#38 Ian Armstrong: 2026 All-WCC First Team selection
Photo by: Saint Mary's Athletics / Tod Fierner
BSB | Armstrong, Castellanos and Damozonio Named All-WCC First Team as Gaels Earn Eight All-Conference Selections
5/19/2026 10:09:00 AM | Baseball
SAN BRUNO, Calif. - On Tuesday, May 19, the West Coast Conference released the 2026 All-Conference teams. Saint Mary's earned a total of eight selections including three First Team and three Second Team selections.
Ian Armstrong, Diego Castellanos and John Damozonio all earned their first career First Team selections. Armstrong has proven to be one of the best two-way catchers in the league, finishing the regular season with a .344 batting average and a conference high 13 home runs. Armstrong also owns a .993 fielding percentage with five runners caught stealing on the year, not to mention hitting for the program's second ever cycle just a week after teammate Ian Josephson did in a 14-4 midweek win over Bakersfield. He was named to the 2025 All-Freshman and Second Team team a season ago but has set career numbers this season to earn his first career First Team selection.
Castellanos anchors a terrific SMC outfield as he has a WCC-high 30-game hit streak going into the postseason tournament on Wednesday. The Morgan Hill native leads the Gaels with a .385 batting average and ranks second behind teammate Makoa Sniffen with 82 hits, standing as one of the best left-handed bats in the league. Lastly, on the First Team is Friday ace John Damozonio. The fourth year senior has recorded a career high seven wins, good for second most in the WCC, and also owns a career low 2.94 ERA with 74 strikeouts. Damozonio has gone at least five innings in eleven of his twelve starts this season and also recorded a career high eleven strikeouts in a 11-4 victory over Pacific back on April 2. The First Team honors would go down as career firsts for all three Gaels.
Center fielder and leadoff man Tanner Griffith has been one of the best surprises for the Gaels, hitting a career best .319 from the plate with 16 doubles and 16 stolen bases. Griffith has always had the physical tools and athleticism as one of the best center fielders in the league, but got the bat going this season to pose as one of the best leadoff hitters in the WCC. His Second Team selection goes down as his first career All-WCC selection. True freshman Ian Josephson became the second consecutive Gael freshman to be named to a First or Second Team after Armstrong did so in 2025. Josephson was not in the rotation early on but put together quality pinch-hit at bats and a solid glove at third base to slowly earn the starting role over the course of the season. As Josephson continued to improve, he reached a historic milestone after hitting for the program's first ever cycle in a 14-4 midweek win over Bakersfield. The historic performance featured four hits and a career high six RBI as Josephson doubled in the seventh inning to end the game via run-rule and complete the cycle. Josephson was also the lone Gael selected to the WCC All-Freshman Team as Saint Mary's has now had members on the All-Freshman Team in five consecutive seasons. He enters the WCC Tournament with a .359 batting average over his 38 games played this season.
Rounding out the Second Team selections for the Gaels was sophomore first baseman Makoa Sniffen. Sniffen had big shoes to fill after All-American first baseman Eddie Madrigal transferred to Auburn for his senior season. Sniffen earned the starting job in the fall and never looked back, putting up career offensive numbers as the three-hitter for Saint Mary's. Sniffen owns a .373 batting average with a conference high 84 hits over his 52 games played, just five hits away from Madrigal's single-season record he set in 2025. Sniffen is as versatile of a hitter as it gets, leading the team with 25 multi-hit games while also hitting eleven homers with a conference high 53 RBI. The all-conference selection is the first of his career as the Gaels baseball program continues to produce elite first baseman including the likes of Eddie Madrigal and program home run leader Christian Almanza.
Jacob Johnson earned Honorable Mention recognition in his first season as a Gael. Johnson took the nation by storm over the first two weeks of the season, hitting over .400 and sharing the national lead with six home runs. Despite the power numbers cooling off, Johnson enters the WCC Tournament as one of three Gaels with double-digit home runs, sitting in second place in the conference with 12 on the season while still boasting a .356 batting average and 47 RBI.
All eight of the Gaels All-WCC selections can be found below and the complete list of the 2026 All-WCC teams can be found HERE or wccsports.com.
First Team All-Conference
Position Players
Ian Armstrong, Saint Mary's
Diego Castellanos, Saint Mary's
Pitchers
John Damozonio, Saint Mary's
Second Team All-Conference
Tanner Griffith, Saint Mary's
Ian Josephson, Saint Mary's
Makoa Sniffen, Saint Mary's
Honorable Mention
Jacob Johnson, Saint Mary's
All-Freshman Team
Ian Josephson, Saint Mary's
Saint Mary's will head to Scottsdale in preparation for the 2026 West Coast Conference Tournament. The Gaels will take on four-seed Pepperdine in an elimination game on Wednesday at 7 p.m. as they continue their pursuit for a second straight conference tournament title. Catch all the action live on ESPN+.
