The 2018 All-West Coast League teams and annual awards were unveiled this morning, as announced by WCL commissioner Rob Neyer.
Incoming Louisiana-Monroe slugger Trent Tinglestad of the Kelowna Falcons was tabbed as the WCL’s MVP. Tinglestad led the circuit in home runs this summer with nine and had a .350 batting average in 44 games. The Marysville, Wash., native helped lead the Falcons to the team’s second WCL Championship Series appearance in franchise history.
A pair of impressive hurlers were named the league’s co-Pitcher of the Year. VCU’s Curtis Bafus from the Wenatchee AppleSox and University of San Francisco standout Landen Bourassa of the Corvallis Knights both posted outstanding numbers. Bafus finished with a league’-high 72 strikeouts while Bourassa had a league-low 1.96 ERA, and both pitchers started in the 2018 WCL All-Star Game in Port Angeles; Bafus for the North and Bourasssa for the South.
Matt McClain from the Bellingham Bells was recognized with the WCL’s newest honor. McClain, who is heading into his freshman season at UCLA, earned the Top Prospect Award. He was selected in the first round of this year’s Major League Baseball Draft by the Arizona Diamondbacks with the 25th overall pick but opted not to sign. He got his first taste of college baseball in preparation for his time with the Bruins playing in the WCL this summer with the Bells.
Coach of the Year honors were shared by Justin Barchus and Bryan Donohue. Barchus guided the Portland Pickles to the WCL’s best overall record at 37-17. Donohue guided Kelowna to the post-season, capped off by an appearance in the WCLCS.
Bellingham’s Glenn Kirkpatrick was honored as the Executive of the Year for his contributions to the league. Kirkpatrick just completed his first season as the owner of the Bells.
The Bellingham Bells and Kelowna Falcons were co-recipients of the Jim Dietz Team Sportsmanship Award.
The Corvallis Knights and Kelowna Falcons were tied as the most represented squad on the All-WCL first team, each featuring three selections.
