The 2019 All-West Coast League teams and annual awards were unveiled this morning, as announced by WCL commissioner Rob Neyer.

University of Utah slugger Briley Knight of the Corvallis Knights was selected as the WCL’s MVP. The sophomore-to-be for the Utes led the league in a number of offensive categories. He had the top on-base percentage (.460), slugging percentage (.621), along with the most total bases (113) and extra base hits (29). He also finished second in batting average (.357), RBIs (42) and had the third-most home runs (8) in the circuit.

Corvallis hurler Tevita Gerber captured the WCL Pitcher of the Year Award. Gerber compiled a 7-1 record with a 2.20 ERA. The Dixie State southpaw’s seven wins led the league and his ERA was second lowest in the WCL.

Brooks Lee of Corvallis was tabbed as the winner of the league’s Top Prospect Award. Lee was ranked by MLB.com as the No. 37 overall prospect going into this year’s MLB Draft. Despite being selected by the San Francisco Giants, the incoming freshman decided to head to college and play for his dad at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. He thrived with the Knights this summer in his first taste of college baseball. The switch-hitter had a .342 batting average with 30 RBIs and played outstanding defense at shortstop.

Coach of the Year honors went to Brooke Knight of the Corvallis Knights. Knight is the father of WCL MVP Briley Knight. It is the sixth Coach of the Year honor for Knight, who is the winningest coach in the history of the WCL. He guided the Corvallis this summer to their seventh WCL overall and fourth straight WCL title.

Alan Miller of the Portland Pickles was selected by his peers as the WCL Executive of the Year.

In their inaugural season the Ridgefield Raptors were selection as the recipient of the Jim Dietz Team Sportsmanship Award.

The Corvallis Knights were the most represented squad on the All-WCL first team with eight selections.

First-Team All-WCL

C – Frankie Niemann (Tulane, junior), Victoria HarbourCats
1B – Matthew Christian (Campbell, senior), Port Angeles
2B – Jake Harvey (Oregon State, soph), Corvallis Knights
3B – Andy Atwood (Texas Rio Grande Valley, senior), Corvallis Knights
SS – Brooks Lee (Cal Poly, frosh), Corvallis Knights
OF – Patrick Caulfield (UCLA, junior), Walla Walla Sweets
OF – Briley Knight (Utah, soph), Corvallis Knights
OF – Jake Holcroft (Portland, frosh), Corvallis Knights
UTL – Michael Curialle (UCLA, frosh), Corvallis Knights
SP – Tevita Gerber (Dixie State, senior), Corvallis Knights
SP – Nick Proctor (Cal, soph), Bellingham Bells
SP – Joe Magrisi (Cal State Fullerton, soph), Yakima Valley Pippins
SP – Brad McVay (Portland, soph), Portland Pickles
SP – Jake Saum (UCLA, frosh), Wenatchee AppleSox
RP – Rance Pittman (Southeast Missouri State, junior), Cowlitz Black Bears
RP – William Kempner (Gonzaga, frosh), Corvallis Knights

Second-Team All-WCL

C – Hunter Montgomery (Portland, junior), Wenatchee AppleSox
1B – Michael Hicks (Boise State, senior), Ridgefield Raptors
2B – Tyler Grissom (Chico State, senior, Kelowna Falcons
3B – Zach Needham (Lewis-Clark State College, senior), Bend Elks
SS – Kody Darcy (Xavier, soph), Wenatchee AppleSox
OF – Nick Plaia (Cal Baptist, senior), Victoria HarbourCats
OF – Ryan Altenberger (Xavier, junior), Wenatchee AppleSox
OF – John Jensen (UC Irvine, senior), Portland Pickles
UTL – Harrison Spohn (Cal Baptist, junior), Victoria HarbourCats
SP – Jackson Arnsdorf (Corban, junior), Corvallis Knights
SP – Travis Craven (Whitman, senior, Walla Walla Sweets
SP – David Watson (Utah, soph), Corvallis Knights
SP – Jack Hyde (San Deigo, frosh), Victoria HarbourCats
SP – Calvin Turchin (Hawaii, junior), Victoria HarbourCats
RP – Coen Wynne (Grand Canyon, junior), Bend Elks
RP – Jimmy Chatfield (Yale, soph), Bellingham Bells

# year in school noted for fall/winter/spring, 2019-2020.

Honorable Mention All-WCL

Bellingham: Justin Armbruester (Bellingham), Collin Burns (Tulane), Austin Kretzschmar (Stanford), Jack Machtolf (Gonzaga), Guthrie Morrison (Gonzaga), Troy Viola (San Jose State)

Bend: Ryan Kaser (Lewis-Clark State)

