2019 Season Review

Another conference championship, multiple award winners and a return to the Top 25 rankings were some of the highlights of a successful 2019 campaign for the BYU baseball program.

With a 19-8 record in West Coast Conference play, the Cougars won their first outright WCC championship this past season – their third title in the last four years. BYU won seven of its nine conference series, including three sweeps, to finish a game ahead of second-place Gonzaga.

BYU ended the season with a 36-17 record and .679 winning percentage, the best winning percentage by a Cougar team since 1993. In addition to strong conference play, BYU went 17-7 in non-conference, including seven wins over Power 5 teams.

Highlights included two wins in a season-opening series against Northwestern, extra-inning wins at Utah Valley and Pacific, a big win against Oregon at Miller Field, a shutout of Washington in Seattle, running away late from Utah in Salt Lake City and scoring two runs in the ninth to defeat Santa Clara in the last series of the season to clinch the WCC championship.

The Cougars were ranked nationally in the Top 25 for five weeks, including the last four weeks of the regular season. Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball, NCBWA and Perfect Game each ranked BYU multiple weeks with Perfect Game putting the program as high as 22nd going into the postseason.

Senior right fielder Brock Hale was named WCC Player of the Year, the first conference player of the year award won by a Cougar since 2005. The senior finished in the Top 25 all-time at BYU in multiple statistical categories on his way to being named ABCA/Rawlings All-Region, All-WCC and a Collegiate Baseball National Player of the Week.

Sophomore infielder Jackson Cluff returned from his church mission and immediately excelled, leading the team in runs, doubles, triples, RBIs and stolen bases while leading the conference in runs per game and RBIs per game. In addition to being named All-Region and All-WCC, Cluff also was placed on the CoSIDA Academic All-District and WCC All-Academic teams. He became the first player in BYU history to be named a National Player of the Week twice in the same season and was WCC Player of the Week three times. Big league scouts noticed, with the Washington Nationals taking Cluff in the sixth round with the 183rd pick in the MLB Draft.

The Cougars had contributions from the entire roster at various points throughout the year. Player such as senior infielder Brian Hsu, senior catcher Noah Hill, sophomore outfielder Mitch McIntyre, senior infielder Casey Jacobsen, sophomore outfielder Danny Gelalich and senior infielder Keaton Kringlen stepped into new roles and provided experienced leadership. Newcomers such as Carson Matthews, Austin Deming, Bryan Call, Abraham Valdez, Ryan Sepede, Jaren Hall and Zack Peterson each had big moments during the year as well.

On the mound, the Cougar pitching staff was a revelation under new pitching coach Michael Bradshaw, putting together one of the best seasons in school history. Almost every team pitching statistic was among the program’s best all-time, including the following: ERA fifth-lowest ever and lowest since 1982, runs allowed per game lowest since 1970, walks allowed per game third-lowest ever, strikeout to walk ratio lowest since 1967, and 7.7 strikeouts per game the third-highest average all-time, among others.

Three pitchers finished with an ERA under 3.00 with at least 50 innings pitched for the first time since 1967 – the only other time such a feat has occurred in program history. Sophomore Easton Walker returned from his mission and didn’t allow an earned run in the first 34.1 innings he pitched in 2019, starting in a reliever role before moving into the starting rotation. Walker led the NCAA for multiple weeks with the lowest ERA in the country, finishing at a team-best 2.20 with a 7-2 record, one save and 48 strikeouts to earn All-WCC Second Team honors.

Freshman Reid McLaughlin stepped right into college baseball from Desert Mountain High School in Arizona, boasting the lowest ERA among freshmen nationally for much of the year. Named a Freshman All-American by Collegiate Baseball and Perfect Game, McLaughlin became the first player in BYU history to have at least seven wins and four saves in a single season. The freshman finished with a 2.61 ERA in 51.2 innings over 25 games, totaling a 7-1 record, four saves and 46 strikeouts.

Sophomore Justin Sterner led the team with eight wins, going 8-3 with a 2.92 ERA and striking out 71 batters in 71.0 innings. Senior Jordan Wood tied for the team lead with 71 strikeouts while relievers Blake Inouye (2-1 with two saves) and Drew Zimmerman (four saves) aided in relief. McIntyre also pitched for the first time in his career, posting a 0.00 ERA in 17.0 innings, the most innings pitched with a perfect ERA in a single season in BYU history. McIntyre also became the first player to hit a home run and throw a strikeout in the same game since Ryan Chambers did so in 2005.

Head coach Mike Littlewood won WCC Coach of the Year after collecting his third conference title in seven seasons at BYU, tying Hall of Fame coach Glen Tuckett for second-most by a coach in Cougar history. The trio of championships over the last four years (2016, 2017, 2019) represents the first time BYU has won three titles in a four-year span.