Last winter, the Azusa Pacific Cougars were the unanimous choice by the conference's coaches to win the 2022 Pacific West Conference title. And why not? APU had won three straight league banners and were loaded again heading into the 2022 season.

Turns out the Cougars were very good, but Point Loma stole the 2022 spotlight. The Sea Lions won the conference title by two games over Azusa Pacific, defeated the Cougars in the Super Regional final and advanced all the way to the NCAA title game before their season finally came to a close as national runner-ups with a 51-10 record.

Where were the Sea Lions picked in last year's coaches poll? Fourth. 

That's not belittle what you are reading right now, but as we have all learned a few times over, baseball games are not played on paper. That said, Point Loma is the 2023 favorite according to PacWest coaches, with Azusa Pacific next. The Sea Lions had seven first place votes, the Cougars two. PLNU had 79 voting points, APU has 74.

It should be quite the battle again. 

APU third baseman Tido Robles was tabbed as the Preseason Player of the Year and Fresno Pacific's Justin Fuson is the Preseason Pitcher of the Year. Point Loma had four players selected by the coaches to the Preseason Team, while Azusa Pacific and Fresno Pacific have three, Hawai`i Pacific has a pair and Concordia and Biola have one each. 

Robles was a Second Team All-Region selection last year after bashing a PacWest best 18 home runs and driving in 63 RBI (also tops in the PacWest). The 2019 PacWest Freshman of the Year now enters his fifth season with 34 career home runs and 124 runs batted in. 

Fuson went 8-4 last season with a 2.86 ERA. Opposing batters hit just .219 against him. He opened the 2022 season with a no-hitter against Western Oregon, earning national player of the week honors. The Fresno native was a First Team All-PacWest selection in 2022.

Back to the Sea Lions. Point Loma returns 14 players off that championship team, but lost 15 including PacWest Player AND Pitcher of the Year Baxter Halligan. But they return 2023 All-PacWest Preseason players Jakob Christian, Scott Anderson, Dylan Miller and Cole Hillier. 

Christian hit .322 with 13 home runs and 56 RBI as a rookie and was named the PacWest Freshman of the Year. Anderson hit .312 as a sophomore with 18 doubles and nine home runs, but perhaps most impressive was his work at shortstop where he had just seven errors in 216 chances, earning the conference's Defensive Player of the Year. Hillier made the 2023 Preseason Team after posting 17 saves a year ago while also fanning 57 batters in 36 innings of work, and Miller is one of three starting pitchers on the preseason team, returning after a 9-2 season a year ago. 

Azusa Pacific earned two first place votes and were just five voting points behind the Sea Lions. In addition to Robles, the Cougars also landed designated hitter Spencer Rasmussen and George Christison to the Preseason Team. Christison hit .322 and was a Second Team All-PacWest pick last spring, while Rasmussen had 16 home runs, 49 RBI and was Second Team selection. Shortstop Omar Lopez also returns after an all-conference season, hitting .333 and driving in 49 runs for APU.

The Cougars finished 38-19 a year ago, defeating Western Oregon and Cal State Monterey Bay in the regional playoffs before falling to Point Loma in the Super Regional final (the Sea Lions won two of three games).

Concordia nabs the third spot in the Preseason Poll with 59 points. Outfielder Michael Dixon made the Preseason Team, after earning First Team honors last spring after transferring from the University of San Diego. Dixon hit .353 with seven triples and 16 stolen bases. The Golden Eagles, who finished third in the PacWest last season, lost eight players with starting experience but also signed 10 transfers, including five from Division I schools.

Landing in the fourth spot is Fresno Pacific. In addition to the previously mentioned Justin Fuson, the Sunbirds have another Preseason pick in starting pitcher Garrett Cooper. Cooper was a Third Team pick last spring, going 4-4 with a 4.74 ERA. Jared Aguilar makes the 2023 team as the Utility Player, hitting .380 last year with 15 doubles. He also had 12 starts on the pitching mound, finishing with a 3-2 record and 4.57 ERA. Tommy Rover (2nd Team) and Andrew Valdez (Third Team) also return to bolster the Sunbird squad. 

