The Pac-12 Conference has rewarded multiple Wildcats after Arizona won the outright league championship.
Jay Johnson was named Pac-12 Coach of the Year, and catcher Daniel Susac was named Freshman of the Year, the conference announced Thursday.
Johnson led Arizona to a 40-15 overall record, 21-9 in the Pac-12. The Wildcats reached 40 regular-season wins for the first time since 2007 and won the outright league title for the first time since divisional play was dropped in 1999. The UA is the No. 5 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament and opens regional play against Grand Canyon at 7 p.m. Friday at Hi Corbett Field.
Johnson is the second Arizona coach to be named Pac-12 Coach of the Year, joining Andy Lopez, who won the award in 2012.
Susac was named Freshman of the Year after putting together a stellar all-around season. Susac batted .344 with 12 home runs and 59 RBIs during the regular season. Susac also started 52 of 55 games behind the plate, posting a .996 fielding percentage and throwing out 8 of 24 would-be base-stealers.
“Daniel Susac is the best catcher in college baseball,” Johnson said recently. “Not the best freshman catcher, he’s the best catcher.”
Susac became the second Wildcat and second catcher to win Freshman of the Year accolades in the past three seasons, joining Austin Wells (2019).
Susac was one of five Wildcats to be named to the All-Pac-12 team. He joined fellow freshman Jacob Berry (15 home runs, 64 RBIs, .371), first baseman Branden Boissiere (62 runs, 55 RBIs, .362), right-hander Chase Silseth (8-1, 89 strikeouts in 83 1/3 innings) and center fielder Donta’ Williams (71 runs. .487 OBP).
Berry and Susac also earned first- and second-team All-America honors, respectively, from Collegiate Baseball on Thursday. Berry is the first Wildcat to earn first-team recognition from the publication since Alex Mejia in 2012.
Three UA players made earned honorable mentions from the Pac-12: right fielder Ryan Holgate (eight HR, .344/.419/.549 slash line), second baseman Kobe Kato (.351 BA, .466 OBP) and reliever Vince Vannelle (5-2, 2.83 ERA, seven saves).
Susac and Williams (.975 fielding percentage) were named to the Pac-12 All-Defensive Team.
Oregon outfielder/third baseman Aaron Zavala was named Pac-12 Player of the Year. He’s batting .398 with a league-best .538 on-base percentage. He was not charged with an error during conference play.
Stanford right-hander Brendan Beck (7-1, 106 strikeouts, 3.03 ERA) was named Pitcher of the Year. Arizona State shortstop Drew Swift (.979 fielding percentage) was named Defensive Player of the Year.
GCU plan: Limit Cats’ bats
Grand Canyon knows all too well the danger of facing the Pac-12’s most lethal offense.
“You have to minimize the big inning,” said GCU head coach Andy Stankiewicz.
The Wildcats and ‘Lopes square off in Friday’s NCAA Regionals after meeting twice earlier in the season. On April 13, GCU beat the visiting Wildcats 5-4 in 10 innings. The teams played again May 4, with Arizona winning 13-2. The Cats put up seven runs in the fifth inning on the way to runaway victory.
Grand Canyon pitchers combined to walk five batters and give up 13 hits in the second matchup; Stankiewicz said his team must clean up those mistakes if it hopes to steal the first game of the postseason against the favored Wildcats.
“You can’t afford to give them freebies, or free bases,” he said.
The good news for Grand Canyon is that the formula is already in front of them thanks to their 5-4 extra-inning win in the first meeting on April 13.
“At our place, our pitchers made some big pitches, and we made some nice plays,” Stankiewicz said.
Ohl, my
Pitching is the key to any postseason success, and by that metric, GCU is a team to be reckoned with. Ace Pierson Ohl won his last nine starts against WAC teams, and enters the NCAA Regionals with a 10-1 record and 2.36 ERA. D1Baseball.com lists Ohl as one of the nation’s top draft-eligible pitchers. He was the Western Athletic Conference’s Pitcher of the Year and the conference tournament’s MVP.
It’s not just Ohl, either. GCU’s 3.85 team ERA is the lowest among the four teams in the Tucson Regional, ahead of UC Santa Barbara (3.86), Oklahoma State (4.27) and Arizona (4.85). The ‘Lopes 1.28 WHIP is also lowest among the four.
Famous names
GCU’s roster includes four players whose dads played in the big leagues.
Homer Bush Jr. is the son of longtime big-league infielder Homer Bush. Jacob Wilson‘s dad, Jack, played 12 seasons at shortstop for the Pirates, Mariners and Braves. Tyler Wilson‘s dad, Steve, was a reliever for three teams from 1988-93.
And then there’s Dane Stankiewicz, whose father, Andy, played seven season with the Yankees, Astros, Expos and Diamondbacks before going into coaching.
