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Grand Canyon University Athletics
WAC preseason poll favors GCU for 6th straight year
2/9/2023 2:30:00 PM | Baseball
Wilson named co-player of year; Avitia chosen for pitcher of year
Grand Canyon was picked to win the WAC for the sixth straight season with the Lopes taking the Preseason Co-Player of the Year and Preseason Pitcher of the Year awards and leading the conference with four Preseason All-WAC honorees.
Under first-year head coach Gregg Wallis, the Lopes sit atop the 13-team conference in polling. GCU received 10 of 12 possible first-place votes and finished 10 points higher than second-place Sam Houston. The Lopes have won four of the last five WAC regular-season titles.
Lopes junior shortstop Jacob Wilson shared WAC Preseason Player of the Year honors with Sam Houston's Carlos Contreras. The reigning WAC Pitcher of the Year and WAC Freshman of the Year Daniel Avitia was named WAC Preseason Pitcher of the Year.
Wilson and Avitia earned spots on the Preseason All-WAC team, and the duo was joined by juniors Elijah Buries (designated hitter/utility) and Connor Markl (starting pitcher).
GCU is coming off a season in which it went 41-21 and spent the last three weeks of the regular season in the D1Baseball.com top 25. The Lopes were an at-large pick for the NCAA tournament.
Wilson's Co-Preseason Player of the Year honor adds to a lengthy list of preseason accolades. He was tabbed a Preseason All-American by five major publications, landing on the first team in two outlets' picks. A top-10 MLB Pipeline draft prospect, Wilson was a Golden Spikes semifinalist and a first-team All-WAC pick and WAC All-Defensive team selection last spring.
Wilson was the toughest batter in the nation to strike out, doing so just seven times in 246 at bats. The Lopes' everyday shortstop led the team in hits (88) and doubles (18) and ranked second in batting average (.358). He spent his summer in the Cape Cod Baseball League and on the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team.
Avitia wasted no time writing his name into record books in a Freshman All-American season on the mound. The right-hander was the first freshman to win WAC Pitcher of the Year, an honor that has been awarded yearly since 2000.
In 84 1/3 innings, Avitia struck out 111 batters, a mark that ranked 28th in the country and also led the WAC. Four of his eight victories came consecutively from April 30 to May 25 as the Lopes built their NCAA tournament resume. The Phoenix native was named a Preseason All-American by Collegiate Baseball.
Buries has modeled consistency in his two Lopes season after bursting onto the scene as a Freshman All-American in 2021. He was the only GCU player to play all 62 games last year and ranked third on the team in batting average (.335), walks (22), hits (87) and doubles (13).
Buries' versatility was on display, hitting in each of the first five spots in the batting order and playing first base, second base and left field. His sophomore season featured a 17-game hit streak, a 21-game reached-base streak, a walk-off double against San Diego, an inside-the-park home run at Utah Tech and a go-ahead grand slam at New Mexico State.
Markl is coming off a sophomore campaign where he was the winning pitcher in early-season victories over Arizona and UC Irvine, and he struck out 10 batters in a one-run start of a Lopes' victory over No. 7 Stanford. Markl ranked in the nation's top 100 for strikeout-to-walk ratio, with his 75-to-17 (4.41-to-1) mark ranking second on the team, second in the conference and 85th in the nation.
Markl spent time this summer in the nation's most prestigious summer league, the Cape Cod Baseball League, where the Scottsdale, Arizona, native posted a 2.39 ERA in 26 1/3 innings with 26 strikeouts.
GCU's season is set to get underway as a part of the MLB Desert Invitational. GCU will open its season on Friday, Feb. 17, against UC San Diego at Salt River Fields before opening its home schedule against Tennessee on Saturday, Feb. 18, at Brazell Field at GCU Ballpark.
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* denotes unanimous selection
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Under first-year head coach Gregg Wallis, the Lopes sit atop the 13-team conference in polling. GCU received 10 of 12 possible first-place votes and finished 10 points higher than second-place Sam Houston. The Lopes have won four of the last five WAC regular-season titles.
Lopes junior shortstop Jacob Wilson shared WAC Preseason Player of the Year honors with Sam Houston's Carlos Contreras. The reigning WAC Pitcher of the Year and WAC Freshman of the Year Daniel Avitia was named WAC Preseason Pitcher of the Year.
Wilson and Avitia earned spots on the Preseason All-WAC team, and the duo was joined by juniors Elijah Buries (designated hitter/utility) and Connor Markl (starting pitcher).
GCU is coming off a season in which it went 41-21 and spent the last three weeks of the regular season in the D1Baseball.com top 25. The Lopes were an at-large pick for the NCAA tournament.
