute Maid Classic in Houston in the season’s first three weeks.

UNLV

2009 Record:  (26-32, 9-15)

Mascot:  Rebels

Head Coach:  Buddy Gouldsmith

Location:  Las Vegas, NV

Vitals:  .329 BA, 49 HR, 56 SB, .395 OBP, .961 Fld%…6.89 ERA, 1 CG, 3 SV, 342 K, 242 BB, .318 opp. BA

Power Outage:  The Rebels lose four players, Jesse Wight (.345, 10 HR, 37 HR), Ryan Thornton (.327, 10 HR, 42 RBIs), 2B Bryan Resnick (.327, 7 HR, 35 RBIs), and SS Anthony Morel (.324, 3 HR, 44 RBIs) who combined to hit 30 of the team’s 49 home runs last year.  Resnick and Morel also formed the Rebel’s middle infield.  Top reliever Marc Baca (3-1, 4.05 ERA, 3 SV), who had the pitching staff’s best ERA, is gone as well.

Returning Rebels:  Senior outfielders Rance Roundy (.364, 3 HR, 32 RBIs) and Scott Berke (.329, 2 HR, 40 RBIs, 10 SB) is UNLV’s top returning hitters.  They’re joined by seniors Drew Beurlein (.407), Brian Gilbertson (.370) and Kyle Kretchmer (.329) who all look for for bigger roles this year after starting a combined 48 games in ’09.  Sophomore RHP Tanner Peters (5-7, 4.90 ERA), who tied for the team-lead with his five wins last year, is the top returning Rebel hurler.

Northern Exposure:  The Rebels host four games each with Northern teams Columbia, Temple and Northwestern over the first month of the season.

Utah

2009 Record:  (28-31, 8-16)

Mascot:  Utes

Head Coach:  Bill Kinneberg

Location:  Salt Lake City, UT

Vitals:  .303 BA, 59 HR, 55 SB, .377 OBP, .964 Fld%…6.13 ERA, 0 CG, 11 SV, 421 K, 206 BB, .317 opp. BA

Cinderella Season:  Utah entered the 2009 Mountain West Conference Tournament as the #6 seed, but the Utes went 5-1 (including two wins over #1 seed TCU) to claim the program’s first ever MWC title.  With the championship came Utah’s first NCAA appearance since 1960.  The Utes were the #4 seed at the Fullerton Regional where they were 2-2 with wins over Georgia Southern and Gonzaga sandwiched between two losses to the host Titans.  Utah was the only sub-.500 team to qualify for the NCAA field last year.

USA Ute:  Head coach Bill Kinneberg will serve as one of the assistants on this year’s USA Collegiate Baseball National Team.  He was the pitching coach for the US National Team in 2007.  Fullerton head coach Dave Serrano

Nick Kuroczko

will serve as pitching coach this year.  The University of San Francisco’s Nino Giarratano is this year’s USA head coach.  Ed Blankmeyer of St. John’s is also on the staff.

Plenty Of Returnees:  Utah returns five of its top seven batters from last year’s NCAA team.  Senior Nick Kuroczko led the team in averge (.353), triples (9), slugging percentage (.558), and on-base percentage (.454).  Tyler Yagi (.343), HR & RBI leader C.J. Cron (.337, 11 HR, 58 RBIs), Devin Walker (.314, 8 HR), Michael Beltron (.309), Rick Cornu (8 HR), and Cooper Blanc (7 HR) are all back as well.  Cron received Freshman All-American status last year.

Why Not Whatcott:  Jordan Whatcott (5-3, 4.19 ERA) was 31st round pick by the L.A. Dodgers in last year’s draft, but opted to return for his senior year.  Whatcott’s return gives the Utes three of their top four starting pitchers back in 2010.  They do lose closer Greg Krause (3-4, 4.93 ERA, 4 SV).

So Long Salt Lake City:  Utah plays its first 18 games on the road with games in five different states.  California (vs. UC Davis), Texas (vs. Sam Houston State), Washington (vs. Washington State), Oregon (vs. Oregon State & Portland), and New Mexico (conference opener vs. UNM).

2010 Mountain West Conference Predictions

Player of the Year:  Rafael Neda – New Mexico (Darkhorse – Matt Alexander Air Force)

Pitcher of the Year:  Kyle Winkler – TCU

Conference Champion:  TCU – with New Mexico and Utah right behind them.

Binghamton Looks To Defend First Postseason Crown

Matt Duffy

Tennessee Transfer: Former Vermont shortstop Matt Duffy was the 2009 America East Player of the Year, and he has transferred to Tennesseee.  He batted .388 with 13 home runs and 57 RBIs.

Albany

2009 Record: (26-31-1)

Head Coach: Jon Mueller

Key Losses: Gary Pitcheralle led the Danes with a .335 avg. and scored 50 runs.  Ryan Gugel hit .303 with a team-high 9 HR and 49 RBIs.

