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2014 SEASON PREVIEW INDIVIDUAL PRESEASON HONORS Baseball America Preseason All-Americans First Team Michael Conforto, OSU ................First Team Second Team Alex Blandino, STAN .................. Second Team Dylan Davis, OSU ....................... Second Team David Berg, UCLA ...................... Second Team Third Team Ryan Burr, ASU ......................... Third Team National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Preseason All-Americans First Team David Berg, UCLA ..................... First Team Second Team Dylan Davis, OSU ...................... Second Team Grant Watson, UCLA ................. Second Team Third Team Cole Irvin, ORE .......................... Third Team Ryan Kellogg, ASU .................... Third Team Kevin Kramer, UCLA ................. Third Team Collegiate Baseball/Louisville Slugger Preseason All-Americans First Team David Berg, UCLA ..................... First Team Michael Conforto, OSU .............. First Team Second Team Ryan Kellogg, ASU .................... Second Team Andrew Moore, OSU ................. Second Team Ben Wetzler, OSU ..................... Second Team Ryan Burr, ASU ........................ Second Team Dylan Davis, OSU ...................... Second Team Third Team Alex Blandino, STAN .................. Third Team Garrett Cleavinger, ORE .............. Third Team Cole Irvin, ORE ........................... Third Team James Kaprielian, UCLA ............. Third Team Scott Schultz, OSU ..................... Third Team Matt Troupe, ARIZ ...................... Third Team NCBWA Stopper of the Year Watch List David Berg, UCLA Ryan Burr, ASU Garrett Cleavinger, ORE Trevor Dunlap, WASH After finishing third in Conference play, UCLA (49-17, 21-9) made an impressive postseason run to win its first-ever College World Series title after going unbeaten in 10 NCAA tournament games. In just their fifth appearance in the College World Series in program history, the Bruins became the first team to allow one run or fewer in every CWS game while posting a 0.80 ERA, a CWS record in the aluminum bat era. The defending national champions, who figure to be in the thick of the Conference title hunt again this season, enter the season ranked 12th in the Baseball America poll and ninth in the NWCBA coaches poll. UCLA is led by All-American David Berg, a junior closer for the Bruins who set a NCAA single-season record with 24 saves in 2013 and tied the record for single-season appearances with 51. Berg garnered All-Pac-12 accolades for the second-consecutive year, while he was honored as the Pac- 12 Pitcher of the Year, the NCBWA Stopper of the Year and a Collegiate Baseball and NCBWA first-team All-American. Offensively, the Bruins are paced by preseason All-American infielder Kevin Kramer, a Pac-12 honorable mention selection in 2013 after batting .278 with a .376 on-base percentage and 68 hits, which was tied for most on the team. USC (20-36, 10-20) looks to improve on its 2013 record in head coach Dan Hubbs' second year at the helm in 2014. The Trojans return their weekend pitching rotation from a year ago in SR LHP Bob Wheatley, JR RHP Wyatt Strahan and SO LHP Kyle Twomey. Strahan is the top returner from 2013 as he led the team in ERA (2.45) and innings pitched (80.2) while earning a 4-3 record in 12 starts, includ- ing one complete game. Wheatley recorded the second-best ERA (2.78) and innings pitched (77.2) with a 3-4 record in 13 starts. The experienced starters should anchor the Trojans pitching staff in 2014. On the offensive side, USC will look to its top returning hitter from a year ago in SR INF Kevin Swick. Swick hit at a .305 clip and collected 51 hits in 2013. SO INF Blake Lacey will be called upon to produce as well, as his .291 batting average was fifth-best on the team in his first year of collegiate baseball. JR C Garrett Stubbs, a 2013 Pac-12 honorable mention selection, will be key behind the plate for a young but talented Trojans squad. Utah (21-31, 7-23) enters its third season in the Pac-12 returning a number of starters from