Wilson's Co-Preseason Player of the Year honor adds to a lengthy list of preseason accolades. He was tabbed a Preseason All-American by five major publications, landing on the first team in two outlets' picks. A top-10 MLB Pipeline draft prospect, Wilson was a Golden Spikes semifinalist and a first-team All-WAC pick and WAC All-Defensive team selection last spring.Wilson was the toughest batter in the nation to strike out, doing so just seven times in 246 at bats. The Lopes' everyday shortstop led the team in hits (88) and doubles (18) and ranked second in batting average (.358). He spent his summer in the Cape Cod Baseball League and on the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team.
Avitia wasted no time writing his name into record books in a Freshman All-American season on the mound. The right-hander was the first freshman to win WAC Pitcher of the Year, an honor that has been awarded yearly since 2000.In 84 1/3 innings, Avitia struck out 111 batters, a mark that ranked 28th in the country and also led the WAC. Four of his eight victories came consecutively from April 30 to May 25 as the Lopes built their NCAA tournament resume. The Phoenix native was named a Preseason All-American by Collegiate Baseball.
Buries has modeled consistency in his two Lopes season after bursting onto the scene as a Freshman All-American in 2021. He was the only GCU player to play all 62 games last year and ranked third on the team in batting average (.335), walks (22), hits (87) and doubles (13).Buries' versatility was on display, hitting in each of the first five spots in the batting order and playing first base, second base and left field. His sophomore season featured a 17-game hit streak, a 21-game reached-base streak, a walk-off double against San Diego, an inside-the-park home run at Utah Tech and a go-ahead grand slam at New Mexico State.
Markl is coming off a sophomore campaign where he was the winning pitcher in early-season victories over Arizona and UC Irvine, and he struck out 10 batters in a one-run start of a Lopes' victory over No. 7 Stanford. Markl ranked in the nation's top 100 for strikeout-to-walk ratio, with his 75-to-17 (4.41-to-1) mark ranking second on the team, second in the conference and 85th in the nation.Markl spent time this summer in the nation's most prestigious summer league, the Cape Cod Baseball League, where the Scottsdale, Arizona, native posted a 2.39 ERA in 26 1/3 innings with 26 strikeouts.
GCU's season is set to get underway as a part of the MLB Desert Invitational. GCU will open its season on Friday, Feb. 17, against UC San Diego at Salt River Fields before opening its home schedule against Tennessee on Saturday, Feb. 18, at Brazell Field at GCU Ballpark.
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2023Â Preseason Baseball Coaches Poll |
|||
| Team (first-place votes) | Points | ||
| 1 |
 |
Grand Canyon (10) | 141 |
| 2 |
 |
Sam Houston (3) | 131 |
| 3 |
 |
California Baptist | 115 |
| t-4 |
 |
Abilene Christian | 100 |
 |
UT Rio Grande Valley | 100 | |
 |
Sacramento State | 100 | |
| 7 |
 |
New Mexico State | 88 |
| 8 |
 |
Utah Tech | 54 |
| 9 |
 |
UT Arlington | 47 |
| 10 |
 |
Tarleton | 40 |
| 11 |
 |
Utah Valley | 38 |
| 12 |
 |
Seattle U | 36 |
| 13 |
 |
Stephen F. Austin | 24 |
 2023 Baseball Preseason Major Awards |
|
| Award | Player, School |
| Co-Players of the Year | Jacob Wilson, Jr., Grand Canyon |
| Carlos Contreras, Sr., Sam Houston | |
| Pitcher of the Year | Daniel Avitia, So., Grand Canyon |
 2023 Baseball Preseason All-WAC Team |
|
| Position | Player, School |
| Catcher | Tanner Tweedt, Sr., Abilene Christian |
| First Base | Logan Gallina, Jr., New Mexico State |
| Second Base | Kevin Jimenez, Sr., New Mexico State |
| Third Base | Mitchel Simon, Jr., California Baptist |
| Shortstop | Jacob Wilson, Jr., Grand Canyon* Bash Randle, Jr., Abilene Christian |
| Outfield | Carlos Contreras, Sr., Sam Houston* |
| Outfield | Brandon Pimentel, Sr., UTRGV |
| Outfield | Grayson Tatrow, Sr., Abilene Christian |
| Utility / DH | Elijah Buries, Jr., Grand Canyon |
| Starting Pitcher | Daniel Avitia, So., RHP, Grand Canyon |
| Starting Pitcher | Connor Markl, Jr., LHP, Grand Canyon |
| Starting Pitcher | Drew Necochea, Sr., RHP, California Baptist |
| Relief Pitcher | Jack Zalasky, Sr., RHP, Sacramento State |
* denotes unanimous selection
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Players Mentioned
RHP
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LHP
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INF
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