2016 All-CCAA Baseball Team Announced
SAN RAMON — Cal Poly Pomona, Cal State East Bay and Cal State Monterey Bay, winners of the California Collegiate Athletic Association's South and North divisions, led the conference in selections to the All-CCAA baseball team, revealed Tuesday evening at the CCAA’s pre-Championship banquet at the Stockton Hilton.
CCAA South Division winner Cal Poly Pomona and North co-champion Cal State Monterey Bay led the way with nine selections apiece. Cal State East Bay, which finished in a tie with the Otters for the North Division title, had eight players to this year’s team, selected by votes from the conference's coaches.
The Broncos and Pioneers each snagged two individual awards. Cal Poly Pomona junior right-hander Michael Koval and infielder Nic Hernandez were named the Most Valuable Pitcher and Freshman of the Year, respectively. Cal State East Bay senior utility player Rudy Navarro was selected the Most Valuable Player, and Head Coach Bob Ralston was tabbed the Coach of the Year.
Chico State outfielder Sonny Cortez earned the Newcomer of the Year award.
UC San Diego placed seven individuals on the All-CCAA team, followed by Chico State (6), Cal State LA (5), Cal State San Marcos (5), Cal State Dominguez Hills (4), San Francisco State (4), Sonoma State (4), Stanislaus State (3), and Cal State San Bernardino (1).
Cal Poly Pomona led all 12 teams with a whopping six First Team selections: Koval, senior starting pitcher Max Bethell, sophomore relief pitcher Ryan Alsworth, junior second baseman Chris Stratton, senior outfielder Jared James, and senior designated hitter Caleb Romo.
The Wildcats had three First Team picks, including Cortez, junior starting pitcher Clayton Gelfand, and senior first baseman Ben Gamba. Otters catcher Hayden Duer and first baseman Kevin Davidson also earned First Team honors. Cal State East Bay’s Navarro, Cal State Dominguez Hills third baseman Brady Conlan, Cal State San Bernardino pitcher Tyler Wells, Cal State San Marcos shortstop Tyler Place, Stanislaus State outfielder Patrick Mulry, and UC San Diego outfielder Jack Larsen rounded out the 17-man First Team.
This year marks the first in which a Cal State East Bay player has earned Player of the Year honors. Navarro leads the Conference with .419 average and compiled .532 slugging and .472 on-base percentages. His season totals include: 78 hits, 42 runs scored, 38 RBI, and 16 doubles.
Cal Poly Pomona’s Koval wrapped up regular-season play with a CCAA-best 1.89 ERA after allowing just 16 earned runs in 76.1 total innings. He registered an 8-2 record with two complete games in 12 starts. In CCAA play, Koval posted a 6-2 record, 1.86 ERA, two complete games, and one shutout. In 67.2 innings he allowed just 51 hits, walked 14, and struck out 47.
Cortez earned Newcomer of the Year after batting .363, with a CCAA-high 62 runs scored, eight doubles, 28 walks, 25 RBI, and 17 stolen bases.
Hernandez had a solid rookie season, starting in 45 of the Broncos' games. He hit 244 and ranked second on his team with 34 runs, 25 walks, 11 doubles, and six home runs.
In his fifth season leading the Pioneers, Ralston earned his first-ever Coach of the Year nod after guiding his team to its third 30-win season in four years en route to snagging a share of the North Division title and the program’s first postseason berth.