First-Team All-WCL
C – Cole Hamilton (Linn Benton CC, soph), Corvallis Knights
1B – Connor McCord (Western Oregon, junior), Wenatchee AppleSox
2B – Gio Diaz (St. Mary’s, soph), Portland Pickles
3B – Taylor Wright (Maryland, senior), Kelowna Falcons
SS – Ernie Yake (Gonzaga, soph), Bellingham Bells
OF – Trent Tinglestad (Louisiana-Monroe, junior), Kelowna Falcons
OF – Kyle Dean (Cal State Monterey Bay, junior), Yakima Valley Pippins
OF – Cody Hawken (Portland, senior), Corvallis Knights
UTL – Collin Runge (Portland, senior), Bend Elks
SP – Landen Bourassa (San Francisco, senior), Corvallis Knights
SP – Curtis Bafus (VCU, senior), Wenatchee AppleSox
SP – Bryce Moyle (Washington State, soph), Walla Walla Sweets
SP – Nick Nastrini (UCLA, frosh), Bellingham Bells
SP – Cullen Kafka (Oregon, soph), Yakima Valley Pippins
RP – Cal Hehnke (Nebraska-Omaha, senior), Kelowna Falcons
RP – Theron Kay (Cal State Northridge, senior), Bellingham Bells
Second-Team All-WCL
C – Noah Cardenas (UCLA, frosh), Portland Pickles
C – Victor Cerny (Cal State Northridge, soph), Yakima Valley Pippins
1B – Nick Nyquist (Gonzaga, senior), Walla Walla Sweets
1B – Dan Pruitt (Seminole State College, soph), Kelowna Falcons
2B – Jason Dicochea (Santa Clara, junior), Port Angeles Lefties
3B – Zach Needham (Lewis-Clark State College, junior), Bellingham Bells
SS – Beau Philip (Oregon State, junior), Corvallis Knights
OF – Chandler Anderson (Utah, senior), Corvallis Knights
OF – Johnny Sage (Purdue, junior), Wenatchee AppleSox
OF – Ryan Kim (Portland, junior), Cowlitz Black Bears
UTL – Carson Breshears (Gonzaga, senior), Portland Pickles
SP – Zach Heaton (Dallas Baptist, frosh), Cowlitz Black Bears
SP – Brad McVay (Portland, soph), Portland Pickles
SP – Trevor Brigden (Okanagan College, senior), Kelowna Falcons
SP – Chase Farrell (UCLA, soph), Yakima Valley Pippins
SP – Hunter Boyd (College of Idaho, senior), Wenatchee AppleSox
RP – Justin Armbruester (Pacific Lutheran, soph), Bellingham Bells
RP – Taylor Davis (Gonzaga, senior), Bellingham Bells
# year in school noted for fall/winter/spring, 2018-2019.
Honorable Mention All-WCL
Bellingham: Matt McLain (UCLA), Connor Mack (Cal), Guthrie Morrison (Gonzaga), Jordan Stoner (Tennessee-Martin), Matt James (Yakima Valley College), Grant Holman (Cal), Nick Hull (Grand Canyon), Wesley Moore (Cal State Northridge), Davis Baillie (Washington State), Ben Leeper (Oklahoma State), Carson Olson (Cal). Bend: Tristan Alvarez (Fresno Pacific), Alex Pallios (Chico State), Ty Holmstrom (Union College), Sam Muskat (Montana State Billings), Ace Embree (NW Nazarene). Corvallis: Trace Tammaro (Portland), Chad Stevens (Portland), Austin Feist (St. Martin’s), Zak Taylor (Oregon State), Connor Knutson (Portland), Connor Redmond (Cal Poly), Cameron Haskell (Arizona), Eli Morse (Portland). Cowlitz: Andres Sosa (Dallas Baptist), Dutton Elske (Portland), Austin Bell (Dallas Baptist), Ryan Kaser (Lower Columbia College), Mitch Lines (Lower Columbia College), Seth Rayburn (Tennessee-Martin), Marty Maves (Benedictine), Isaac Mullins (Washington State). Christian Peters (Portland). Kelowna: Matt Voelzke (George Fox), Jake Fischer (Okanagan College), Lucas Soper (Univ. of British Columbia), Jared Akin (Concordia), James Brooks (Central Washington).Port Angeles: Trevor Rosenberg (San Diego), Evan Pace (Southeastern Louisiana), Dalton Harum (Virginia Tech), Tyler Oldenberg (Seattle), Tristan Busse (Western Texas). Portland: Jace McKinney (Portland), Daniel Lopez (Portland), Mike Perez (UCLA), Joey Cooper (Cal State Northridge), Davis Delorefice (Orange Coast College), Jack Murphy (St. Mary’s), Zander Clarke (UC San Diego), Joel Casillas (Cal State Northridge), Michael Newstrom (Washington State), Connor Pellerin (Tulane), Brad Bonnefant (Portland), Daniel Copeland (Gonzaga), Adam Davenport (UW), Michael Frias (UC Irvine), Alex Roth (Western Oregon), Leo Nierenberg (UW). Victoria: Dustin Demeter (Hawaii), Jeddediah Fagg (Georgia Southern), Mike Malinchak (Pepperdine), Nick Plaia (Cal Baptist), Ryan Ober (Oregon State), Garret Goodall (Embry-Riddle), Landon Anderson (Cal State Fullerton), Lawson Humphries (Georgia Southern), Tyler Yoshihara (Pomona-Pitzer). Walla Walla: Jordan Hovey (Creighton), Cesar Lopez (Cal Poly Pomona), Haydn King (UNLV), Zach Penrod (NW Nazarene), Darius Vines (Arizona State). Wenatchee: Joey Magro (Biola), Jake Taylor (Seattle), Mason Marenco (Gonzaga), Cory Meyer (Boise State), Jacob Prater (Seattle), Michael Spellacy (Gonzaga), Jeremy Yelland (Hawaii). Yakima Valley: Tyler Lasch (Cal State Fullerton), Cody Jefferis (San Diego), Sam Mitchell (Montana State Billings), Nick DiCarlo (Cal Poly), Jake Moberg (UCLA), Hunter French (Central Washington), Mason Wells (Gonzaga).