both its pitching staff and position players group. Leading the pitching coup is JR RHP Mitch Watrous, a Pac-12 honorable mention selection last year who went 4-4 in 12 starts with a 2.81 ERA in a team-leading 93.0 innings. Joining Watrous are returnees SO RHP Dalton Carroll and SR LHP Tanner Banks. Carroll and Banks combined for a 4.31 ERA in 23 starts and 139.2 innings. The Utes also welcome back a trio of experience senior relievers in LHP Nick Green, RHP Luke West and RHP Josh Chapman. Experience should be on the side of the Utes in 2014 as they return all but two starters in the field. SR INF Cory Hunt is the top-returning hitter after hitting .290 with 41 hits and 18 RBIs, all good for second on the team in 2013. SO INF Dallas Carroll and SR OF Braden Anderson will also be relied upon to boost the offense as both were in the top five in nearly all the major hitting categories for Utah in 2013. As a freshman, Carroll started 28 games, hitting .282 with 29 hits and 12 RBIs. Anderson, a community college transfer prior to last season, started 49 games, hitting .275 and collected 50 hits and 20 RBIs, good for second and first on the team in 2013. Last season, Washington (24-32, 15-15) earned its highest conference finish since 2008, finishing tied for fifth in a league that saw four teams claim postseason berths. After starting the year 4-16 through 20 games, the Huskies finished 20-16 the rest of the way, which should bode well for 2014. The Huskies will field a deep and experienced lineup, with steady competition across the diamond. JR 1B Trevor Mit- sui, who has started 82 games in his first two years, figures to be a force in the middle of the order—his 18 RBIs were second-best on the 2013 squad. The Huskies also welcome back JR INF Andrew Ely, who led tte team in batting average (.338), hits (68), runs (29) and slugging percentage (.368). UW will have eight players returning that pitched in 2013, but will have to replace friday starter Austin Voth, who was lost to the MLB draft last June. Senior Zach Wright is the likely candidate to fill Voth's role, as the righty appeared in a team-high 33 games last year with four starts, earning a 3.21 ERA in 70.0 innings of work. Juniors Jared Fisher and Jeff Brigham will also be competing for the other weekend spots. Brigham is returning after missing 2013 with an ijury while Fisher's 10 starts a year ago were second on the team as he compiled a 2-2 record, 3.20 ERA in 59.0 innings. The bullpen may again rely on SR RHP Trevor Dunlap, who headlined the 2013 relievers with a team-leading six-saves and team-best ERA of 2.11. Washington State (23-32, 9-21) enters the season with an experienced pitching staff, as it has several pitchers competing for weekend starting rotation spots. Looking all but locked in are RS JR RHP Scott Simon and JR RHP Tanner Chleborad, who made a combined 29 starts and 151.3 innings pitched last season.The pair were also second and third on the team in strikeouts (47 for Simon, 41 for Chleborad). The third spot won't be set in stone as SR RHP Kellen Camas, SR LHP Jason Monda and JR LHP Joe Pistorese will all compete for the starting nod. Camas and Pistorese are coming over solid seasons as Pistorese was second on the team in ERA (2.78) and led the team with 100.1 innings pitched in 15 starts while Camas recorded a 3-2 record with a 3.67 ERA. Monda, a Pac-12 honorable mention selection a year ago, plays the field in addition to his pitching duties. In the 2013 campaign, he went 2-2 in 16 appearances with a team-leading 1.57 ERA and added a .294 batting average, seven home runs and at team-leading 40 RBIs. This versatile senior will be a key to the Cougars' suc- cess in the upcoming season. Jason's brother SR Michael Monda is a utility player for the Cougars. SO IN/OF Trek Stemp, SR C/OF Collin Slaybaugh and JR OF Yale Rosen return as other offensive threats for WSU. Stemp started 37 games and was second on the team in batting average (.331) as a fresh- man in 2013, while Rosen led the team in hits (66) and Slaybaugh was second with 60. 2014 PAC-12 BASEBALL MEDIA GUIDE 8 //