Corvallis: Brodie Cooper-Vassalakis (Grand Canyon), Connor Knutson (Portland), Tim Josten (Cal State Fullerton)

Cowlitz: Austin Bell (Dallas Baptist), Sam Ireland (UC Irvine), Alex Salazar (Campbellsville)

Kelowna: Matt Voelzke (George Fox)

Port Angeles: Dwayne Angebrandt (Cal State Northridge), Damiano Palmegiani (Cal State Northridge)

Portland: Kyle Manzardo (Washington State), Michael Perzan (Grand Canyon)

Ridgefield: Peter Allegro (Portland), Carter Benbrook (UC Santa Barbara), Joey Martin (Kansas State), Steve Ramirez (Riverside CC), Cameron Repetti (Cal State Fullerton)

Victoria: Parker Bramlett (Angelo State), Aaron Celestino (Incarnate Word), Tanner Haney (Texas), Tyson Hays (Illinois State), Chase Meidroth (San Diego), Griffin Paxton (Texas-San Antonio)

Walla Walla: Brock Ephan (Lewis-Clark State), Brayde Hirai (Central Washington), Cesar Lopez (Cal Poly Pomona), Reid Sebby (Oregon State)

Wenatchee: Blake Klassen (Arizona), Kodie Kolden (Washington State), Seth Kuykendall (Western Oregon), Cole McKenzie (Purdue), Johnny Sage (Purdue)

Yakima Valley: Jack Gonzales (Dixie State)

WCL MVPs
2019 – Briley Knight (Utah) of Corvallis
2018 – Trent Tinglestad (Louisiana-Monroe) of Kelowna
2017 – Chase Illig (West Virginia) of Bellingham
2016 – Michael Toglia (UCLA) of Wenatchee
2015 – Hunter Villanueva (Fresno Pacific) of Kelowna
2014 – Vince Fernandez (UC Riverside) of Yakima Valley
2013 – Alex Calbick (Maine) of Bellingham
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
2019 – Tevita Gerber (Dixie State) of Corvallis
2018 – Curtis Bafus (VCU) of Wenatchee; Landen Bourassa (San Francisco) of Corvallis
2017 – Jack Owen (Auburn) of Victoria
2016 – Zach Draper (College of Idaho) of Yakima Valley
2015 – Brady Miller (Western Oregon) of Kelowna
2014 – Seth Martinez (Arizona State) of Bellingham
2013 – Nick Sabo (Long Beach State) of Klamath Falls
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 Top Prospect
2019 – Brooks Lee (Cal Poly) of Corvallis
2018 – Matt McClain (UCLA) of Bellingham

WCL Coaches of the Year
2019 – Brooke Knight, Corvallis
2018 – Bryan Donohue, Kelowna; Justin Barchus, Portland
2017 – Brooke Knight, Corvallis
2016 – Graig Merritt, Victoria
2015 – Billy Clontz, Kelowna
2014 – Jeff James, Bellingham
2013 – Brooke Knight, Corvallis
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
2019 – Alan Miller, Portland
2018 – Glenn Kirkpatrick, Bellingham
2017 – Tony Bonacci, Cowlitz
2016 – Jim Swanson, Victoria
2015 – Mark Nonis, Kelowna; Casey Powell, Bend
2014 – Nick Caples, Bellingham
2013 – Holly Jones, Victoria
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*
2019 – Ridgefield Raptors
2018 – Bellingham Bells; Kelowna Falcons
2017 – Bellingham Bells
2016 – Corvallis Knights; Wenatchee AppleSox
2015 – Klamath Falls Gems
2014 –  Bellingham Bells
2013 – Bellingham Bells
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.

About the West Coast League:
The West Coast League (WCL) is the premier summer collegiate baseball league west of the Mississippi. Situated in the beautiful Pacific Northwest, the 15-year-old, 12-team, professionally operated wood-bat league showcases pro prospects from major conferences around the nation. Every summer, the league features unparalleled fan and player experiences, with the best summer weather in North America. Ninety alums and current players of WCL teams were selected in the 2019 MLB Draft, including the No. 1 overall pick Adley Rutschman. In 2018, 294 WCL alums appeared or were active in affiliated professional baseball, including 39 in the major leagues, such as 2019 MLB All-Star Game MVP Shane Bieber (Cleveland Indians); standout outfielder Mitch Haniger (Seattle Mariners); ace hurler James Paxton (New York Yankees); slugger Rhys Hoskins (Philadelphia Phillies); and rising star pitchers Marco Gonzales (Seattle Mariners) and Matt Boyd (Detroit Tigers). Overall member attendance was 496,278 this past summer, a tremendous increase of 20 percent over the previous season.