Fast Fact: Albany stole 80 bases last season.

Binghamton

Head Coach: Tim Sinicki has been named America East Coach of the Year three in of the last five seasons.

Key Losses: Staff ace Murphy Smith was drafted in the 13th round of the MLB draft by the Oakland A’s.  Smith was 7-3 with a 3.12 ERA in 2009.  Closer Jeff

Corey Taylor

Dennis had 7 saves.

Top Returners: 1B Dave Ciocchi earned freshman All-American honors and was named America East Rookie of the Year after batting a team-high .381.  Jr. OF Corey Taylor hit .340 with team-highs of 16 HR and 56 RBIs.  He hit .418 as a freshman in ’08.

Tough Test: Binghamton faces defending national champion LSU in a single game in Baton Rouge on March 31.  It’s the first time in program history the Bearcats will play the defending NCAA champ.

The Bearcats have won three straight America East regular season titles, but they won their first conference tournament and earned the program’s first-ever NCAA Tournament bid in 2009.

Hartford

2009 Record: (15-32, 7-15)

Head Coach: Dave Calcaterra

Top Returners:  Andy Drexel had the team triple crown with a .363 avg., 7 HR and 49 RBIs.  He also topped the Hawks with 13 doubles and 4 triples.  Senior catcher Mike Amendola hit .362.

Pack A Parka: Hartford opens its season on March 10 in New Britain, CT vs. Central Connecticut State.

Maine

2009 Record: (32-23, 13-11)

Head Coach: Steve Trimper

Youth Movement: Ian Leisenheimer earned Freshman All-American honors

Ian Leisenheimer

after batting .356 with 5 HR and a team-high 41 RBIs.  He was joined on the ’09 America East All-Rookie Team by Kevin Scanlan (6-3, 3.96 ERA), and A.J. Bazdanes (3-1, 4.30 ERA, 2 SVs).

Line-up Loss: Kevin McAvoy led Maine with a .379 avg. & 10 HR.  He had an OPS of 1.118.

Strength Of Schedule: The Black bears play a 3-game series at North Carolina Feb. 26-28 and play a 4-game set at Oregon State in mid March.

The Road To Omaha: Maine has made 7 College World Series appearances.

Stony Brook

2009 Record: (29-23, 14-10)

Head Coach: Matt Senk

Power Outage: The Seawolves lose a combined 25 home runs and 76 RBIs after the graduations of Michael Tansey (.343, 13 HR, 40 RBIs) and Brian Witkowski (.341, 12 HR, 36 RBIs).

Corner Power: Senior first baseman Rob Dyer (.285, 15 HR, 50 RBIs) returns to lead the Stony Brook offense.  He had a .959 OPS in 2009.

Nick Tropeano

Ace In The Hole: Sophomore righthander Nick Tropeano (5-1, 5.12 ERA) was named the Atlantic Collegiate Summer League’s Pitcher of the Year over the summer.  Baseball America named him the league’s #1 prospect.

Road Challenges: Stony Brook plays a 4-game series at Alabama and then plays three games at Pepperdine and two at San Diego State in March.

UMBC

2009 Record: (9-36, 4-18)

Head Coach: John Jancuska

Big Shoes To Fill:  Shawn Retz led the Retrievers with a .383 avg. and 10 HR in 2009.  He also had a team-best 1.093 OPS while grounding into just 4 double plays.  Tom Meaney (.294, 9 HR, 15 doubles, 40 RBIs) is also gone.

Who’ll Provide The Pop?: While Retz and Meaney combined for 19 home runs last season, the rest of the Retrievers totaled just 15 long balls.

The America East Conference schedule is now a six-team format with two divisions.  Teams will play a pair of three-game series’ against divisional mates and play one four-game series against each of the other three teams. The four teams with the best overall win percentage (in either division) will advance to the America East Championship, played May 26-28 at the highest seed’s home field.

Southern Division: Binghamton, Stony Brook & UMBC

Northern Division: Albany, Hartford & Maine

Predictions

2010 Champion: Binghamton, but look for Maine to challenge

2010 Player of the Year: Binghamton’s Corey Taylor

2010 Pitcher of the Year: Stony Brook’s Nick Tropeano

Stephen Strasburg Strikes Out 17 In  A No-Hitter

Strasburg was 14-1 in 2009 (SDSU photo)

prepared for his junior season at San Diego State.

Strasburg became a consensus All-American in 2008 after finishing his sophomore campaign with a 10-3 record and 133 strikeouts in 97 1/3 innings pitched.  2009 was just a formality, and the path for Strasburg was simple: Mow down batters and clear a path to being the top pick in the June MLB draft.

That’s why Strasburg’s no-hitter vs. Air Force on May 8 was less a surprise and more a reaffirmation of just how good the fireballer is.  A record crowd of 3,337 packed Tony Gwynn Stadium to see the exclamation point on what turned out to be the last home appearance of Strasburg’s stellar three-year collegiate career.

