2024 Pacific West Conference regular season champion
Point Loma had six First Team all-league selections and two Player of the Year honorees on the PacWest All-Conference Baseball award list.
The Sea Lions had 11 selections overall, plus PacWest Player of the Year
Scott Anderson and Co-Pitcher of the Year
Dylan Miller. Miller’s co-award winner
Jake Covey of Concordia made an impressive debut with the Pitcher of the Year award and Newcomer of the Year.
The All-PacWest team and special awards are voted on by the conference’s nine head coaches.
Joining Anderson, Miller and Covey with special trophies were Azusa Pacific’s
Cade Marshman (Defensive Player of the Year), Chaminade’s
Ryan Ruch (Freshman of the Year) and Westmont’s
Tyler LaTorre (Coach of the Year).
Scott Anderson has had a storied career for the Sea Lions. A fifth-year senior, he was a First Team All-PacWest and All-West Region selection last year, and was the 2022 PacWest Defensive Player of the Year at shortstop. He is a First-Team All-PacWest shortstop again this year, and capped his senior season with a .402 batting average, 14 home runs, 15 doubles, 56 RBI and a 1.190 OPS. The RBI and OPS lead the conference, the home runs are second and the batting average is third. Additionally, he had just six errors all season for a sterling .970 fielding percentage. Anderson has 35 career home runs and 162 RBI heading into tomorrow’s conference tournament.
Anderson’s teammate, Co-Pitcher of the Year
Dylan Miller is a household name in Sea Lion baseball as well. The fourth-year Point Loma standout was 10-2 on the mound this season with a 3.33 ERA. In 81 innings pitched, Miller gave up 82 hits and fanned 80 opponents (31 looking). He tossed a seven-inning shutout against CS Monterey Bay and three other times gave up just one earned run in his starts. The senior righthander’s ten wins is tops in the PacWest, his ERA is third and his strikeouts rank fourth in the conference. This was Miller’s fourth selection to the all-conference team.
Fellow Co-Pitcher of the Year and Newcomer of the Year
Jake Covey was a huge part of Concordia’s push to qualify for the Pacific West Conference tournament. The junior transfer from Orange Coast College finished his first season as a Golden Eagle with a 6-2 record, a 2.20 ERA and one save. The ERA is the lowest in the conference by over a full run, and his .211 opponent batting average is second in the PacWest. Covey fanned 81 batters this season (third), and saved some of his best efforts for big games. He struck out 16 batters in a nine-inning win over Azusa Pacific, and fanned 11 in his regular season finale against Westmont.
Defensive Player of the Year
Cade Marshman is well known around the conference for his defensive work in centerfield for Azusa Pacific. The fourth-year Cougar had a fielding percentage of .985 and most impressively threw out seven runners attempting to take an extra base. His arm strength and speed detoured many players from running on him as he covered a lot of ground at the Cougar Baseball Complex. Additionally, he hit .315 with eight home runs and 44 RBI.
Freshman of the Year
Ryan Ruch is new to the conference as is his team Chaminade. The Silverswords played their first season of baseball this spring and Ruch was a great addition to help the program find success in 2024. The right fielder hit .371, the seventh highest average in the conference and also drove in 37 runs, had 10 doubles, three triples and three home runs. Six times he had three-hit games, including in first two starts of the season in February. The San Diego native led CUH in batting average and RBI.
Another newcomer to the PacWest is Westmont head coach
Tyler LaTorre. The Warriors, picked to finish fifth in the coaches preseason poll, spent a good chunk of the year in first place before settling into second in the final weekend of the regular season. LaTorre, in his second season at Westmont, paced the Warriors to a 33-15-3 overall mark and a 23-8-1 record in the PacWest. With the exception of one, Westmont won every PacWest series that they played this season and they had one split. LaTorre’s team had a 12-game win streak in conference play in mid-March. LaTorre, who led Westmont to an NAIA national title in 2023, had assistant coaching stints at Sacramento State, San Jose State and San Francisco State before landing his first head coach job at Westmont.
