UC Santa Barbara Gauchos
Overall Rank: #39
Conference Rank: #2 Big West
UCSB won their first regular season Big West title since Coach Andrew Checketts took over the program in 2012. The Gauchos earned the second seed in the Stanford Regional, but their trip was very short, losing their first two games to Fresno State and Sacramento State. This time around Coach Checketts has quite a few holes to fill and another Big West title may be out of reach. However, the Gauchos are bringing in plenty of talent to help fill those gaps and another trip to the NCAA Tournament is certainly a possibility.
2019: 45-11, 19-5
2019 Postseason: NCAA
Coach: Andrew Checketts
Key Departed Players:
Tommy Jew, OF, .283 BA, 11 HR, 40 RBI
Armani Smith, UTL, .323 BA, 11 HR, 45 RBI
Thomas Rowan, C, .327 BA, 13 HR, 46 RBI
Eric Yang, C, .368 BA, 7 HR, 45 RBI
Andrew Martinez, IF, .285 BA, 8 HR, 47 RBI
Tevin Mitchell, IF, .277 BA, 5 HR, 37 RBI
Jack Dashwood, P, 2.48 ERA, 9-2 W/L, 90.2 IP, 93 SO
Ben Brecht, P, 4.10 ERA, 10-2 W/L, 90.0 IP, 101 SO
Key Returning Players:
Kyle Johnson, 1B, .223 BA, 3 HR, 20 RBI
Jason Willow, IF/OF, .267 BA, 1 HR, 20 RBI
Rodney Boone, P, 2.78 ERA, 8-0 W/L, 81.0 IP, 80 SO
Michael McGreevy, P, 1.95 ERA, 5-1 W/L, 60.1 IP, 53 SO
Projection:
Big left-handed pitchers Jack Dashwood and Ben Brecht are gone, but this should still be a very good pitching staff. Rodney Boone had an amazing freshman campaign, tallying an 8-0 record with a 2.78 ERA in 14 starts. Boone will clearly be the ace of this staff and junior Christopher Troye is the only other player returning with starting experience. The bullpen will be led by Michael McGreevy, who made 29 appearances as a freshman, recording a 1.94 ERA in 60.1 innings of work. UCSB picked up some experienced pitchers and, once again, there are some talented freshmen coming in as well. The same is true at the plate where a bulk of the Gaucho’s production needs to be replaced. UCSB can win games with their pitching, but quite a few of the new hitters will have to step up if they are going to win another conference title. Kyle Johnson and Jason Willow are the most productive returning hitters, but they were not consistently productive. Newcomers like junior college transfer Cole Cummins and St. Mary’s transfer Bryce Willits, among others, will be asked to play a big role right away. If the offense can come around quickly, this will be another good season in Santa Barbara. If not, the pitching will keep the Gauchos in most games, but that may not be enough in what should be a tough Big West conference.
Projected Postseason: NCAA Baseball Tournament
