WCL alum Joe DeRoche-Duffin of University of Connecticut was named the Player of the Year in the American Athletic Conference. Duffin played for Corvallis in 2013 and 2014 and represented the Knights in the WCL HR Derby both years.

Joe had a breakout senior season for the Huskies blasting 17 homers and collecting 52 RBIs.

DeRoche-Duffin wasn’t the only WCL alum to earn Player of the Year honors as former Bellingham Bells outfielder Olis Walker of Pacific earned Player of the Year honors in the Northwest Conference (NCAA DIII). Walker hit .435 with 11 home runs and 27 stolen bases for the Boxers. Walker played for the Bells 2013-2015.

2015 first-team all-WCL third baseman Tyler Davis of the Bend Elks was named 2016 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Player of the Year. This past spring in the GNAC, the senior slugger batted .328 with 15 home runs and 43 RBIs for Northwest Nazerene.

Last summer’s West Coast League Pitcher of the Year Brady Miller of Western Oregon earned GNAC Pitcher of the Year honors. The Kelowna Falcons alum went 10-2 with a 3.14 ERA and struck out 89 over 80.1 innings pitched for the Wolves.

GNAC Freshman of the Year Mickey Walker of St. Martin’s pitched last summer in the WCL with the Klamath Falls Gems.

ABOUT THE WEST COAST LEAGUE

The West Coast League is the premier summer collegiate baseball league west of the Mississippi. The 12-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 2015, 59 players with WCL experience were selected in the MLB June draft, and more than 200 WCL alums appeared in affiliated professional baseball including 25 in the major leagues, such as home-run leader Chris Davis (Baltimore), NL Rookie of the Year runner-up Matt Duffy (San Francisco) and rising star pitcher Josh Osich (San Francisco). Overall member attendance exceeded 400,000 in 2015. The 2016 54-game campaign opens Friday, June 3.