Wasikowski Named Top B1G Coach; 10 Ducks Earn All-B1G Honors Including League-High Five First-Teamers

[Charles Fischer]

Wasikowski named top B1G Coach; 10 Ducks earn All-B1G honors including league-high five first-teamers

 

Omaha, Neb. – Heading into the Big Ten Tournament, Oregon head coach Mark Wasikowski has been named the conference’s coach of the year, while a Big-Ten high 10 Duck players have garnered all-league recognition including a league-best five first-team selections.

 

Starting pitcher Grayson Grinsell, relief pitcher Seth Mattox, first baseman Jacob Walsh, second baseman Ryan Cooney (at-large) and outfielder Mason Neville claimed first-team honors. The five first-team selections tied the 2021 team for the most in the modern era of Ducks’ baseball and the 10 all-league members are the most ever in Oregon baseball history.

 

The Ducks placed four players on the conference’s third team and one player on the all-freshman team. Starting pitcher Jason Reitz, shortstop Maddox Molony, outfielder Anson Aroz and designated hitter Dominic Hellman all are on the third team, while catcher Burke-Lee Mabeus earned a spot on the all-freshman team. Cooney was also honored with the Ducks’ sportsmanship award, with one member of each team having a representative.

 

Wasikowski earned the Big Ten Conference Coach of the Year award after leading Oregon to a tie for the league regular-season championship and the No. 1 seed in this week’s Big Ten Tournament. Oregon finished the regular season with a 41-13 record and a 22-8 Big Ten record, tying for the most conference wins in Oregon baseball history.

 

Under Wasikowski’s leadership, the Ducks have already set school records for home runs and RBI this season, while also sitting just eight runs scored, four walks and seven stolen bases shy of setting school records in each of those categories. Oregon’s 41 wins are already tied for the fourth most in program history. Heading into the conference tournament, Wasikowski has Oregon ranked as high as second in the major college baseball polls and no lower than sixth.

 

 

Grinsell, Oregon’s Friday night starter, claimed his first first-team all-league honor after earning spots on the all-regional tournament teams each of the last two seasons. Grinsell boasts a 9-2 record and a 2.33 ERA with 93 strikeouts in 88.2 innings while holding opposing hitters to a .185 batting average. In Big Ten games, Grinsell has been even better. The Ducks’ lefty leads the league in wins (7), ERA (1.36), batting average against (.167), WHIP (0.86) while ranking second in strikeouts 70.

 

Mattox, who has emerged as Oregon’s closer over the last month, finished the regular season with a 2-1 record with a 2.60 ERA and seven saves in 19 appearances. He has held opposing hitters to a .169 batting average. In 10 appearances in Big Ten games Mattox has been even better, going 2-0 with a 1.86 ERA with four saves and a .100 batting average against.

 

Named a semifinalist for the Dick Howser Trophy honoring college baseball’s top player, Walsh has had a monster senior season for the Ducks. The first baseball leads the team in batting average (.344) while belting a career-high 19 home runs (tied for 4th in the B1G) and driving in a career-best 59. He has 34 extra-base (17 2B) hits on the season and is slugging .688 while reaching base at a .451 clip with eight stolen bases. In league games, Walsh is slashing .352/.432/.680 with 10 homers and 10 doubles.

 

Neville, a semifinalist for both the Dick Howser Trophy and the Golden Spikes Award, finished the regular season leading the nation in both home runs (26) and home runs per game (0.49). The Ducks’ centerfielder is slashing .302/.446/.774 with a 1.220 OPS. Neville shattered Oregon’s single-season home run record with eight more than the old record heading to the tournament.

 

Cooney, a sophomore from Portland, closed the season on a tear, improving his batting average by 64 points from March 29 to the end of the regular season. The Ducks’ second baseman earned Big Ten Conference Player of the Week two of the last three weeks of the regular season. He finished his sophomore campaign second on the team in batting with a .341 average while homering five times with 47 RBI and 42 runs scored out of the eight-hole in the lineup. In conference games, Cooney slashed .333/.452/500 with a .952 OPS.

 

Another homer for Mason Neville!

 

Reitz, who permanently became a weekend starter midway through the season, finished the regular season unbeaten (5-0) with the Ducks winning all 10 games he started. In addition to the 5-0 record, he has a 3.09 ERA in 15 appearances with a save, 59 strikeouts in 58.1 innings of work while holding opposing hitters to a .221 batting average. In conference games, he has been even better, going 4-0 with a 2.60 ERA. He fanned a batter per inning in 45.0 innings and held opponents to a .220 average. His ERA is the second best amongst starting pitchers in the Big Ten, trailing only Grinsell.

 

Molony, a two-time all-league selection in his two seasons at Oregon, slashed .309/.407/.581 with a .988 OPS during the regular season. He belted 15 home runs, good for 10th all-time in a single season at Oregon, while driving in 44 runs, scoring 41 times and swiping 10 bags in 10 attempts. He ran his career total in home runs to 25, which is already tied for sixth in program history. During league games, Molony hit eight of his homers while batting .297 with 24 RBI and 19 runs scored. He reached base at a .378 clip while slugging .550.

 

Aroz, who graduated following the winter term at Oregon, batted .261 with 16 home runs, 49 RBI and 52 runs scored. His 16 long balls rank in a tie for eighth all-time in a season at Oregon and his 23 career homers is ninth all-time at UO. Aroz slugged nine of his home runs in Big Ten play while batting .264 with 22 RBI and s7 runs scored.

 

Hellman, who led the Ducks with a program record three grand slams, batted .304 with 12 home runs, 41 RBI and 40 runs scored while reaching base at a .407 clip and slugging .550. The Ducks’ DH had nine extra-base hits (5 HR, 4 2B) in 23 Big Ten Conference starts while slashing .295/.382/.495 with an .877 OPS.

 

Mabeus, who served as Oregon’s primary catcher starting 24 games behind the plate, was the only backstop named to the Big Ten Conference All-Freshman Team. He batted .260 with eight extra-base hits (5 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR) with 23 RBI and 26 runs scored. He claimed Big Ten Co-Freshman of the Week honors once during the season while also hitting a go-ahead home run in the eighth inning of game three against UCLA which helped Oregon clinch the series and eventual top seed in the Big Ten Tournament.

 

[30Duck]

Good to keep the Coaches' trophies in the same place, congrats to the honored Ducks, but I have to complain a little bit, where's Carter Garate?