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WCL alums earn 2011 preseason Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball honors. Ex-Corvallis Knights catcher Andrew Susac of OSU named second-team All-America by Baseball America

Several ex-WCLers were named to 2011 preseason all-conference teams by Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball in their respective college baseball preview issues. Former Corvallis Knights catcher Andrew Susac of Oregon State and pitcher Tyler Anderson (pictured) of University of Oregon were named to Baseball America’s second-team and third-team All-America squads, respectively.

Susac was rated the #5 prospect in the Cape Cod League last summer by Baseball America and is the publication’s preseason #7 ranked sophomore class prospect.

The Beavers’ field general from Sacramento, California caught Anderson in 2009 as a member of the Knights, which set a WCL regular season record for wins with 38.

In his first season of college baseball, Andrew hit .225 with 1 HR and 8 RBI over 23 WCL starts.

Following a strong frosh season in Eugene, Anderson made 4 relief appearances and posted a 3.00 ERA with the Knights before having to cut short his first summer collegiate season due to injury.

The Ducks’ ace, a junior southpaw from Las Vegas, Nevada, was also named to Collegiate Baseball’s All-America team, earning a spot on the publication’s third team. He’s also Baseball America’s #14 rated junior class prospect.

Two other WCL alums earned Collegiate Baseball All-America honors as Cowlitz relief pitcher Chris Dennis of University of Portland was named to the second team and Kelowna reliever Trever Vermeulen of South Dakota State earned third-team mention.

Both national publications named ex-Wenatchee AppleSox third baseman Stephen Yarrow of University of San Francisco the projected Player of the Year for the West Coast Conference; and ex-Kelowna Falcons infielder Jesse Sawyer of South Dakota State the projected Player of the Year for the Summit League.

Following his frosh season, Yarrow played for the 2008 AppleSox and hit .308 with 8 doubles, 2 HR and 17 RBI.

Sawyer, a native of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, hit .247 with 5 HR and 30 RBI last summer for Kelowna.

Yarrow and Sawyer are seniors and both play the hot corner. Yarrow is ranked the #6 college baseball senior prospect by Baseball America.

Collegiate Baseball named Cowlitz right-hander Chris Dennis of University of Portland the projected Pitcher of the Year in the West Coast Conference.

Dennis, a senior from Bothell, Washington, featured his plus slider last summer posting an impressive 1.98 ERA while striking out 41 batters over 41 innings pitched for the expansion Black Bears.

The West Coast League is pleased to announce the below preseason honorees:

Baseball America Preseason All-America Teams

Second-Team All-America
C- Andrew Susac (Corvallis Knights, 2009), OSU

Third-Team All-America
SP – Tyler Anderson (Corvallis Knights, 2009), UO

Baseball America Preseason All-Conference Honors

PAC-10

All-Pac-10
C- Andrew Susac (Corvallis Knights, 2009), OSU
SP- Tyler Anderson (Corvallis Knights, 2009), UO

Top Ten Newcomers
#7 – Zach Weiss (Wenatchee AppleSox, 2010), UCLA
#8 – Stefan Sabol (Cowlitz Black Bears, 2010), UO

Top Ten Prospects, 2011 MLB Draft
#3 – Tyler Anderson (Corvallis Knights, 2009), UO
#4 – Andrew Susac (Corvallis Knights, 2009), OSU

Top Ten Prospects, 2012 MLB Draft
#10 – Cody Keefer (Wenatchee AppleSox, 2009), UCLA

Best Tools
Best Catcher – Andrew Susac (Corvallis Knights, 2009), OSU
Catcher/Best Arm – Andrew Susac (Corvallis Knights, 2009), OSU
Best Defensive Third Baseman – Cody Regis (Bellingham Bells, 2010), UCLA
Best Control – Tyler Anderson (Corvallis Knights, 2009), UO

Big West

All-Big West
SS – DJ Crumlich (Wenatchee AppleSox, 2009), UC Irvine
OF- Bobby Crocker (Bend Elks, 2009), Cal Poly
OF- Mitch Haniger (Corvallis Knights, 2010), Cal Poly
OF- Tony Nix (Kelowna Falcons, 2008), UC Riverside
SP- Matt Andriese (Corvallis Knights, 2009), UC Riverside

Top Ten Prospects, 2011 MLB Draft
#4 – Matt Andriese (Corvallis Knights, 2009), UC Riverside
#8 – Bobby Crocker (Bend Elks, 2009), Cal Poly