Biola steps into the fifth position. Catcher Taylor Justus, a First Team selection last year after starting at San Jose State the season previous, is Biola's representaive on the 2023 Preseason Team. The Eagles have 27 returning players overall including Oscar Serratos, the PacWest Newcomer of the Year and a First Team selection. Serratos, who had played at Georgia Tech and Young Harris prior to arriving in La Mirada, blasted 14 home runs, hit .338 and had 23 stolen bases. Biola has nine players returning with starting experience from a squad that finished 18-14 in conference last year (fourth place).

Hawai`i Hilo is sixth, led by fifth-year standout Casey Yamauchi. The Hilo native led the PacWest last year with a .403 batting average and 21 doubles, and was second in stolen bases with 27. The Vulcans finished 27-19 overall last year and were 15-17 in PacWest play. Just three voting points behind Hawai`i Hilo was Hawai`i Pacific. The Sharks have two players on the Preseason team in second baseman Nicholas Jio and outfielder DJ Stephens. Jio hit .346 and stole 16 bags, while Stephens hit .359 and swiped 13 bases. Jack O'Brien also returns as a starting pitcher. O'Brien was a Third Team selection last year with a 3.95 ERA and 3-3 record.

Holy Names and Academy of Art round out the poll, tied with 18 points each. Esai Santos returns for the Hawks, who will be playing their final season of collegiate baseball. Santos hit .366, while Jesus Hernandez is also back returning with a .324 average. Hernandez was a Second Team All-PacWest pick and Santos landed on the Third Team. Academy of Art returns six players with starting experience, but went heavy on the transfer route with 13 players signed. 

2023 baseball play officially begins on February 1 (Wednesday) when Academy of Art hosts Stanislaus State and Hawai`i Hilo welcomes 2018 national champion Augustana to the Big Island. Playoff rematches highlight a busy slate after that with Azusa Pacific tangling again with Cal State Monterey Bay (Feb. 2-4) and Point Loma hosting Northwest Nazarene (Feb. 3-6). PacWest play begins on Feb. 24, featuring a series between Fresno Pacific and the Sea Lions. All PacWest baseball series are four-game slates. 

 

2023 PRESEASON ALL-PACWEST BASEBALL TEAM
Name	School	Pos.	Class	B/T	Hometown/Previous School
Taylor Justus	Biola	C	Jr.	R/R	Thousand Oaks / San Jose State
Jakob Christian	Point Loma	1B	So.	R/R	San Diego / St. Augustine HS
Nicholas Jio	Hawai`i Pacific	2B	Sr.	R/R	San Diego / Scripps Ranch HS
Tido Robles+	Azusa Pacific	3B	Sr.	R/R	Paramount / St. John Bosco HS
Scott Anderson	Point Loma	SS	Jr.	R/R	Carlsbad / Sage Creek HS
Michael Dixon	Concordia	OF	Jr.	R/R	Oakland / Univ. of San Diego
George Christison	Azusa Pacific	OF	Jr.	L/L	Vacaville / Vacaville HS
DJ Stephens	Hawai`i Pacific	OF	Sr.	R/R	Nanakuli, Hawai`i / Southern Nevada
Spencer Rasmussen	Azusa Pacific	DH	Jr.	L/L	Orange / Canyon HS
Justin Fuson^	Fresno Pacific	SP	Sr.	R/R	Fresno / San Joaquin Memorial HS
Garrett Cooper	Fresno Pacific	SP	Sr.	R/R	Kingsburg / Clovis North HS
Dylan Miller	Point Loma	SP	Jr.	R/R	Jacksonville, Fla. / Coronado HS
Cole Hillier	Point Loma	RP	Jr.	R/R	Glendora / Glendora HS
Jared Aguilar	Fresno Pacific	UTL	Sr.	R/R	Fresno / Clovis East HS

                    +Preseason Player of the Year                      ^Preseason Pitcher of the Year