The 2012 All-West Coast League teams were released, along with the league’s individual and team awards, this afternoon by WCL president Ken Wilson. The Klamath Falls Gems led the way with seven players named All-WCL while the Kelowna Falcons and Wenatchee AppleSox had five players honored.

The league’s Most Valuable Player is Wenatchee third baseman Mitchell Gunsolus of Gonzaga who led the league with 48 RBIs while batting .371 with 3 home runs. The sweet-swinging left-handed batter helped lead the AppleSox to their 5th WCL title, hitting .333 in the post-season with a home run.

Gunsolus is the fourth Gonzaga player to win WCL MVP honors. Alex Stanford of Walla Walla was named MVP in 2011, and Drew Heid of Bend and Darin Holcomb of Spokane were MVPs in 2008 and 2006, respectively.

Right-hander Cord Cockrell of the Kelowna Falcons was named the WCL Pitcher of the Year. Cockrell, a sophomore-to-be at Louisiana-Lafayette, tied for the league lead with 7 victories while posting a 2.30 ERA, the fourth lowest in the WCL.

Wenatchee AppleSox coach Ed Knaggs was named Coach of the Year (for a fourth time) and Bellingham Bells GM Nick Caples was named Executive of the Year. The Cowlitz Black Bears earned the Jim Dietz Sportsmanship Award for a second consecutive year.

First-Team All-WCL

C – Nathaniel Causey (Arizona State), Bellingham Bells
1B – Joshua Wong (Hawaii-Hilo), Klamath Falls Gems
2B – Parker Miles (Chemeketa CC), Klamath Falls Gems
3B – Mitchell Gunsolus (Gonzaga), Wenatchee AppleSox
SS – Alex Rubanowitz (UC Riverside), Cowlitz Black Bears
OF – Will Sparks (Washington), Bend Elks
OF – Kyle Pearson (LSU-Shreveport), Kelowna Falcons
OF – Derek Atkinson (Clackamas CC), Bellingham Bells
UTL – Greg Mahle (UC Santa Barbara), Corvallis Knights
SP – Cord Cockrell (Louisiana-Lafayette), Kelowna Falcons
SP – Adam Gunn (Utah Valley), Bellingham Bells
SP – Arturo Reyes (Columbia Basin College), Walla Walla Sweets
SP – Rob Dittrick (Pacific), Corvallis Knights
SP – Brandon Marris (Southeastern Oklahoma State), Kelowna Falcons
RP – Tyler Kane (Washington), Wenatchee AppleSox

Second-Team All-WCL

C – Jerry McClanahan (UC Irvine), Kelowna Falcons
1B – Bo Walter (College of San Mateo), Bend Elks
2B – Marc Gallegos (Corban), Corvallis Knights; Jace Conrad (Louisiana-Lafayette), Kelowna Falcons; Steven Ventimilia (Hawaii), Wenatchee AppleSox
3B – Austin Byler (Nevada-Reno), Klamath Falls Gems
SS – Tanner Nielsen (Campbellsville), Klamath Falls Gems
OF – Austin Diemer (Cal State Fullerton), Cowlitz Black Bears
OF – Greg Velazquez (Cal State Fullerton), Klamath Falls Gems
OF – Jarel Lewis (College of Idaho), Bellingham Bells
UTL – Taylor Sparks (UC Irvine), Wenatchee AppleSox
SP – Derek Callahan (Gonzaga), Wenatchee AppleSox
SP – Cole Irvin (frosh-to-be at Oregon), Cowlitz Black Bears
SP – Mitch Merten (UC Irvine), Klamath Falls Gems
SP – Darin Gillies (Arizona State), Bend Elks
SP – Travis Radke (Portland), Bend Elks
RP – Thomas Eshelman (frosh-to-be at Cal State Fullerton), Klamath Falls Gems; Taylor Williams (Mt. Hood CC), Cowlitz Black Bears

All-WCL Honorable Mention

Bellingham Bells – Andrew Ely (Washington), Kai Hatch (Utah Valley); Bend Elks – J.R. Bunda (Portland), Steven Halcomb (Gonzaga), Shawn O’Brien (St. Mary’s); Corvallis Knights – Austin Barr (frosh-to-be at Stanford), Nate Esposito (Oregon State), Trevor Frank (UC Riverside), Dylan Stuart (UC Riverside); Kelowna Falcons – Tyler Qualls (Louisiana Tech); Kitsap BlueJackets – Francisco Torres (Vanguard); Walla Walla Sweets – Brett Jacobs (Washington State), Hunter Virant (frosh-to-be at UCLA), Shane Zeile (UCLA); Wenatchee AppleSox – Beau Kerns (Wenatchee Valley CC).

WCL MVPs
2012 – Mitchell Gunsolus (Gonzaga) of Wenatchee
2011 – Alex Stanford (Gonzaga) of Walla Walla
2010 – Tommy Richards (Washington State) of Bend
2009 – Richie Jimenez (Riverside CC) of Corvallis
2008 – Drew Heid (Gonzaga) of Bend
2007 – Zach Kim (San Francisco) of Moses Lake; Brandon Kuykendall (Benedictine College) of Kitsap
2006 – Darin Holcomb (Gonzaga) of Spokane
2005 – Steve Marquardt (Columbia Basin College) of Wenatchee

WCL Pitchers of the Year
2012 – Cord Cockrell (Louisiana-Lafayette) of Kelowna
2011 – Owen Jones (Portland) of Wenatchee
2010 – Dayne Quist (UC Davis) of Kelowna
2009 – Matt Andriese (UC Riverside) of Corvallis
2008 – Jared Eskew (Cal Poly) of Corvallis
2007 – Paul Applebee (UC Riverside) of Bellingham
2006 – Ross Humes (Washington State) of Kitsap
2005 – Tommy Hanson (Riverside CC) of Aloha

WCL Coaches of the Year
2012 – Ed Knaggs, Wenatchee
2011 – Brooke Knight, Corvallis
2010 – Ed Knaggs, Wenatchee
2009 – Brooke Knight, Corvallis; Ed Knaggs, Wenatchee
2008 – Brooke Knight, Corvallis
2007 – Gabe Boruff, Moses Lake
2006 – Steve Hertz, Spokane
2005 – Ed Knaggs, Wenatchee

WCL Executives of the Year
2012 – Nick Caples, Bellingham
2011 – Eddie Poplawski, Bellingham
2010 – Zachary Fraser, Walla Walla
2009 – Dan Segel, Corvallis
2008 – Dan Segel, Corvallis
2007 – Dan Segel, Corvallis
2006 – Brent & Amy Kirwan, Moses Lake
2005 – Rick Smith & partners, Kitsap

Jim Dietz Sportsmanship Award*
2012 – Cowlitz Black Bears
2011 – Cowlitz Black Bears
2010 – Moses Lake Pirates
2009 – Moses Lake Pirates
2008 – Corvallis Knights

*established in 2008, and named after the league’s inaugural commissioner Jim Dietz.