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Dixie State picked to repeat; Adams, O'Meara listed as top players
Dixie State selected to repeat as PacWest Champions
PHOENIX, AZ - Dixie State College received four first-place votes and has been selected to repeat as the Pacific West Conference Champion in 2010, while Red Storm senior OF Brett Adams (Sandy, UT/Alta) has been chosen as the 2010 PacWest Preseason Player of the Year.
The honors were announced on Monday, Feb. 1, during the PacWest Baseball Media Day and were voted upon by the head coaches of the conference. The PacWest Baseball Media Day can be heard on PacWest Magazine Radio or on Red Zone Media (www.redzonemedia.com).
In addition to Adams, Hawai‘i Pacific senior pitcher Caelan O'Meara (Santa Rosa, CA/Santa Rosa) has been tabbed as the PacWest Preseason Pitcher of the Year.
Dixie State won the inaugural PacWest Championship in 2009 after posting a 15-9 mark during the league's 24-game schedule and an overall record of 33-19.
While the Red Storm was picked to retain its 2009 title,
Grand Canyon and Hawai‘i
Pacific shared the honor of finishing runner-up. The Sea
Warriors were 14-10 in conference action and 30-19 overall, falling
just a game behind Dixie State for the PacWest crown. Grand Canyon
wound up 8-16 in the PacWest and 17-38 overall in 2009, but the
Antelopes managed to secure at least one first-place vote for 2010.
Hawai‘i Hilo was picked to finish fourth in the conference after turning in an 11-13 PacWest mark and a 20-21 overall record in 2009, while Academy of Art was projected to end up fifth as the Urban Knights begin their first season of league play.
Adams, who earned All-PacWest First Team honors in 2008 and Second Team accolades in 2009, was named to the Preseason All-PacWest squad in addition to earning the Preseason Player of the Year award. Last season he hit .355 in 52 starts for Dixie State, belting out nine home runs while producing 50 RBI. He cracked 18 doubles and reeled off a .590 slugging percentage.
O'Meara also was named to the All-PacWest Preseason squad after claiming All-PacWest Second Team honors in 2009. He boasted a 7-2 record with a 3.79 earned run average and 66 strikeouts last season, while opponents managed to hit just .242 against the lefty.
Dixie State led the preseason all-conference selections with four picks, while Hawai‘i Pacific and Hawai‘i Hilo each claimed three. Academy of Art landed a pair of players on the squad.
In addition to Adams, junior 3B Tony Nelson (St.
George, UT/Dixie), senior catcher Drew
Oldfield (Aurora, CO/Rangeview) and senior
right-handed pitcher Preston Grimes (Taylorsville,
UT/Taylorsville) made the preseason squad for the Red
Storm.
Nelson hit .343 in 48 starts for Dixie State last year, scoring 46 runs while driving in 43. He had 10 doubles, three homers, a .456 slugging percentage and a .446 on-base mark.
Oldfield, a First Team All-PacWest selection in 2009, batted .335 in 48 games. He scored 44 runs, slammed 19 homers, amassed a .774 slugging rate, and chased home 68 runs. He also had a .461 on-base mark to go along with nine doubles and 52 total base hits.
Even though Grimes had a high earned run average at 7.44, he still produced a 7-2 overall record in 14 appearances and 13 starts. He struck out 44 batters in 65.1 innings of work.
HPU senior 2B Sean Winston (Richland,
WA/Richland), a First Team All-Pac West selection
last year, found a place on the preseason listing along with super
sophomore OF Blake Amaral (Keaau,
HI/Kamehameha-Keeau).
Amaral not only was named All-PacWest First Team as a rookie, but he also claimed the PacWest Newcomer and Freshman of the Year awards. Last season he hit .386 in 49 starts, pounding out 64 base hits in 166 at-bats. He scored 33 runs, drove in 46 others, and slammed five homers along the way. He also was responsible for four triples, 11 doubles, a .590 slugging average and a .438 on-base mark.
Winston batted .294 for the Sea Warriors in 44 games and 43 starts. He scored 35 runs and drove in 21 others while also stealing 10 bases. He chipped in nine doubles in 2009.
Hawai‘i Hilo's trio of Preseason All-PacWest players
included senior SS Shane Ke
ssel (Olympia, WA/North Thurston), an All-PacWest
First Team selection in 2009, and junior OF Keoni
Manago (Honolulu, HI/Roosevelt), also an All-PacWest
First Team selection who was named the 2009 PacWest Player of the
Year. Manago won the first Freshman of the Year award in PacWest
history in 2008.
Kessel batted .333 in 41 games and 39 starts for the Vulcans last season. He scored 33 times and drove in 20 runs while producing a .470 slugging rate and a .426 on-base mark. He finished the year with six doubles, four triples, a homer and six stolen bases.
Manago 
was simply outstanding. He hit .435 in 41 games and 40 starts for
UHH, finishing the year with 42 runs scored, 36 RBI, four homers,
15 doubles, a .619 slugging rate and a .500 on-base mark. He was
perfect in stolen base attempts (12 for 12) and struck out just
seven times in 147 at-bats.
Junior hurler Kekoa Lee (Waipahu,
HI/Moanalu) also earned All-PacWest First Team honors
in 2009. The lefty posted a 5-3 record with a 4.00 earned run
average in 45 innings of action. He struck out 38 and started all
nine games in which he appeared. For his effort, the coaches of the
league selected him for the preseason squad. 
Academy of Art picked up a pair of All-PacWest Preseason selections in freshman 1B Andy Caniezo (Rodeo, CA/John Swett) and junior DH Chris Vargas (Foster City, CA/Serra). Caniezo is a rookie waiting to play his first college game, but his talent earned him a spot on the preseason team.
Vargas, meanwhile, hit .351 as the designated hitter for the Urban Knights last season. In 28 starts he smacked six home runs, drove in 22 total runs, scored 19 times and produced 33 base hits. He had four doubles and a .585 slugging mark on the season.
