| Baseball Members: Cal State Bakersfield, Chicago State, Grand Canyon, New Mexico State, North Dakota, Northern Colorado, Sacramento State, Seattle, Texas-Pan American, Utah Valley. |
| Team To Beat: Cal State Bakersfield: The Roadrunners won the WAC tournament in 2015 and went 1-2 in the Los Angeles Regional, defeating Mississippi in an elimination game. Bill Kernen, the team’s head coach since the program launched in 2009, retired at the end of the season, handing the reins to assistant coach Bob Macaluso. Despite the change in leadership, CSU Bakersfield returns the bulk of its starting lineup, led by junior second baseman David Metzgar (.347/.398/.454 in 2015). The pitching staff faces more turnover, especially with the loss of ace Hayden Carter (9-3, 2.44). But the Roadrunners return experienced righthanders Steven Gee (5-4, 2.55) and Garrett Nimmo (4-3, 3.56). Senior right fielder Chance Gusbeth could be the team’s X-factor, as he’s started working off the mound and throws 90-plus mph. |
| Player of the Year: Paul Panaccione, ss, Grand Canyon. The senior shortstop has a knack for finding the barrel and is a key piece of the Grand Canyon offense. He batted .376/.440/.493 last season to lead the Antelopes in hitting, and was top 10 in the conference in all three slash lines, as well as hits (83) and runs (56). |
| Pitcher of the Year: Sam Long, lhp, Sacramento State. Coming off a 6-4, 2.81 season, the junior lefthander will step into the Friday night role for the Hornets. Though not overpowering, Long has excellent command of his high-80s to low-90s fastball and changeup. He led the WAC and was 13th in the country with a 0.85 WHIP in 2015. |
| Freshman of the Year: Tyler Wyatt, inf/rhp, Grand Canyon. The Arizona Gatorade Player of the Year, Wyatt is the top freshman in a strong recruiting class and should provide value to the Antelopes as a shortstop and as a pitcher. On the mound, he sits in the low 90s with his fastball, complemented by a changeup and curveball. |
| Notable Storylines: Grand Canyon won the regular season WAC title last season and looks to be the best team again this year; however, the Antelopes are ineligible for postseason play until 2018 due to their transition from Division II . . . Seattle and Sacramento State are both significant threats for the WAC title. Seattle finished second in the conference last season, is strong up the middle with infielders Griffin Andreychuk and Sheldon Stober and have a reliable ace in lefthander Tarik Skubal. The draft stripped Sacramento State of several key players, such as righthander Brendan Leitao and right fielder Nate Lukes. But the Hornets brought in several seasoned juco bats and boast the conference’s top pitcher in Long . . . Utah Valley could be a WAC dark horse, as the Wolverines return a solid veteran core led by power-hitting seniors Mark Krueger and Craig Brinkerhoff and hard-throwing senior righthander Danny Beddes . . . In his second year as New Mexico State’s head coach, Brian Green brought in a jumbo-sized 35-man recruiting class. The Aggies are a brand new team and, as such, face many questions. But they have some interesting pieces, including toolsy outfielder Daniel Johnson and hard-throwing righthanders Marcel Renteria and Joe Galindo. |
| Tournament: Six teams, double-elimination, May 25-29 at Hohokam Stadium, Mesa, Ariz. |
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