SAN MATEO, Calif. — On the final day of All-Academic team releases from the West Coast Conference, Saint Mary's Baseball showed their strength in the classroom. Announced by the WCC, a trio of Gaels were named First Team All-Academic, while four others landed on the honorable mention list, giving the Gaels seven total honored by the conference.
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Ryan Novis led the way for Saint Mary's by being named First Team All-Academic for the third time in his career, the only player who qualified for the third time this season. Novis graduated with a Master's in Business Administration, while holding a 3.76 GPA. Injuries limited Novis to just 32 games in 2021 and 25 starts, but the fifth-year senior still played a vital role in the Gaels success, with 20 hits, 13 RBIs, 12 runs, and five stolen bases.
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JC Santini and
Eric Smelko were the other Gaels who qualified for First Team honors in 2021, and both found themselves in the middle of what the Gaels did this year. Santini appeared in 38 games, the most among any catcher for SMC, and hit a pair of home runs and drove in 10 on the year. He also ranked second in the WCC with 13 runners caught stealing, proving to be a tough backstop to advance on. Smelko found success early in the season at the top of the Saint Mary's lineup, and carried that through to the tune of a .253 average in 28 games, recording 21 hits and eight runs driven in. Four of the first eight games of the season saw Smelko rack up multiple hits.
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Jackson Hulett,
Nick Mistone,
Chris Santiago, and
Liam Steigerwald are the four other Gaels who were named Honorable Mention by the WCC. Hulett and Steigerwald found themselves as two of the biggest contributors to the SMC bullpen, leading the team in appearances. Hulett carries a 3.37 GPA as a Math Applied Track major, while the Honorable Mention All-WCC Steigerwald carries a 3.63 GPA and graduated with a degree in Business Administration. Mistone and Santiago were both regulars at third base this year for Saint Mary's, combining for 54 starts and 24 runs batted in. Mistone is a Communications major and holds a 3.41 GPA while Santiago studies Sports and Recreation Management and has a 3.25 GPA.
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2021 WCC BASEBALL ALL-ACADEMIC FIRST TEAM
| Name |
School |
Class |
GPA |
Major |
| Landen Bourassa |
San Francisco |
Gr. |
3.80 |
Sport Management |
| Cole Gambill |
BYU |
Jr. |
3.95 |
Business Finance |
| Brett Harris |
Gonzaga |
Jr. |
3.49 |
Special Education |
| Ryan Kawano |
LMU |
Sr. |
3.93 |
Business Administration |
| Thomas Luevano* |
San Diego |
Gr. |
3.74 |
Leadership Studies |
| Ryan Novis** |
Saint Mary's |
Gr. |
3.76 |
Master of Business Administration |
| Andrew Orzel |
Gonzaga |
Sr. |
3.95 |
Communication and Leadership Studies |
| Christian Peters* |
Portland |
Sr. |
3.67 |
Finance |
| Alex Pham |
San Francisco |
Jr. |
3.47 |
Finance |
| JC Santini |
Saint Mary's |
Jr. |
3.83 |
Business Administration |
| Eric Smelko |
Saint Mary's |
So. |
3.80 |
Psychology |
| Grayson Sterling |
Gonzaga |
So. |
3.83 |
Economics-Arts; Psychology |
| Chad Stevens* |
Portland |
Jr. |
3.78 |
Finance |
| *Previous first team appearance |
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| Honorable Mention |
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| BYU |
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| Freddy Achecar |
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| Bryan Call |
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| Payton Cole |
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| Joshua Cowden |
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| Hayden Leatham |
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| Cooper McKeehan |
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| Andrew Pintar |
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| Easton Walker |
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| Gonzaga |
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| Gabriel Hughes |
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| Alek Jacob |
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| Jack Machtolf |
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| Guthrie Morrison |
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| Michael Spellacy |
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| LMU |
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| Tommy Delgado |
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| Dylan Dennis |
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| Mason Kokodynski |
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| Sean Paquet |
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| Pacific |
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| Michael Defelippi |
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| Jeremy Lea |
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| Alex LeForestier |
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| Charles Middleton |
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| Luke Price |
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| Hunter Schilperoort |
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| Jackson Vaughan |
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| Pepperdine |
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| Joe Caparis |
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| Cooper Chandler |
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| Billy Cook |
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| Trevor Franklin |
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| Gunnar Groen |
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| Michael Mahony |
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| Aharon Modlin |
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| Portland |
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| Peter Allegro |
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| Brett Gillis |
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| Hunter Montgomery |
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| Eli Morse |
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| Nate Packard |
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| Saint Mary's |
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| Jackson Hulett |
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| Nick Mistone |
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| Chris Santiago |
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| Liam Steigerwald |
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| San Diego |
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| Paul Kunst |
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| Adam Lopez |
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| San Francisco |
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| Brandon Greim |
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| Bo Jelinek |
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| Kyle Knell |
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| Thomas McCarthy |
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| Josh Mollerus |
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| Grant Nechak |
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| Julian Washburn |
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| Jacob Westerman |
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| Jack Winkler |
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| Grant Young |
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| Santa Clara |
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| Tony Boetto |
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| Mike Bowes |
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| Coleman Brigman |
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| Brandon Buckley |
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| Jason Dicochea |
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| Freddie Erlandson |
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| Jared Feikes |
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| Travis Howard |
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| Matt Jew |
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| Cole Kitchen |
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| Eamonn Lance |
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| Jake MacNichols |
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| Ryan McCarthy |
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| Matthew McGarry |
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| Michael O'Hara |
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| Austin Reyes |
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| Nick Sando |
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| Alex Waldsmith |
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