| Baseball Members: Brigham Young, Gonzaga, Loyola Marymount, Pacific, Pepperdine, Portland, Saint Mary’s, San Diego, San Francisco, Santa Clara. |
| Team To Beat: San Diego. The Toreros won the regular season WCC title last year with a 19-8 season in conference, but at 33-22 overall, they missed out on a regional bid. Coach Rich Hill enters his 18th year at the helm and looks to guide the Toreros back to the tournament for the first time since 2013. San Diego will miss shortstop Kyle Holder—a first-round pick by the Yankees—but have a more-than-capable replacement in sophomore Bryson Brigman (.339/.395/.436), who slides over from second base and is a top prospect in the league. He’ll be supported in the lineup by powerful catcher Riley Adams (.269/.348/.419) and two-way junior Troy Conyers, who returns from Tommy John surgery. Conyers, a lefthander, also projects as the team’s Friday starter, with great feel on the mound and one of the better changeups in the conference. Freshman lefthander Nick Sprengel will slot in on Saturday and touched 95 mph in the fall. San Diego loses starters David Hill (9-3, 2.33) and P.J. Conlon (6-4, 2.17), but most of the pitching staff remains intact. The Toreros are a veteran team with hopes of making a postseason splash. |
| Player of the Year: Bryson Brigman, ss, San Diego. The draft-eligible sophomore comes off a strong summer with USA Baseball’s Collegiate National Team, during which he hit .314/.364/.373 and ranked as the team’s No. 17 prospect. With plus makeup and work ethic, Brigman has always played above his tools and should excel in a leadership role with the Toreros this season. |
| Pitcher of the Year: Corbin Burnes, rhp, St. Mary’s. Burnes was a rotation mainstay for the Gaels in 2015 (7-5, 3.74) after pitching primarily out of the bullpen his freshman year. He turned heads in the Cape Cod League over the summer, touching 97 mph and sitting in the low 90s with a good sinking fastball. He adds a solid slider and curve and a developing changeup. Burnes needs to work on his command, but he’s the league’s top prospect and one of the top pitchers in the draft class. |
| Freshman of the Year: Kyle Dean, of, Brigham Young. No. 160 on the 2015 BA 500, Dean was somewhat of a surprise signing for the Cougars, as they got him out of the ultra-competitive San Diego area even though he is not a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. His draft stock slipped after a poor spring, but he’ll have the chance to be BYU’s everyday right fielder, and he should add some power to the Cougars’ lineup. |
| Notable Storylines: Steve Rodriguez, the 12-year head coach of Pepperdine and a member of the program’s 1992 national championship team, left the Waves to fill the head coaching vacancy at Baylor. In his place, Pepperdine has turned to 17-year assistant coach Rick Hirtensteiner, who also once played for the Waves and is the fourth former player to take the reins . . . It’s a Neu Era for Pacific, as the Tigers in July named four-year California pitching coach Mike Neu their coach. Neu replaces Ed Sprague, who stepped down after 12 seasons and a 14-37 season last year. The Tigers are looking for a bigger season from outfielder Gio Brusa (.291/.400/.527), who had early round hype entering his junior season but fell to the 23rd round after a year marred by injury . . . Six-year San Diego pitching coach Tyler Kincaid left the Toreros a week into the school year to take a pitching coach opening at Kansas State. Hill said nine-year assistant Ramon Orozco has taken over pitching duties and designed a conditioning program in the fall that led to velocity bumps for a few pitchers, including freshman lefthander Nick Sprengel . . . After taking a two-year church mission, BYU draft-eligible sophomore righthander Connor Williams has returned to the diamond and was touching 97 mph in the fall. The former two-way player is concentrating on pitching this season, and has shown steady improvement as he gets more time on the mound. Williams was drafted by the A’s in the 36th round in 2012, and could hear his name called much earlier this June. |
| Tournament: Four teams, May 26-28, Banner Island Ballpark, Stockton, Calif. |
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