BYU baseball will have a lot to prove when it enters as the ninth member of the West Coast Conference.
WCC baseball’s toughest competitor, the University of San Diego Toreros, won last season’s WCC Championship with a record of 19-2 within the conference and 37-22 overall.
San Diego is consistently ranked among the top 25 teams in the nation, and has two players that achieved honorable accomplishments last season.
Outfielder James Meador was the 2010 WCC Player of the Year, while Kyle Blair won the 2010 WCC Pitcher of the Year. Both Meador and Blair were unanimous selections. In addition, Rich Hill, the Toreros’ head coach, won the 2010 WCC Coach of the Year.
USD landed eight of its players on the WCC all-conference team. By comparison, BYU had 10 Cougars on the MWC all-conference team.
BYU’s Austin Hall, a junior third baseman, said he is excited to take on San Diego and it will be good competition.
“Our team will look really good these next few years and I believe we could take first place in the conference,” Hall said.
Wes Guenther, a junior catcher for BYU, said he’s used to competing against the MWC’s top team, TCU, and is excited to compete against a new top team.
“It will be a good change to measure how good we are,” Guenther said.
Trailing behind the first-place Toreros were the Portland Pilots (14-7 WCC; 34-18 overall), the Pepperdine Waves (12-9 WCC; 24-30 overall) and the San Francisco Dons (10-11 WCC; 28-28 overall).
Other WCC pitchers gained national attention last season. Cody Martin from Gonzaga and Zach Varce from Portland were named to the watch list for the Stopper of the Year award, given to the nation’s top relief pitcher.
The WCC touts some of the toughest schedules in the nation, as it ranked No. 5 in terms of schedule strength last season, according to the Boydsworld.com rankings. BYU baseball is excited to be a part of this challenge.
“Joining is a pretty good move for us,” Hall said. “The competition is comparable and I believe it will make us better.”