Anderson, Covey and Miller were also First Team selections. Biola’s
Taylor Justus was an all-conference selection at catcher for the third time, and Point Loma’s
Esai Santos was picked for a third time as well. This was Esai’s first selection at second base and as a Sea Lion, as he was previously honored twice as an outfielder at Holy Names. Concordia’s
Michael Dixon II is a three-time pick, as is 2024 Second Team selection
Andrew Valdez of Fresno Pacific and Hawai`i Pacific second baseman
Nicholas Jio, Third Team this year.
Point Loma, Hawai`i Pacific, Concordia and Azusa Pacific will begin battle tomorrow (Wednesday) at the second Pacific West Conference tournament at Azusa. The Cougars and Sea Lions will battle first at noon in the double elimination tournament, followed by the Golden Eagles and Sharks at 4 pm.
| 2024 ALL-PACWEST BASEBALL AWARDS |
| Player of the Year |
Scott Anderson |
Point Loma |
| Co-Pitchers of the Year |
Jake Covey
Dylan Miller |
Concordia
Point Loma |
| Defensive Player of the Year |
Cade Marshman |
Azusa Pacific |
| Newcomer of the Year |
Jake Covey |
Concordia |
| Freshman of the Year |
Ryan Ruch |
Chaminade |
| Coach of the Year |
Tyler LaTorre |
Westmont |
| 2024 ALL-PACWEST BASEBALL TEAM |
| Name |
School |
Pos. |
Class |
B/T |
Hometown/Previous School |
| FIRST TEAM |
| Taylor Justus** |
Biola |
C |
Sr. |
R/R |
Thousand Oaks, Calif/San Jose St. |
| Chase Taylor |
Hawai`i Pacific |
1B |
Sr. |
R/R |
West Jordan, Utah/Salt Lake CC |
| Esai Santos** |
Point Loma |
2B |
Sr. |
L/R |
Berkeley, Calif./Holy Names Univ. |
| Daniel Patterson |
Westmont |
3B |
Jr. |
R/R |
Round Rock, Tex./Cedar Ridge HS |
| Scott Anderson** |
Point Loma |
SS |
Sr. |
R/R |
Carlsbad, Calif. / Sage Creek HS |
| Eric Smelko |
Point Loma |
OF |
Gr. |
S/R |
La Mesa, Calif./CS Dominguez Hills |
| Michael Dixon II** |
Concordia |
OF |
Sr. |
R/R |
Oakland, Calif./ Univ. of San Diego |
| Kota Suzuki* |
Hawai`i Pacific |
OF |
Sr. |
R/R |
Nagoya, Japan/Sierra College |
| Jake Entrekin* |
Point Loma |
DH |
Jr. |
R/R |
San Diego, Calif. / Steele Canyon HS |
| Mikey Easter |
Azusa Pacific |
UF |
Jr. |
L/R |
Arcadia, Calif./East Los Angeles JC |
| Bobby Brown |
Biola |
UP |
Jr. |
R/R |
San Ramon, Calif./Fusion Academy |
| Jake Covey |
Concordia |
SP |
Jr. |
R/R |
Costa Mesa, Calif./Orange Coast JC |
| Dylan Miller*** |
Point Loma |
SP |
Sr. |
R/R |
Jacksonville, Fla./Coronado HS |
| Bryan Peck |
Westmont |
SP |
Jr. |
R/R |
Palmdale, Calif./Paraclete HS |
| James Sashin |
Point Loma |
RP |
Jr. |
L/R |
Oak Bluffs, Mass./Univ. of San Diego |
