Conference baseball coaches honored outgoing program
Holy Names with a pair of special awards and PacWest tournament host
Fresno Pacific was also honored twice in the 2023 Pacific West Conference baseball awards.
PacWest regular season champion
Point Loma had six First-Team members and the Conference Player of the Year in
Jakob Christian. Eddie Curley (Freshman of the Year) and
Esteban Contreras (Coach of the Year) represented Holy Names,
Garrett Cooper (Pitcher of the Year) and
Jordan Smith (Defensive Player of the Year) were tabbed from Fresno Pacific while Hawai`i Pacific’s
Kota Suzuki was named Newcomer of the Year.
The awards are voted on by the conference’s nine head coaches.
Jakob Christian, who was the PacWest Freshman of the Year last season, had a monster sophomore year for Point Loma. He hit .390, but that is just the beginning of the story. He blasted 24 home runs, tops in the conference and also the second highest total in PacWest history. He set a conference record with his .884 slugging percentage. He led the league in RBI (58) and runs scored (57). Three times this season he hit two home runs in one game (Biola twice, CS Monterey Bay). For the second year in a row, he was also a First Team selection at first base.
Garrett Cooper earned his fourth All-PacWest award in a Fresno Pacific uniform, but this was his debut First Team award and Pitcher of the Year honor. Cooper had a 7-2 record as a starter with a 2.84 ERA. He did not give up a run in three games, which included a seven inning one-hitter against Biola. He allowed just 62 hits in 79.1 innings of work and fanned 75 batters. Teams hit just .213 against him. Equally impressive was the fact that he allowed just 13 walks all season and had only two wild pitches.
The Sunbirds also had the Defensive Player of the Year in catcher
Jordan Smith. Also a First Team All-PacWest catcher, Smith did not have an error all season in 252 chances behind the plate, an astonishing number. Even more remarkable, he threw out 17 of the 22 base runners that attempted to run on him. The Reedley College transfer hit .284 and started 32 of FPU’s 44 games behind the plate.
The Newcomer of the Year is Hawai`i Pacific’s
Kota Suzuki. The Sierra College transfer hit a team-best .361 on the season, had nine doubles and drove in 31 runs. The Japan native started all 47 games for the Sharks in the outfield and also stole eight bases. He had 14 multi-hit games and ended the season on a 17-game hitting streak—after having a 12-game run earlier in the season. He was also a Second Team All-PacWest selection.
Holy Names, in its final season of collegiate baseball (they are closing their doors next month), had two of the special awards.
Eddie Curley, a left-handed pitcher, is the Freshman of the Year. Also a First Team selection, Curley was 7-3 on the season with a 3.47 ERA. He had 13 starts, five complete games and posted three shutouts. Two of those came back-to-back against Academy of Art and Azusa Pacific, and he also shut down Point Loma on two hits in a seven inning contest. On the season, he threw 70 innings, allowed only 56 hits, and struck out 63. He gave up only two home runs all season.
Esteban Contreras had the unusual task of leading a team through what they all knew was their final season. Not only did Contreras navigate those troubled waters, he led his team into the conference tournament as the No. 4 seed. The Hawks accomplished this on the final weekend of the regular season with a pair of wins over Biola, finishing PacWest play 15-17 and they come into the tournament with a 26-23 overall record. Contreras was the head coach of the Hawks for eight seasons.
As mentioned earlier, defending champion and tournament No. 1 seed Point Loma had six First Team members. In addition to Christian, the Sea Lions were represented by shortstop
Scott Anderson, outfielder
Jack Malone, designated hitter
Jake Entrekin, utility pitcher
Hunter Otjen and closer
Cole Hillier. In addition to the players named above, other First Team selections include FPU second baseman Tommy Rover, Biola third baseman AJ Ortiz, Holy Names outfielder Esai Santos, Azusa Pacific's Omar Lopez, and Concordia's Michael Dixon (OF) and Riley O'Sullivan (SP).
Point Loma pitcher
Dylan Miller (Third Team) was selected to an All-PacWest team for the third time, as was Azusa Pacific’s
Lopez. Fresno Pacific’s
Jared Aguilar was tabbed for a fourth time, like his teammate Cooper.
The first-ever Pacific West Conference Championship Baseball Tournament begins on Wednesday in Fresno, with No. 1 seed Point Loma taking on No. 4 Holy Names at noon, followed by the 4 pm game between No. 2 Azusa Pacific and No. 3 Fresno Pacific.
