UCSB junior right-hander Dillon Tate has been named a Louisville Slugger All-American, it was announced by Collegiate Baseball on Thursday morning.
A second-team selection, Tate is in the midst of one of the best seasons by a Gaucho ever. He becomes the first UCSB pitcher to pick up All-American honors since James Garcia in 2001, and he is just the eighth Gaucho all-time to be named an All-American.
A 6-2, 200 pound starting pitcher, Tate tied for the Big West lead in wins (eight) while displaying some of the best pure stuff in the entire country. The fireballer allowed just 5.6 hits per nine innings, a figure which ranked 10th nationally. He was also among the NCAA elite in WHIP (0.91, 18th nationally), strikeouts (team-high 100), ERA (2.08, 49th nationally), and strikeouts per nine innings (9.44, second in Big West).
Standout starts include seven hitless innings against Hawai’i on Apr. 24, seven shutout innings against Sac State with 10 strikeouts on Mar. 6, and a complete-game three-hitter against Long Beach State on Mar. 27.
A Preseason All-American selection by three different outlets, he was also named the Midseason Pitcher of the Year by D1Baseball.com.
With Tate at the front of the rotation, the UCSB pitching staff recorded arguably its best season in program history. Heading into this weekend’s action, the Gauchos have already set a new school record for strikeouts (458) while their 2.39 team ERA ranks third in the country and would obliterate the previous school record (3.03) were the season to end today.
This should be the first of many end-of-season awards for Tate, who is also a Golden Spikes semifinalist and a popular choice to become UCSB’s first-ever first round pick in the upcoming MLB First Year Player Draft.