| SECOND TEAM |
| Jordan Smith* |
Fresno Pacific |
C |
Sr. |
R/R |
Fresno, Calif./Reedley JC |
| Wyatt Duncan* |
Biola |
1B |
Sr. |
R/R |
Rancho Cucamonga, Calif./Wagner College |
| Michael Soper |
Westmont |
2B |
Jr. |
L/R |
Jefferson, Ore./Linn-Benton CC |
| Bryson Hashimoto |
Point Loma |
3B |
Jr. |
R/R |
Honolulu, Hawai`i/Palomar JC |
| Tejean Smith* |
Hawai`i Pacific |
SS |
Jr. |
R/R |
Sacramento, Calif./Laguna Creek HS |
| Ryan Ruch |
Chaminade |
OF |
Fr. |
L/L |
San Diego/Patrick Henry HS |
| Andrew Valdez** |
Fresno Pacific |
OF |
Sr. |
R/R |
Visalia, Calif. / Col. Of the Sequoias |
| Trent Mallonee |
Fresno Pacific |
OF |
Jr. |
R/R |
Los Banos, Calif./Merced JC |
| Andrew Lujan |
Biola |
DH |
Sr. |
L/R |
Los Angeles/Schurr HS |
| Cody Min |
Hawai`i Hilo |
UF |
Jr. |
R/R |
Hilo, Hawai`i/ Waiakea HS |
| Hunter Otjen* |
Point Loma |
UP |
Sr. |
R/R |
San Diego/Point Loma HS |
| Ryan Humphreys |
Westmont |
SP |
Jr. |
L/L |
Chino Hills, Calif./Northview HS |
| Jaylen Rodriguez |
Fresno Pacific |
SP |
Sr. |
R/R |
Visalia, Calif./College of the Sequoias |
| Austyn Coleman |
Point Loma |
SP |
Gr. |
R/R |
Fontana, Calif./CS San Bernardino |
| Ryan Inouye |
Hawai`i Pacific |
RP |
Jr. |
R/R |
Honolulu, Hawai`i/Kailua HS |
| THIRD TEAM |
| Daniel Johnson |
Hawai`i Pacific |
C |
Jr. |
R/R |
Gilbert, Ariz./Mesquite HS |
| Casey Kudell |
Chaminade |
1B |
Jr. |
L/R |
Irvine, Calif./Irvine Valley College |
| Nicholas Jio** |
Hawai`i Pacific |
2B |
Sr. |
R/R |
San Diego/Scripps Ranch HS |
| Skyler Agnew |
Hawai`i Pacific |
3B |
Jr. |
R/R |
Riverside, Calif./Grossmont JC |
| Noah Ruiz |
Biola |
SS |
So. |
R/R |
San Diego/Maranatha Christian |
| James Whitman |
Biola |
OF |
So. |
R/R |
San Diego/Helix Charter School |
| Bryce McFeely |
Westmont |
OF |
Jr. |
R/R |
Seattle, Wash./O’Dea HS |
| Cameron Lee |
Azusa Pacific |
OF |
Sr. |
R/R |
Franklin, Ill./High Point |
| Chris Clement* |
Fresno Pacific |
UF |
So. |
R/R |
Hanford, Calif./Hanford HS |
| Jordan Otjen |
Hawai`i Pacific |
UP |
Fr. |
R/R |
San Diego/Point Loma HS |
| Wyatt Madison |
Concordia |
DH |
Fr. |
R/R |
Los Alamitos, Calif./Los Alamitos HS |
| Sean Youngerman |
Westmont |
SP |
So. |
R/R |
Valencia, Calif./Chaminade Prep |
| Ray Cebulski* |
Point Loma |
SP |
Jr. |
R/R |
Chula Vista, Calif./Long Beach State |
| Aidan Langley |
Azusa Pacific |
SP |
Fr. |
R/R |
Chino Hills, Calif./Chino Hills HS |
| Christian Williams |
Point Loma |
RP |
Jr. |
R/R |
Clovis, Calif./Fresno City College |
| Zach Yates |
Westmont |
RP |
Jr. |
R/R |
Tustin, Calif./Foothill HS |
*Previous All-PacWest selection