| 2016 All-CCAA Baseball Team |
| FIRST TEAM |
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| Pos. |
Name |
School |
Yr. |
Hometown |
| SP |
Max Bethell |
Cal Poly Pomona |
Sr. |
Garden Grove |
| SP |
Clayton Gelfand |
Chico State |
Jr. |
West Linn, Ore. |
| SP |
Michael Koval |
Cal Poly Pomona |
Jr. |
Alta Loma |
| SP |
Tyler Wells |
Cal State San Bernardino |
Jr. |
Yucaipa |
| RP |
Ryan Alsworth |
Cal Poly Pomona |
So. |
Yorba Linda |
| C |
Hayden Duer |
Cal State Monterey Bay |
So. |
Davis |
| 1B |
Ben Gamba |
Chico State |
Sr. |
Vacaville |
| 1B |
Kevin Davidson |
Cal State Monterey Bay |
Sr. |
Yucaipa |
| 2B |
Chris Stratton |
Cal Poly Pomona |
Jr. |
Temecula |
| SS |
Tyler Place |
Cal State San Marcos |
So. |
Fullerton |
| 3B |
Brady Conlan |
Cal State Dominguez Hills |
Sr. |
Chatsworth |
| OF |
Sonny Cortez |
Chico State |
Jr. |
San Pedro |
| OF |
Jared James |
Cal Poly Pomona |
Sr. |
Sacramento |
| OF |
Jack Larsen |
UC San Diego |
Jr. |
Mission Viejo |
| OF |
Patrick Mulry |
Stanislaus State |
Sr. |
Escalon |
| UTL |
Rudy Navarro |
Cal State East Bay |
Sr. |
Corcoran |
| DH |
Caleb Romo |
Cal Poly Pomona |
Sr. |
Walnut |
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| SECOND TEAM |
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| Pos. |
Name |
School |
Yr. |
Hometown |
| SP |
Gabe Katich |
Cal State Monterey Bay |
Jr. |
San Jose |
| SP |
Jordan Kron |
Stanislaus State |
Jr. |
Manteca |
| SP |
Kyle Mora |
UC San Diego |
Fr. |
San Jose |
| SP |
Alex Vesia |
Cal State East Bay |
So. |
Alpine |
| RP |
Kyle Narahara |
Cal State Monterey Bay |
Jr. |
Castro Valley |
| C |
Chris Porter |
Cal State East Bay |
Sr. |
Nevada City |
| 1B |
Brandon Bentson |
Cal State San Marcos |
Sr. |
San Diego |
| 2B |
Cameron Santos |
Chico State |
So. |
San Ramon |
| 2B |
Miguel Castaneda |
Cal State Dominguez Hills |
Jr. |
Norwalk |
| SS |
Bryan Bostjancic |
Cal State Monterey Bay |
Sr. |
Forest Knolls |
| 3B |
Ryan O'Malley |
Sonoma State |
Sr. |
San Jose |
| OF |
Justin Flores |
Cal State Monterey Bay |
Sr. |
Fresno |
| OF |
Clinton Perez |
Cal State San Marcos |
Sr. |
Temecula |
| OF |
Daniel Pitts |
Cal Poly Pomona |
Jr. |
Lancaster |
| OF |
Brandon Polizzi |
Cal State Dominguez Hills |
So. |
Bellflower |
| UTL |
Aldo Koutsoyanopulos |
Stanislaus State |
Jr. |
Laguna Beach |
| DH |
Tyler Plantier |
UC San Diego |
So. |
Poway |
HONORABLE MENTION
SP – Joe Bresson (Cal State Dominguez Hills), Jacob Call (Cal State East Bay), Daniel Diaz (Cal State LA), Dalton Erb (Chico State), Jared Koenig (Cal State Monterey Bay), Ryan Luna (Sonoma State); RP – Gabriel Gentner (Cal State LA), Tim Nelson (UC San Diego), Hayden Weir (Cal State San Marcos); C – Steven Coe (UC San Diego), Dillon Kelley (Chico State), Ryan Welker (Cal State LA); 1B – Troy Resch (Cal State East Bay); 2B – Myles Hager (Cal State Monterey Bay); 3B – Jason Padlo (Cal Poly Pomona); SS – Bryce Brooks (San Francisco State), Tyler Howsley (UC San Diego), Ryan Webberley (Cal Poly Pomona); OF – Daniel Caresio (Sonoma State), Myles Franklin (San Francisco State), Raymond Jones (Cal State East Bay), Nathan Navarrese (Cal State LA), Chris Nicholson (San Francisco State), Matthew Richards (Sonoma State), Will Rosado (Cal State Monterey Bay), Gradeigh Sanchez (UC San Diego), Marcus Wise (Cal State East Bay); UTL – Dakota Hernandez (Cal State LA); DH – Ryan Burke (San Francisco State), Myles Babitt (Cal State East Bay), Jon Putnam (Cal State San Marcos).
Most Valuable Player: Rudy Navarro, Cal State East Bay
Most Valuable Pitcher: Michael Koval, Cal Poly Pomona
Newcomer of the Year: Sonny Cortez, Chico State
Freshman of the Year: Nic Hernandez, Cal Poly Pomona
Coach of the Year: Bob Ralston, Cal State East Bay