Top Three Prospects, 2012 MLB Draft
#2 – Mitch Haniger (Corvallis Knights, 2010), Cal Poly
#3 – Mitch Patito (Corvallis Knights, 2010), UC Riverside

WCC

All-WCC
2B – Riley Henricks (Kelowna Falcons, 2008), Portland
3B – Stephen Yarrow (Wenatchee AppleSox, 2008), San Francisco
SP – Marco Gonzales (Wenatchee AppleSox, 2010), Gonzaga
SP – Kyle Kraus (Corvallis Knights, 2009-2010), Portland
RP – Chris Dennis (Cowlitz Black Bears, 2010), Portland

Player of the Year
Stephen Yarrow (Wenatchee AppleSox, 2008), San Francisco

Top Ten Newcomers
#4 – Marco Gonzales (Wenatchee AppleSox, 2010), Gonzaga

Top Ten Prospects, 2011 MLB Draft
#7 – Stephen Yarrow (Wenatchee AppleSox, 2008), San Francisco
#9 – Owen Jones (Wenatchee AppleSox, 2008), Portland

Big 12

All-Big 12
2B – Davis Duren (Corvallis Knights, 2008), Oklahoma State

Best Tools
Best Defensive Second Baseman – Davis Duren (Corvallis Knights, 2008), Oklahoma State

Summit League

All-Summit League
2B – Bo Cuthbertson (Kelowna Falcons, 2010), Southern Utah
3B – Jesse Sawyer (Kelowna Falcons, 2010), South Dakota State
RP – Trever Vermeulen (Kelowna Falcons, 2010), South Dakota State

Player of the Year
Jesse Sawyer (Kelowna Falcons, 2010), South Dakota State

Independents

All-Independent
SP – Mike McCarthy (Moses Lake Pirates, 2008), Cal State Bakersfield

Top Three Newcomers
#3 – D.C. Legg (Moses Lake Pirates, 2008-2009), Cal State Bakersfield

Top Five Prospects, 2011 MLB Draft
#3 – Mike McCarthy (Moses Lake Pirates, 2008), Cal State Bakersfield

DII

Top Ten Prospects, 2011 MLB Draft
#10 – James Mahler (Bend Elks, 2008), Dixie State

NAIA

Top Ten Prospects, 2011 MLB Draft
#10 – Brent Warren (Corvallis Knights, 2009), Azusa Pacific

JC

All-JC
SP – Jeff Ames (Wenatchee AppleSox, 2010), Lower Columbia

Top Twenty Prospects, 2011 MLB Draft
#12 – Jeff Ames (Wenatchee AppleSox, 2010), Lower Columbia

TOP 50 COLLEGE PLAYERS BY CLASS

Seniors
#6 – Stephen Yarrow (Wenatchee AppleSox, 2008), San Francisco
#12 – Davis Duren (Corvallis Knights, 2008), Oklahoma State
#42 – Pete Lavin (Bend Elks, 2009-2010), San Francisco
#50 – Tony Nix (Kelowna Falcons, 2008), UC Riverside

Juniors
#14 – Tyler Anderson (Corvallis Knights, 2009), UO
#48 – Dixon Anderson (Kelowna Falcons, 2008), Cal

Sophomores
#7 – Andrew Susac (Corvallis Knights, 2009), OSU
#40 – Cody Keefer (Wenatchee AppleSox, 2009), UCLA

Freshmen
#30 – Zach Weiss (Wenatchee AppleSox, 2010), UCLA
#31 – Stefan Sabol (Cowlitz Black Bears, 2010), UO

Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Preseason All-America Teams

Second-Team All-America
RP – Chris Dennis (Cowlitz Black Bears, 2010), Portland

Third-Team All-America
SP – Tyler Anderson (Corvallis Knights, 2009), UO
RP – Trever Vermeulen (Kelowna Falcons, 2010), South Dakota State

Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Preseason Honors

Pac-10 Players to Watch
Cody Regis (Bellingham Bells, 2010), UCLA
Zach Weiss (Wenatchee AppleSox, 2010), UCLA
Tyler Anderson (Corvallis Knights, 2009), UO
Cody Bartlett (Kitsap BlueJackets, 2008), Washington State
Paris Shewey (Wenatchee AppleSox, 2009), Washington State
Taylor Ard (Corvallis Knights, 2009), Washington State
Dixon Anderson (Kelowna Falcons, 2008), Cal
Andrew Susac (Corvallis Knights, 2009), OSU
Carter Bell (Corvallis Knights, 2009), OSU
Sam Gaviglio (Corvallis Knights, 2009), OSU
Matt Boyd (Corvallis Knights, 2010), OSU
Chad Smith (Wenatchee AppleSox, 2008), USC
Jacob Clem (Bend Elks, 2009-2010), Washington
Adam Cimber (Kitsap BlueJackets, 2010), Washington

Big West Players to Watch
DJ Crumlich (Wenatchee AppleSox, 2009), UC Irvine
Matt Andriese (Corvallis Knights, 2009), UC Riverside
Dustin Emmons (Corvallis Knights, 2009-2010), UC Riverside
Tony Nix (Kelowna Falcons, 2008), UC Riverside
Bobby Crocker (Bend Elks, 2009), Cal Poly
Mitch Haniger (Corvallis Knights, 2010), Cal Poly

WCC Projected Player of the Year
Stephen Yarrow (Wenatchee AppleSox, 2008), San Francisco

WCC Projected Pitcher of the Year
Chris Dennis (Cowlitz Black Bears, 2010), Portland

WCC Players to Watch
Kyle Kraus (Corvallis Knights, 2009-2010), Portland
Owen Jones (Wenatchee AppleSox, 2008), Portland
Riley Henricks (Kelowna Falcons, 2008), Portland
Andy Hunter (Bend Elks, 2010), Gonzaga
Royce Bolinger (Kelowna Falcons, 2010), Gonzaga
Clayton Eslick (Wenatchee AppleSox, 2010), Gonzaga
Nik Balog (Spokane RiverHawks, 2009), San Francisco
Matt Lujan (Moses Lake Pirates, 2008), San Francisco

WAC Players to Watch
Collin Bennett (Wenatchee AppleSox, 2010), Hawaii
Alex Capaul (Wenatchee AppleSox, 2009), Hawaii
Zach Gallagher (Wenatchee AppleSox, 2009-2010), Hawaii

Mountain West Players to Watch
Alex Albritton (Kelowna Falcons, 2010), New Mexico

Big 12 Players to Watch
Davis Duren (Corvallis Knights, 2008), Oklahoma State

Summit League Projected Player of the Year
Jesse Sawyer (Kelowna Falcons, 2010), South Dakota State

Summit League Projected Pitcher of the Year
Trever Vermeulen (Kelowna Falcons, 2010), South Dakota State

Summit League Players to Watch
Bo Cuthbertson (Kelowna Falcons, 2010), Southern Utah

DII West Region All-Americans
C – Kellen Lee (Kitsap BlueJackets, 2009), UC San Diego
OF – Daniel Dillard (Corvallis Knights, 2010), Western Oregon
SP – Michael Ward (Bend Elks, 2010), Western Oregon

DII Players to Watch
1B – Chris Casazza (Bellingham Bells, 2010), Tarleton State
RHP – Andrew Stueve (Moses Lake Pirates, 2008), Cal State Stanislaus
UT – Aaron Johnson (Kitsap BlueJackets, 2007-2010) St. Martin’s
C – Mike Chiarelli (Bellingham Bells, 2009-2010), Western Oregon

DII Newcomers to Watch
C – Kyle Buchanan (Bend Elks, 2008-2009), Belmont Abbey College
RHP – James Mahler (Bend Elks, 2008), Dixie State
INF – Ernesto Ortiz (Spokane RiverHawks, 2009), Grand Canyon
OF – Kyle Baskett (Kitsap BlueJackets, 2008-2010), St. Martin’s
3B – Griffin Boyd (Corvallis Knights, 2010), Western Oregon

DIII Players to Watch
1B – Brock Gates (Moses Lake Pirates, 2008-2009), Pacific Lutheran

NAIA Players to Watch
LHP – Mike Richard (Walla Walla Sweets, 2010), Oklahoma City
RHP – Cody Fassold (Bellingham Bells, 2010), Lewis-Clark State
OF – Mark Purser (Bellingham Bells, 2009), Oklahoma City
SS/RHP – Chris Mazza (Bend Elks, 2009), Menlo

JC Players to Watch
3B – Kevin Taylor (Cowlitz Black Bears, 2010), Western Nevada
RHP – Jeff Ames (Wenatchee AppleSox, 2010), Lower Columbia