IRVINE, Calif. – Azusa Pacific is the PacWest’s preseason favorite as voted on by the conference’s coaches as the three-time defending conference champions look to add to their list of titles in head coach
Paul Svagdis’ 18th season.
The top preseason awards went to Azusa Pacific’s
Osvaldo Tovalin, who is the Preseason Player of the Year, and
Zack Noll from Point Loma as the Preseason Pitcher of the Year. Both athletes were listed by NCAA Division II’s Wayne Cavadi among 11 players that are candidates for National Player of the Year, being the leading candidates for their position.
The Cougars earned seven of the first-place votes after winning the conference by a five-game margin last year as they went on to finish as NCAA West Region finalists. The Cougars have four returning position players, including Tovalin, who was a first-team All-American last year at third base. He had a .396 batting average with 19 home runs and 62 RBIs last year, including five home runs in the postseason.
Griffin Herrera also joins Tovalin on the Preseason All-PacWest team in the outfield. He was a second-team All-Region honoree last year. The Cougars also return three all-conference pitchers from last year’s team, including
Nick Estrella who is on the Preseason All-PacWest team. The right-handed pitcher was a first-team All-Region player last year with 10 wins and a 3.57 ERA in his first full season since transitioning from being a position player.
Point Loma is picked second in the preseason poll with a pair of pitchers on the Preseason All-PacWest teams. The duo of Noll and
Nathan Garkow is poised to be one of the best lefty-righty one-two punches in the nation. Noll started his career in NCAA Division II with an 8-0 record and 2.35 ERA after pitching for two seasons at Oregon. He threw six innings of a three-hit shutout in his postseason outing to earn his 10th win of the season and was named the PacWest Pitcher of the Year. Garkow got six wins last year and got a no-decision in the Sea Lions’ win over eventual West Region champion UC San Diego in the postseason. The Sea Lions also have four returning position players for
Justin James’ second season as the head coach.
Concordia is ranked third in the preseason poll with two first-place votes. The Eagles have three position players on the Preseason All-PacWest team, which is the most of any school.
Haloa Dudoit is the reigning PacWest Defensive Player of the Year at shortstop for the Eagles, and he is joined on the preseason team by
Jair Donovan and
Cooper Moore, who was an all-region designated hitter last year.
Biola has the right side of the infield covered on the Preseason All-PacWest team as the No. 4 team in the preseason poll.
Jackson Collins, at first base, had a .339 batting average last year with nine home runs and 34 RBIs. To his right,
RobertAnthony Cruz is an All-PacWest second baseman with 35 runs scored in his first season at Biola after transferring from UC Riverside.
Hawai`i Hilo took second place in the conference last year and narrowly missed an at-large bid into the postseason last year. The Vulcans return the league’s top relief pitcher last year in
John Kea as they go for their first PacWest title in program history.
Fresno Pacific is picked sixth in the preseason poll and represented on the Preseason All-PacWest team by its catcher
Angel Flores. He had a career-high .284 batting average last year and also delivered the game-winning hit in the Sunbirds’ walk-off victory over Azusa Pacific on April 25.
Hawai`i Pacific is the No. 7 team on the preseason poll followed by Academy of Art and Holy Names tied for eighth place.
Joshua Nelson represents the Hawks as the utility pitcher on the preseason team. Holy Names finished in seventh place in the PacWest last year.
The season will begin on Friday with Biola taking on Cal State Monterey Bay, which is consistently one of the top teams in the CCAA. Azusa Pacific starts its season at home against Chico State. Then on Monday, there will be a rematch from the postseason last year as Point Loma faces UC San Diego at home before going to La Jolla on February 6. That weekend, Azusa Pacific will play at Cal State Monterey Bay, while Fresno Pacific travels to Chico State.
The conference season will start on February 27 when Azusa Pacific travels to Hawai`i Pacific for a battle between the only two active PacWest programs that have previously won conference championships in baseball. Point Loma will play the Cougars in a home-away four-game series on March 20-21. On April 23 & 25, Concordia and Point Loma will play their four-game series. The regular season will end on May 6 with Concordia playing at Azusa Pacific before the selection show where the playoff teams will be announced.
| 2020 PACWEST BASEBALL PRESEASON POLL |
| |
TEAM |
POINTS |
2019 RECORD |
| 1. |
Azusa Pacific (7) |
79 |
40-15 (26-6) |
| 2. |
Point Loma |
69 |
32-21 (18-13) |
| 3. |
Concordia (2) |
56 |
23-24 (18-14) |
| 4. |
Biola |
50 |
29-19 (17-15) |
| 5. |
Hawai`i Hilo |
48 |
26-19 (21-11) |
| 6. |
Fresno Pacific |
38 |
21-24 (17-15) |
| 7. |
Hawai`i Pacific |
27 |
22-27 (9-22) |
| 8. |
Holy Names |
19 |
16-32 (10-21) |
| 8. |
Academy of Art |
19 |
17-29 (6-35) |
| First-place votes in parenthesis |
| 2020 PRESEASON ALL-PACWEST BASEBALL TEAM |
| Name |
School |
Pos. |
Class |
B/T |
Hometown/Previous School |
| Angel Flores |
Fresno Pacific |
C |
Sr. |
R/R |
Porterville, Calif./Porterville |
| Jackson Collins |
Biola |
1B |
Jr. |
L/R |
Watsonville, Calif./Monte Vista Christian |
| RobertAnthony Cruz |
Biola |
2B |
Jr. |
R/R |
Riverside, Calif./UC Riverside |
| Osvaldo Tovalin * |
Azusa Pacific |
3B |
Jr. |
L/R |
Chila Vista, Calif./Otay Ranch |
| Haloa Dudoit |
Concordia |
SS |
Sr. |
R/R |
Wailuku, Hawai`i/Baldwin |
| Thomas Delgadillo |
Academy of Art |
OF |
Sr. |
L/R |
Diamond Bar, Calif./Fullerton College |
| Jair Donovan |
Concordia |
OF |
Jr. |
L/L |
Chino Hills, Calif./Chino Hills |
| Griffin Herrera |
Azusa Pacific |
OF |
Sr. |
R/R |
Glendora, Calif./Glendora |
| Cooper Moore |
Concordia |
DH |
Sr. |
R/R |
Huntington Beach, Calif./Huntington Beach |
| Nick Estrella |
Azusa Pacific |
SP |
Sr. |
R/R |
Tucson, Ariz./Ironwood Ridge |
| Zack Noll ^ |
Point Loma |
SP |
Sr. |
L/L |
Temecula, Calif./Great Oak |
| Nathan Garkow |
Point Loma |
SP |
Jr. |
R/R |
Glendora, Calif./Charter Oak |
| John Kea |
Hawai`i Hilo |
RP |
Jr. |
R/R |
Kapolei, Hawai`i/St. Louis School |
| Ryan Gallegos |
Biola |
UF |
Jr. |
R/R |
Scotts Valley, Calif./Scotts Valley |
| Joshua Nelson |
Holy Names |
UP |
Sr. |
R/R |
Pleasant Hill, Calif./College Park |
* - Preseason Player of the Year
^ - Preseason Pitcher of the Year