Three UC Santa Barbara baseball players were named to the All-Big West First Team, the conference announced on Tuesday, marking the first time since 2001 that the Gauchos had that many players honored on the Big West’s top squad.
Outfielder Mark Haddow, second baseman Sean Williams and reliever Bryce Uhrig were named to the conference’s first team, giving UCSB three spots, which was the second-most in the conference along with Cal State Fullerton.
Third baseman Ryan Palermo and shortstop Steven Moon were named to the Big West’s Honorable Mention team.
Haddow completed a sensational senior season in which he was ranked amongst the top-10 in the Big West in batting average, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, home runs, RBI, runs scored, total bases, triples, walks and stolen bases. The senior from San Diego posted a .356 batting average, which was second in the conference, a .545 slugging percentage, which led the league, and a .438 on-base percentage, which was second.
In conference games Haddow hit .386 with two home runs and 17 RBI while posting a .451 on-base percentage.
Williams ranked in the conference’s top-10 in batting average and slugging percentage as he hit .343 (eighth) and slugged .483 (fifth). The senior from Costa Mesa led UCSB in multi-hit games with 24. In Big West action he batted .293 with eight RBI and a .343 on-base percentage.
Uhrig was named the conference’s top reliever after posting a 2-1 record with a 2.05 ERA in 30 outings. He made the second-most appearances of any pitcher in the conference in his lone season as a Gaucho, often pitching in close and late-game situations. The senior from Santa Barbara was 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA in conference games, pitching in 11 contests.
Palermo hit .325 with 11 RBI during Big West action with a .391 on-base percentage and finished fifth in the conference with his 15 doubles over the course of the season.
Moon batted .291 in 21 conference games and played an adroit shortstop, making just two errors in Big West play. He posted eight RBI to go with a .322 on-base percentage.
Tuesday’s announcement made it only eight times in UCSB program history that the Gauchos had at least three players on the All-Big West First Team.
Cal State Fullerton’s Nick Ramirez was named the conference’s Player of the Year while his coach, Dave Serrano, was the Big West Coach of the Year. UC Irvine’s Matt Summers was the Pitcher of the Year.