The big man was on from the onset.  Strasburg struckout seven of the first nine Falcon batters he faced before walking Nathan Carter to open the fourth inning.  Strasburg then got Addison Gentry to fly out, followed by Carter being thrown out trying to steal by Aztec catcher Erik Castro, followed by another strikeout to end the inning.

The only other base runner of the night came when K.J. Randhawa walked to start the sixth inning.  SDSU was leading just 1-0 at the time.  The Air Force shortstop stole second base, but Strasburg struckout the next three batters to end any hopes of a Falcon rally.

The Aztecs scored two more runs in the bottom of the sixth, and added two more for insurance in the eighth, but one runs was all Strasburg would need.  He retired the last 12 batters he faced, putting the finishing touches on his masterpiece by striking out the side to end the game.

Strasburg’s line for the game :  9 IP – 0 Hits – 0 Runs – 2 BB – 17 K

The 17 strikeouts weren’t even a season-high, let alone a career-best mark.  Strasburg had struckout 18 San Diego Torrero batters in March earlier in the season, and his career best was a 23 K effort in a one-hit win over Utah in 2008.

Strasburg’s gem was the seventh no-hitter in SDSU history, but the first by an individual Aztec since 1986.  It was just the third individual no-hitter in Mountain West Conference baseball history.

Not surprisingly, each of the nine Air Force batters struckout at least one during Strasburg’s two hour and eight minute no-no.  Leadoff man Nathan Carter (one of the only two base runners that night), clean-up batter Ben Ausbun and Blair Roberts each fanned three times.

Strasburg’s record stood at 11-0 after the game.  He led the nation with his 1.24 ERA and 164 strikeouts. He was the eventual #1 pick in the June MLB draft after taking virtually every award possible.  Strasburg won both the Dick Howser Trophy and the Golden Spikes award and was again a consensus All-American.

He was the spearhead of San Diego State’s first NCAA Regional berth since 1991, but his only loss of the season was a 5-1 setback to Virginia in the Aztec’s opener at the Irvine Regional.  With Virginia swinging early in its at-bats, Strasburg gave-up a season-high 8 hits.  He surrendered two runs and struckout 15 in seven innings.

Strasburg ended the season with a 13-1 record, and he topped the NCAA with a 1.32 ERA and 195 strikeouts.  He allowed zero earned runs in 50 of his last 52 innings pitched prior to the Virginia game, while striking out at least 10 batters in 13 of his final 15 college starts.

Other Top Moments Of 2009

12.  Ohio State’s Alex Wimmers No-hits Michigan

13.  Kansas Sweeps #1 Texas

14.  Bryce Brentz Has An April To Remember

15.  Clemson’s Kyle Parker Does Double Duty

16.  #1 Arkansas Beats #1 Arizona State

17.  Rhode Island Beats Miami And Oklahoma State

18.  Kansas State’s A.J. Morris beats Arizona State’s Mike Leake

19.  North Carolina’s Mike Fox Wins His 1,000th Game

20.  Illinois Shocks #1 LSU In Baton Rouge

21.  Alabama’s Kent Matthes Launches Longballs

22.  Freshman Levi Michael Starts In North Carolina’s Season Opener

23.  LSU Opens The New Alex Box Stadium

24.  Oregon Brings Back Baseball

MLB Top Draft Pick’s Donation Will Help Upgrade Tony Gwynn Stadium

Stephen Strasburg has donated $141,000 to SDSU baseball.

Strasburg’s commitment will allow SDSU to upgrade the surface of Tony Gwynn Stadium. New synthetic turf will replace the grass skirting from dugouts to baselines. In addition, the gift will aid the operation of the Aztec baseball program.

“SDSU baseball and the university have meant so much for my development” Strasburg said. “As a student-athlete, I knew that it takes more than just coaching and good players to be successful. From academic advisors to athletic trainers to the donors of the program – it takes all to make a successful program. I am proud to become part of the base of donors that want this program to succeed. As I have stated before, I am an Aztec for life.”

A two-time consensus All-American and conference pitcher of the year as well as an Olympic bronze medalist with the U.S. national team in Beijing, Strasburg ended his SDSU career in 2009 with a season for the ages. He compiled a 13-1 record with a 1.32 earned run average along with 195 strikeouts in 109 innings as he helped the Aztecs to a 41-23 record and their first NCAA Regional appearance since 1991. He finished the season as the national leader in strikeouts and ERA, setting school and conference game, season and career records in those categories.

He was named National Player of the Year by both Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball as well as National Pitcher of the Year by the College Baseball Foundation. He capped off his SDSU career by winning both the Dick Howser Trophy and Golden Spikes Award as the nation’s top collegiate player.

“Stephen was electric on the mound” said Head Coach Tony Gwynn. “Yet, we knew he was an even better kid. This gift reinforces our belief that for all of his baseball abilities, Stephen is an even better person.”

(Release)