2018 All-CCAA Baseball Teams Announced
All-CCAA Baseball Team (.pdf)
STOCKTON, Calif. – On the eve of the opening day of the championships, the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) individual awards winners and 2018 All-CCAA Baseball Teams have been announced by the league office.
The All-CCAA first team is headlined by the league’s Most Valuable Player, Zander Clarke, and Most Valuable Pitcher, Joe Ryan.
Clarke, a redshirt junior outfielder from Newbury Park, has been dominant at the plate for UC San Diego. He has compiled a CCAA-best season batting average of .390 bringing in 65 runs, which is good for 11th in the nation. With 13 homers on the year, Clarke sits just three back from the CCAA-leader Dalton Duarte in his chase for the triple crown. In his first season in the CCAA, the transfer from UCLA also picked up Newcomer of the Year accolades for his performance for the Tritons.
Ryan, a senior for Stanislaus State, is also in his first year in the conference after transferring to the Warriors from Cal State Northridge. He’s made short order of climbing up the ranks of Stanislaus State pitchers, and his 127 strikeouts on the year is a new single-season record. In addition to leading the Warriors, and in turn the CCAA, Ryan’s strikeout number is tops in the NCAA, regardless of division. He also boasts the conference-low ERA, at 1.65, which stands as 11th in NCAA Division II this season.
Freshman of the Year honors went the way of Triton Shay Whitcomb. The shortstop from Newbury Park owns UC San Diego's longest reached-base streak of season, getting on base safely in each of his first 31 collegiate games. Entering the postseason, Whitcomb is currently hitting .340 with 52 runs on the year, second to teammate Tyler Durna’s 53.
Rounding out the individual honorees is skipper of regular-season champion Cal State Monterey Bay Otters. Walt White has guided the Otters to the top spot in the NCAA Division II West Region rankings and the squad sits in 13th in the last NCBWA national poll. As a team, Cal State Monterey Bay leads the CCAA in batting average (.311), and with a tally of 545 hits the Otters hold the 12th-best mark in NCAA Division II. This is White’s second Coach of the Year plaque (2013).
The Otters placed five on the All-CCAA first team: shortstop Kyle Czaplak, utility player Hayden Duer, outfielder TJ Dove, pitcher Colton Fletcher, and catcher Jacob Tonascia. The Tritons also have multiple first-teamers on the list as second baseman Brady Dorn, third baseman Alex Eliopulos, and pitcher Preston Mott join Clarke.
The Chico State trio of outfielder Kyle Blakeman, designated hitter Alex Devito and relief pitcher Jae Wagner were all tabbed for the first team, as the Wildcats hold the CCAA bracket’s No. 3 seed heading into championship weekend.
Closing out the 17-member first team are Ryan, Cal Poly Pomona first baseman Nic Hernandez, Sonoma State outfielder Bryce Negata, and Cal State East Bay ace Alex Vesia. The all-conference teams and individual award winners were selected by the league’s 12 coaches.