WCL MVPs
2018 – Trent Tinglestad (Louisiana-Monroe) of Kelowna
2017 – Chase Illig (West Virginia) of Bellingham
2016 – Michael Toglia (UCLA) of Wenatchee
2015 – Hunter Villanueva (Fresno Pacific) of Kelowna
2014 – Vince Fernandez (UC Riverside) of Yakima Valley
2013 – Alex Calbick (Maine) of Bellingham
2012 – Mitchell Gunsolus (Gonzaga) of Wenatchee
2011 – Alex Stanford (Gonzaga) of Walla Walla
2010 – Tommy Richards (Washington State) of Bend
2009 – Richie Jimenez (Riverside CC) of Corvallis
2008 – Drew Heid (Gonzaga) of Bend
2007 – Zach Kim (San Francisco) of Moses Lake; Brandon Kuykendall (Benedictine College) of Kitsap
2006 – Darin Holcomb (Gonzaga) of Spokane
2005 – Steve Marquardt (Columbia Basin College) of Wenatchee
WCL Pitchers of the Year
2018 – Curtis Bafus (VCU) of Wenatchee; Landen Bourassa (San Francisco) of Corvallis
2017 – Jack Owen (Auburn) of Victoria
2016 – Zach Draper (College of Idaho) of Yakima Valley
2015 – Brady Miller (Western Oregon) of Kelowna
2014 – Seth Martinez (Arizona State) of Bellingham
2013 – Nick Sabo (Long Beach State) of Klamath Falls
2012 – Cord Cockrell (Louisiana-Lafayette) of Kelowna
2011 – Owen Jones (Portland) of Wenatchee
2010 – Dayne Quist (UC Davis) of Kelowna
2009 – Matt Andriese (UC Riverside) of Corvallis
2008 – Jared Eskew (Cal Poly) of Corvallis
2007 – Paul Applebee (UC Riverside) of Bellingham
2006 – Ross Humes (Washington State) of Kitsap
2005 – Tommy Hanson (Riverside CC) of Aloha
WCL Top Prospect
2018 – Matt McClain (UCLA) of Bellingham
WCL Coaches of the Year
2018 – Bryan Donohue, Kelowna; Justin Barchus, Portland
2017 – Brooke Knight, Corvallis
2016 – Graig Merritt, Victoria
2015 – Billy Clontz, Kelowna
2014 – Jeff James, Bellingham
2013 – Brooke Knight, Corvallis
2012 – Ed Knaggs, Wenatchee
2011 – Brooke Knight, Corvallis
2010 – Ed Knaggs, Wenatchee
2009 – Brooke Knight, Corvallis; Ed Knaggs, Wenatchee
2008 – Brooke Knight, Corvallis
2007 – Gabe Boruff, Moses Lake
2006 – Steve Hertz, Spokane
2005 – Ed Knaggs, Wenatchee
WCL Executives of the Year
2018 – Glenn Kirkpatrick, Bellingham
2017 – Tony Bonacci, Cowlitz
2016 – Jim Swanson, Victoria
2015 – Mark Nonis, Kelowna; Casey Powell, Bend
2014 – Nick Caples, Bellingham
2013 – Holly Jones, Victoria
2012 – Nick Caples, Bellingham
2011 – Eddie Poplawski, Bellingham
2010 – Zachary Fraser, Walla Walla
2009 – Dan Segel, Corvallis
2008 – Dan Segel, Corvallis
2007 – Dan Segel, Corvallis
2006 – Brent & Amy Kirwan, Moses Lake
2005 – Rick Smith & partners, Kitsap
Jim Dietz Sportsmanship Award*
2018 – Bellingham Bells; Kelowna Falcons
2017 – Bellingham Bells
2016 – Corvallis Knights; Wenatchee AppleSox
2015 – Klamath Falls Gems
2014 – Bellingham Bells
2013 – Bellingham Bells
2012 – Cowlitz Black Bears
2011 – Cowlitz Black Bears
2010 – Moses Lake Pirates
2009 – Moses Lake Pirates
2008 – Corvallis Knights
*established in 2008, and named after the league’s inaugural commissioner Jim Dietz.
Photo Credit: Cary Mellon.