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Grand Canyon University Athletics
Lopes top WAC preseason poll for 7th straight year
2/6/2024 2:00:00 PM | Baseball
GCU lands 3 on All-WAC team; Avitia repeats as Preseason Pitcher of the Year
For the seventh straight season, Grand Canyon was selected by the WAC head coaches as the preseason favorite to win the conference. GCU junior right-hander Daniel Avitia was named the WAC Preseason Pitcher of the Year for the second straight season, and the Lopes again led the conference with three picks to the Preseason All-WAC team.
Under reigning WAC Coach of the Year Gregg Wallis, the Lopes sit atop the 11-team conference in polling. GCU received nine of 10 possible first-place votes and finished 24 points higher than second-place Utah Valley. The Lopes have won three consecutive regular-season championships and five of the last six.
In addition to Avitia's repeat selection as WAC Preseason Pitcher of the Year, he also landed on the Preseason All-WAC team alongside sophomore first baseman Zach Yorke and senior outfielder Cade Verdusco.
Avitia enters his junior season with a growing list of accolades and adds 2024 WAC Preseason Pitcher of the Year and Preseason All-WAC to it. He was the 2022 WAC Freshman of the Year and WAC Pitcher of the Year. He followed it up with a first-team All-WAC selection as a sophomore in 2023.
As a sophomore last season, Avitia went 6-0 in conference games. He posted a top-10 WAC ERA (4.30) and was fifth in opponent batting average (.248). The Phoenix native ended the season with 192 career strikeouts, needing 15 more to break GCU's Division I-era career record.
Yorke is coming off one of the best freshman seasons in GCU program history and netted Freshman All-American honors. He earned second-team All-WAC honors at first base and was named to the All-WAC Defensive Team.
Yorke set the program record for hits by a freshman with 75, passing Blake Woods' 1998 record in the final game of GCU's season. He matched future big-leaguer Tim Salmon's 1987 record for most RBIs by a GCU freshman with 61. From March 24 to May 24, Yorke reached base in every game for a streak of 36 that was GCU's longest since at least 2007.
Verdusco rounds out GCU's representation on the Preseason All-WAC team. A fourth-year Lope, Verdusco has earned a reputation around the league as one of the top defensive outfielders and earned WAC All-Defensive Team recognition last season.
Verdusco has flashed versatility throughout his Lopes career. He batted in all nine positions in the Lopes' batting order in 2023 but was most frequently in the No. 5 spot. He had 17 multi-hit games, including four three-hit games and a seven-game streak of multi-hit games from March 5 through March 17.
GCU's season is set to get underway next week as a part of the MLB Desert Invitational. GCU will open its season on Friday, Feb. 16, against Georgetown at GCU Ballpark before taking on USC on Saturday, Feb. 17, at 6 p.m. at Salt River Fields and BYU on Monday, Feb. 19, at 1 p.m. at Sloan Park.
Under reigning WAC Coach of the Year Gregg Wallis, the Lopes sit atop the 11-team conference in polling. GCU received nine of 10 possible first-place votes and finished 24 points higher than second-place Utah Valley. The Lopes have won three consecutive regular-season championships and five of the last six.
In addition to Avitia's repeat selection as WAC Preseason Pitcher of the Year, he also landed on the Preseason All-WAC team alongside sophomore first baseman Zach Yorke and senior outfielder Cade Verdusco.
Avitia enters his junior season with a growing list of accolades and adds 2024 WAC Preseason Pitcher of the Year and Preseason All-WAC to it. He was the 2022 WAC Freshman of the Year and WAC Pitcher of the Year. He followed it up with a first-team All-WAC selection as a sophomore in 2023.As a sophomore last season, Avitia went 6-0 in conference games. He posted a top-10 WAC ERA (4.30) and was fifth in opponent batting average (.248). The Phoenix native ended the season with 192 career strikeouts, needing 15 more to break GCU's Division I-era career record.
Yorke is coming off one of the best freshman seasons in GCU program history and netted Freshman All-American honors. He earned second-team All-WAC honors at first base and was named to the All-WAC Defensive Team.Yorke set the program record for hits by a freshman with 75, passing Blake Woods' 1998 record in the final game of GCU's season. He matched future big-leaguer Tim Salmon's 1987 record for most RBIs by a GCU freshman with 61. From March 24 to May 24, Yorke reached base in every game for a streak of 36 that was GCU's longest since at least 2007.
Verdusco rounds out GCU's representation on the Preseason All-WAC team. A fourth-year Lope, Verdusco has earned a reputation around the league as one of the top defensive outfielders and earned WAC All-Defensive Team recognition last season.Verdusco has flashed versatility throughout his Lopes career. He batted in all nine positions in the Lopes' batting order in 2023 but was most frequently in the No. 5 spot. He had 17 multi-hit games, including four three-hit games and a seven-game streak of multi-hit games from March 5 through March 17.
GCU's season is set to get underway next week as a part of the MLB Desert Invitational. GCU will open its season on Friday, Feb. 16, against Georgetown at GCU Ballpark before taking on USC on Saturday, Feb. 17, at 6 p.m. at Salt River Fields and BYU on Monday, Feb. 19, at 1 p.m. at Sloan Park.
2024 Preseason Baseball Coaches Poll |
|||
| Team (first-place votes) | Points | ||
| 1 |
 |
Grand Canyon (9) | 99 |
| 2 |
 |
Utah Valley (1) | 75 |
| 3 |
 |
California Baptist (1) | 74 |
| 4 |
 |
Abilene Christian | 70 |
| 5 |
 |
UT Arlington | 68 |
| 6 |
 |
UT Rio Grande Valley | 59 |
| 7 |
 |
Sacramento State | 54 |
| 8 |
 |
Seattle U | 39 |
| 9 |
 |
Tarleton State | 34 |
| 10 |
 |
Stephen F. Austin | 19 |
| 11 |
 |
Utah Tech | 16 |
2024 Baseball Preseason Major Awards |
|
| Award | Player, School |
| Co-Players of the Year | Daniel Dickinson, So., INF, Utah Valley |
| Mitchel Simon, Sr., INF, California Baptist | |
| Pitcher of the Year | Daniel Avitia, Jr., RHP, Grand Canyon |
2024 Baseball Preseason All-WAC Team |
|
| Position | Player, School |
| Catcher | Michael Carpentier, Sr., California Baptist |
| First Base | Zach Yorke, So., Grand Canyon |
| Second Base | Daniel Dickinson, So., Utah Valley |
| Third Base | Mitchel Simon, Sr., California Baptist |
| Shortstop | Matthew Schwarz, Sr., Utah Valley |
| Outfield | Miller Laudusau, Sr., Abilene Christian |
| Outfield | Cade Verdusco, Sr., Grand Canyon |
| Outfield | Garrison Berkley, R-Jr., UT Arlington |
| Utility / DH | Cesar Valero, Sr., Sacramento State |
| Starting Pitcher | Daniel Avitia, Jr., RHP, Grand Canyon |
| Starting Pitcher | Angelo Cabral, Sr., RHP, UTRGV |
| Relief Pitcher | Zach Poe, Sr., RHP, Tarleton State |
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