2018 CCAA Baseball Awards
Most Valuable Player: Zander Clarke, UC San Diego
Most Valuable Pitcher: Joe Ryan, Stanislaus State
Newcomer of the Year: Zander Clarke, UC San Diego
Freshman of the Year: Shay Whitcomb, UC San Diego
Coach of the Year: Walt White, Cal State Monterey Bay
All-CCAA First Team
| Pos. |
Name |
Yr. |
School |
Hometown |
| C |
Jacob Tonascia |
Sr. |
Cal State Monterey Bay |
Hollister |
| 1B |
Tyler Durna |
Jr. |
UC San Diego |
Chino Hills |
| 2B |
Brady Dorn |
Jr. |
San Francisco State |
Redondo Beach |
| SS |
Kyle Czaplak |
Sr. |
Cal State Monterey Bay |
Monterey |
| 3B |
Alex Eliopulos |
R-Jr. |
UC San Diego |
La Jolla |
| INF (1B) |
Nic Hernandez |
Sr. |
Cal Poly Pomona |
San Dimas |
| OF |
Kyle Blakeman |
Sr. |
Chico State |
Benicia |
| OF |
Zander Clarke |
R-Jr. |
UC San Diego |
Newbury Park |
| OF |
TJ Dove |
Jr. |
Cal State Monterey Bay |
Yuba City |
| OF |
Bryce Nagata |
Sr. |
Sonoma State |
Kaneohe, Hawaii |
| P |
Colton Fletcher |
Sr. |
Cal State Monterey Bay |
San Jose |
| P |
Preston Mott |
Jr. |
UC San Diego |
Clovis |
| P |
Joe Ryan |
Sr. |
Stanislaus State |
San Anselmo |
| P |
Alex Vesia |
Sr. |
Cal State East Bay |
Alpine |
| RP |
Jae Wagner |
Sr. |
Chico State |
Santa Rosa |
| UTILITY |
Hayden Duer |
Sr. |
Cal State Monterey Bay |
Davis |
| DH |
Alex DeVito |
Jr. |
Chico State |
Northridge |
All-CCAA Second Team
| Pos. |
Name |
Yr. |
School |
Hometown |
| C |
Cody Martin |
Sr. |
Cal Poly Pomona |
Murrieta |
| 1B |
Jack Large |
So. |
Stanislaus State |
Modesto |
| 2B |
Justin Beck |
Sr. |
UC San Diego |
Upland |
| SS |
Jackson Kritsch |
So. |
San Francisco State |
Westlake Village |
| 3B |
Adam Hollar |
Jr. |
Cal State East Bay |
Livermore |
| INF (3B) |
Cameron Santos |
Sr. |
Chico State |
San Ramon |
| OF |
Raymond Jones |
Sr. |
Cal State East Bay |
San Diego |
| OF |
Braeden Oki |
Jr. |
Stanislaus State |
Tracy |
| OF |
Austin Ott |
R-Jr. |
Cal State San Marcos |
Vista |
| OF |
Sean Watkins |
Sr. |
Cal State LA |
San Bruno |
| P |
Ryan Alsworth |
Sr. |
Cal Poly Pomona |
Yorba Linda |
| P |
Casey Costello |
Sr. |
Chico State |
La Quinta |
| P |
Matthew Hernandez |
Sr. |
San Francisco State |
Fort Bragg |
| P |
Grant Larson |
So. |
Chico State |
San Diego |
| RP |
Cameron Kurz |
Sr. |
UC San Diego |
Encinitas |
| UTILITY |
RJ Hassey |
Sr. |
Chico State |
San Luis Obispo |
| DH |
Dalton Duarte |
Jr. |
Cal State Dominguez Hills |
Newbury Park |
Honorable Mention
C – Nick Kitzmann (UCSD); Tyler Stofiel (CHICO);
2B – Dakota Conners (CSUEB); Vicenzo Margiotta (STAN);
SS – Drew Cowley (CPP); Tyler Place (CSUSM); Rayson Romero (SSU); Shay Whitcomb (UCSD);
3B – Erik Allegro (CSUSB); Matt Manskar (CPP);
OF – Keenan Brigman (UCSD); Zach Guardino (SSU); Kyle Guerra (CSUMB); Jack Harris (SFSU); Cesar Lopez (CPP); Turner Olson (CHICO); Cabot Van Til (CSUSM);
P – Konner Arnold (CSUSB); Joey DeCeglie (CSULA); Dylan Francis (CPP); Mitch Hickey (UCSD); Tim Holdgrafer (CPP); Dillon Houser (SFSU);
RP – Connor Fabing (CSUMB); Chase Wheatcroft (STAN);
UTIL – Andre Gregory (CSULA); Harley Lopez (SFSU); Tyler Robles (CSUSB);
DH – Blake Baumgartner (UCSD); Aidan Stinnett (CSUSM)