Three alums of the West Coast League were named to Baseball America’s pre-season All-America teams, which were released yesterday.

Sophomore infielder Nick Madrigal of Oregon State was named first-team All-America. Madrigal played for the Corvallis Knights in 2015 and broke the league’s single season steals record by swiping 40 bases that summer. He was a first-team All-WCL selection. Last spring, Madrigal earned Pac-12 Freshman of the Year honors.

Junior outfielder Keston Hiura of UC Irvine was also named to Baseball America’s first team. Hiura played for the Wenatchee AppleSox in 2015 and earned first-team All-WCL honors. He hit .356 for the Sox with 21 doubles, 6 homers and 42 RBIs; and a league-leading 6 triples, 119 total bases and .623 slugging percentage. Hiura was also a Freshman of the Year, earning the Big West honor in 2015.

Junior pitcher Griffin Channing of UCLA was named third-team All-America. Channing made 5 appearances and 4 starts for the Wenatchee AppleSox in 2014. The right-hander went 1-1 with 27 strikeouts in 22.1 innings pitched while walking only 3 and posting a 1.61 ERA for the AppleSox.

ABOUT THE WEST COAST LEAGUE

The West Coast League is the premier summer collegiate baseball league west of the Mississippi. The 13-year-old, 11-team, professionally operated wood-bat league located in the beautiful Pacific Northwest features pro prospects from major conferences across the nation and an unparalleled history out west of great fan and player experiences in addition to the best summer weather in North America. In 2016, 88 players with WCL experience were selected in the MLB June draft, and more than 230 WCL alums appeared in affiliated professional baseball including 28 in the major leagues, such as 2015 home-run leader Chris Davis (Baltimore), 2015 NL Rookie of the Year runner-up Matt Duffy (Tampa Bay) and rising star pitchers Matt Andriese (Tampa Bay), Matt Boyd (Detroit) and James Paxton (Seattle). Overall member attendance was 379,611 this past season.