| 2023 ALL-PACWEST BASEBALL AWARDS |
| Player of the Year |
Jakob Christian |
Point Loma |
| Pitcher of the Year |
Garrett Cooper |
Fresno Pacific |
| Defensive Player of the Year |
Jordan Smith |
Fresno Pacific |
| Newcomer of the Year |
Kota Suzuki |
Hawai`i Pacific |
| Freshman of the Year |
Eddie Curley |
Holy Names |
| Coach of the Year |
Esteban Contreras |
Holy Names |
| 2023 ALL-PACWEST BASEBALL TEAM |
| Name |
School |
Pos. |
Class |
B/T |
Hometown/Previous School |
| FIRST TEAM |
| Jordan Smith |
Fresno Pacific |
C |
Jr. |
R/R |
Fresno, Calif. / Reedley JC |
| Jakob Christian* |
Point Loma |
1B |
So. |
R/R |
San Diego/St. Augustine HS |
| Tommy Rover* |
Fresno Pacific |
2B |
So. |
R/R |
Brentwood, Calif. / Heritage HS |
| AJ Ortiz |
Biola |
3B |
Jr. |
R/R |
Montebello, Calif. / Schurr HS |
| Scott Anderson |
Point Loma |
SS |
Jr. |
R/R |
Carlsbad, Calif. / Sage Creek HS |
| Esai Santos* |
Holy Names |
OF |
Sr. |
L/R |
Berkeley, Calif. / Laney College |
| Michael Dixon* |
Concordia |
OF |
Sr. |
R/R |
Oakland, Calif./ Univ. of San Diego |
| Jack Malone |
Point Loma |
OF |
So. |
L/R |
Phoenix, Ariz. / Desert Vista HS |
| Jake Entrekin |
Point Loma |
DH |
So. |
R/R |
San Diego, Calif. / Steele Canyon HS |
| Omar Lopez** |
Azusa Pacific |
UF |
Jr. |
R/R |
Chula Vista, Calif. / Otay Ranch HS |
| Hunter Otjen |
Point Loma |
UP |
Jr. |
R/R |
San Diego, Calif. / Point Loma HS |
| Eddie Curley |
Holy Names |
SP |
Fr. |
L/L |
Pittsburg, Calif. / Clayton Valley HS |
| Garrett Cooper*** |
Fresno Pacific |
SP |
Sr. |
R/R |
Kingsburg, Calif. / Clovis HS |
| Riley O’Sullivan |
Concordia |
SP |
Jr. |
R/R |
Poway, Calif. / Valhalla HS |
| Cole Hillier* |
Point Loma |
RP |
Jr.. |
R/R |
Glendora, Calif./Glendora HS |
| SECOND TEAM |
| Taylor Justus* |
Biola |
C |
Jr. |
R/R |
Thousand Oaks, Calif. / San Jose State |
| Jesús Hernandez* |
Holy Names |
1B |
Sr. |
L/L |
Pittsburg, Calif./ Los Medanos JC |
| Nicholas Jio* |
Hawai`i Pacific |
2B |
Jr. |
R/R |
San Diego, Calif./ Scripps Ranch HS |
| Neko Capsaliaris |
Holy Names |
3B |
Sr. |
R/R |
Brentwood, Calif. / Los Medanos JC |
| Casey Yamauchi* |
Hawai`i Hilo |
SS |
Sr. |
R/R |
Hilo, Hawai`i / Waiakea HS |
| Oscar Serratos* |
Biola |
OF |
Gr. |
R/R |
Lawrenceville, Ga./Young Harris |
| Andrew Valdez* |
Fresno Pacific |
OF |
Jr. |
R/R |
Visalia, Calif. / Col. Of the Sequoias |
| Kota Suzuki |
Hawai`I Pacific |
OF |
Jr. |
R/R |
Nagoya, Japan / Sierra College |
| Koutarou Matsumaru |
Fresno Pacific |
DH |
Jr. |
R/R |
Kanagawa, Japan / Edmonds CC |
| Gabe Henderson |
Academy of Art |
UF |
Fr. |
R/R |
Sacramento, Calif./CK McClatchy HS |
| Jared Aguilar*** |
Fresno Pacific |
UP |
Sr. |
R/R |
Fresno, Calif. / Clovis East HS |
| Ray Cebulski |
Point Loma |
SP |
So. |
R/R |
Chula Vista, Calif. /Long Beach St. |
| Isaac Mendez |
Azusa Pacific |
SP |
Jr. |
R/R |
Pomona, Calif. / Bonita HS |
| Bobby Brown |
Biola |
SP |
So. |
R/R |
San Ramon, Calif. / Fusion Academy |
| Hunter Otjen |
Point Loma |
RP |
Jr. |
R/R |
San Diego, Calif. / Point Loma HS |
| THIRD TEAM |
| Tyus Santa Anna |
Azusa Pacific |
C |
Sr. |
R/R |
Arcadia, Calif. / Mt. Sac JC |
| Wyatt Duncan |
Biola |
1B |
Jr. |
R/R |
Rancho Cucamonga, Calif./Wagner College |
| Jeffrey Castillo |
Azusa Pacific |
2B |
Jr. |
R/R |
Arcadia, Calif. / Arcadia HS |
| Chris Clement |
Fresno Pacific |
3B |
Fr. |
R/R |
Hanford, Calif. / Hanford HS |
| Tejean Smith |
Hawai`i Pacific |
SS |
So. |
R/R |
Sacramento, Calif. / Laguna Creek HS |
| Nathan Benefeito |
Concordia |
OF |
Jr. |
R/R |
Mission Viejo, Calif./Capistrano Valley HS |
| Alec Yamauchi |
Hawai`i Hilo |
OF |
Jr. |
R/R |
Peoria, Ariz. / Glendale CC |
| Hayato Niki |
Academy of Art |
OF |
Sr. |
R/R |
Tokyo, Japan/Folsom Lake CC |
| Sam Lisiak |
Biola |
DH |
So. |
R/R |
Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian |
| DJ Stephens |
Hawai`i Pacific |
UP |
Sr. |
R/R |
Nanakuli, Hawai`i/Southern Nevada |
| Cannon Secrist |
Academy of Art |
SP |
Gr. |
R/R |
St. George, Utah / Col. of S. Idaho |
| Dylan Miller** |
Point Loma |
SP |
Jr. |
R/R |
Jacksonville, Fla./Coronado HS |
| Brett Finnel |
Concordia |
SP |
Jr. |
R/R |
Riverside, Calif. / California Baptist |
| Jake Vargas |
Azusa Pacific |
RP |
Jr. |
R/R |
West Covina, Calif. / CS Fullerton |
*Previous All-PacWest selection