Be sure to follow your Gaels on Facebook, Instagram, and X to get all the latest Saint Mary's athletics updates and information.
#GaelsRise
Ian Armstrong, Diego Castellanos and John Damozonio all earned their first career First Team selections. Armstrong has proven to be one of the best two-way catchers in the league, finishing the regular season with a .344 batting average and a conference high 13 home runs. Armstrong also owns a .993 fielding percentage with five runners caught stealing on the year, not to mention hitting for the program's second ever cycle just a week after teammate Ian Josephson did in a 14-4 midweek win over Bakersfield. He was named to the 2025 All-Freshman and Second Team team a season ago but has set career numbers this season to earn his first career First Team selection.
Castellanos anchors a terrific SMC outfield as he has a WCC-high 30-game hit streak going into the postseason tournament on Wednesday. The Morgan Hill native leads the Gaels with a .385 batting average and ranks second behind teammate Makoa Sniffen with 82 hits, standing as one of the best left-handed bats in the league. Lastly, on the First Team is Friday ace John Damozonio. The fourth year senior has recorded a career high seven wins, good for second most in the WCC, and also owns a career low 2.94 ERA with 74 strikeouts. Damozonio has gone at least five innings in eleven of his twelve starts this season and also recorded a career high eleven strikeouts in a 11-4 victory over Pacific back on April 2. The First Team honors would go down as career firsts for all three Gaels.
Center fielder and leadoff man Tanner Griffith has been one of the best surprises for the Gaels, hitting a career best .319 from the plate with 16 doubles and 16 stolen bases. Griffith has always had the physical tools and athleticism as one of the best center fielders in the league, but got the bat going this season to pose as one of the best leadoff hitters in the WCC. His Second Team selection goes down as his first career All-WCC selection. True freshman Ian Josephson became the second consecutive Gael freshman to be named to a First or Second Team after Armstrong did so in 2025. Josephson was not in the rotation early on but put together quality pinch-hit at bats and a solid glove at third base to slowly earn the starting role over the course of the season. As Josephson continued to improve, he reached a historic milestone after hitting for the program's first ever cycle in a 14-4 midweek win over Bakersfield. The historic performance featured four hits and a career high six RBI as Josephson doubled in the seventh inning to end the game via run-rule and complete the cycle. Josephson was also the lone Gael selected to the WCC All-Freshman Team as Saint Mary's has now had members on the All-Freshman Team in five consecutive seasons. He enters the WCC Tournament with a .359 batting average over his 38 games played this season.
Rounding out the Second Team selections for the Gaels was sophomore first baseman Makoa Sniffen. Sniffen had big shoes to fill after All-American first baseman Eddie Madrigal transferred to Auburn for his senior season. Sniffen earned the starting job in the fall and never looked back, putting up career offensive numbers as the three-hitter for Saint Mary's. Sniffen owns a .373 batting average with a conference high 84 hits over his 52 games played, just five hits away from Madrigal's single-season record he set in 2025. Sniffen is as versatile of a hitter as it gets, leading the team with 25 multi-hit games while also hitting eleven homers with a conference high 53 RBI. The all-conference selection is the first of his career as the Gaels baseball program continues to produce elite first baseman including the likes of Eddie Madrigal and program home run leader Christian Almanza.
Jacob Johnson earned Honorable Mention recognition in his first season as a Gael. Johnson took the nation by storm over the first two weeks of the season, hitting over .400 and sharing the national lead with six home runs. Despite the power numbers cooling off, Johnson enters the WCC Tournament as one of three Gaels with double-digit home runs, sitting in second place in the conference with 12 on the season while still boasting a .356 batting average and 47 RBI.
All eight of the Gaels All-WCC selections can be found below and the complete list of the 2026 All-WCC teams can be found HERE or wccsports.com.
First Team All-Conference
Position Players
Ian Armstrong, Saint Mary's
Diego Castellanos, Saint Mary's
Pitchers
John Damozonio, Saint Mary's
Second Team All-Conference
Tanner Griffith, Saint Mary's
Ian Josephson, Saint Mary's
Makoa Sniffen, Saint Mary's
Honorable Mention
Jacob Johnson, Saint Mary's
All-Freshman Team
Ian Josephson, Saint Mary's
Saint Mary's will head to Scottsdale in preparation for the 2026 West Coast Conference Tournament. The Gaels will take on four-seed Pepperdine in an elimination game on Wednesday at 7 p.m. as they continue their pursuit for a second straight conference tournament title. Catch all the action live on ESPN+.
Be sure to follow your Gaels on Facebook, Instagram, and X to get all the latest Saint Mary's athletics updates and information.
#GaelsRise
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