AZUSA, Calif. – Chico State baseball Head Coach Dave Taylor earned his third West Region Coach of the Year award in the last six seasons Thursday. National Collegiate Baseball Writers' Association (NCBWA) Player of the Year Cameron Santos is one of the many reasons why.
Santos, Dillon Kelley, and Casey Costello were named First Team NCBWA All-West Region, Sonny Cortez and Josh Falco Second Team, and Hunter Haworth honorable mention.
Also the CCAA Coach of the Year, Taylor led the Wildcats to the California Collegiate Athletic Association's (CCAA) regular-season and tournament titles for the second time ever and first since 2000.
Santos is the third Wildcat to earn West Region Player of the Year honors and the first since 1997. Nate Palmer (1996) and Steve Gotowala (1997) are the other two. The CCAA's Player of the year, Santos leads the Wildcats with a .372 batting average, 46 RBI, and 24 stolen bases.
Costello was named the Conference Commissioner's Association West Region Pitcher of the Year earlier Thursday. He is also the CCAA Pitcher of the Year and leads the nation in wins with 12. Kelley leads Chico State with seven home runs and a .552 slugging percentage. He's driven in 45 while batting .343. Falco, a CoSIDA Academic All-District selection, is hitting .356. A First-Team All-Region selection last season, Cortez ranks fifth in Chico State history with 121 runs scored. Haworth is 7-1 with a 2.54 ERA and a team-high 73 strikeouts in 12 starts.
All-Region Awards
Dave Taylor – NCBWA Coach of the Year
Casey Costello – CCA Pitcher of the Year
Cameron Santos – NCBWA Player of the Year
First Team All-Region
Casey Costello – NCBWA & CCA
Cameron Santos – NCBWA
Dillon Kelley – NCBWA
Second Team All-Region
Josh Falco – NCBWA & CCA
Sonny Cortez – NCBWA
Cameron Santos – CCA
Hunter Haworth – CCA
Jae Wagner – CCA
Dillon Kelley – CCA
Honorable Mention All-Region
Hunter Haworth – NCBWA
The Wildcats open NCAA Tournament play today (Thursday) at 3 p.m. against Cal Poly Pomona. Links to audio, video, and live stats are available at
www.chicowildcats.com. The game will be broadcast locally on AM-1290 KPAY.
