BSB | Gaels Earn Program Record Four ABCA All-Region Selections
6/9/2026 4:02:00 PM | Baseball
GREENSBORO, NC - The 2026 ABCA/Rawlings NCAA Division I All-Region Teams were announced on Tuesday with Saint Mary's earning a program record four All-West Region selections, the most out of any West Coast Conference program.
Redshirt sophomore and first year Gael Jacob Johnson earned First Team honors for his first career All-Region selection. Johnson garnered one of the two Designated Hitter spots on the team and was the only WCC player to be named to the First Team. Johnson also joined elite company, representing the second consecutive year the Gaels have earned an All-West Region First Team selection as Eddie Madrigal was named to the First Team in 2025. Johnson and Madrigal are the only back-to-back ABCA All-Region First Team selections in program history and Johnson is just the fourth First Team selection in program history. Johnson hit .338 for the season along with 15 homers and 54 RBI including an electric four-game regional in Los Angeles, recording three home runs to be named to the regional's All-Tournament Team.
Three other players were named to the All-West Region Second Team including catcher Ian Armstrong, first baseman Makoa Sniffen and right fielder Diego Castellanos. Armstrong surged over the last month of the season and took over the WCC home run lead with a career high 16 on the season. Armstrong finished his 2026 season with a .351 average, 80 hits, 17 doubles, 16 homers and 51 RBI. He was named the WCC Tournament's Most Outstanding Player and was also named to the All-WCC First Team for his second consecutive all-conference selection.
Makoa Sniffen filled the shoes of Eddie Madrigal at first base and was every bit as productive as he broke Madrigal's single-season hits record with 97 hits to lead the WCC and rank third in all of Division I. Sniffen also had a career high eleven homers and led the team with 64 RBI as one of the most productive first basemen in college baseball. Sniffen's career highlight came in the NCAA Regional where he walked-off No. 1 UCLA in the tenth inning with an RBI single into left field, sending the Bruins home and completing another historic win over the top ranked team in the country. This is the sophomore's first career ABCA All-Region selection.
Lastly for the Gaels is junior right fielder Diego Castellanos who also earned his first career ABCA All-Region selection joining Armstrong and Sniffen on the Second Team. Castellanos continued to rise up draft boards after hitting over .300 with eight homers in a breakout season in 2025. This season, Castellanos led the WCC with a .382 batting average and was just one hit behind Sniffen with 96 hits on the season. Castellanos and Sniffen became the program's first 90-hit players as he also scored a team high 61 runs and slashed 21 doubles during his junior campaign. Castellanos recorded five hits during the NCAA Regional and made history in the process, setting a new program and conference hit-streak record with at least a hit in 39 consecutive games dating back to March 24.
Saint Mary's won 36 games this season including its second consecutive WCC Tournament title, becoming just the second program to win back-to-back conference tournament titles in WCC Tournament history. The Gaels also earned the program's third NCAA Regional appearance and won a program record two games including the program's first ever upset over the number one team in the nation not once, but twice, as they defeated UCLA twice to eliminate the Bruins from their own regional. The Gaels became the first ever four-seed to defeat the number one overall seed in the opening game of the regional in NCAA Tournament history. Head coach Eric Valenzuela is now responsible for nine of the program's eleven ABCA all-region selections dating back to his first season at the helm in 2016.
The full 2026 ABCA/Rawlings All-West Region teams can be found below with the complete all-region teams at abca.org.
About the ABCA…
First Team All-Region selections are eligible for ABCA/Rawlings All-America honors. The 2026 ABCA/Rawlings NCAA Division I All-America teams will be announced on Friday, June 12, prior to the start of the NCAA Division I College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska.
The ABCA/Rawlings postseason awards schedule continues with the announcement of the NCAA Division I Gold Glove finalists on Monday, June 15, via X by Rawlings Sporting Goods (@RawlingsSports), followed by the Gold Glove winners in all divisions on Wednesday, June 17. ABCA/Rawlings National Pitchers and Position Players of the Year across all divisions will be announced on Monday, June 22.
The ABCA All-America Team was first recognized in 1949 and now spans nine divisions: NCAA Divisions I, II, and III, NAIA, NJCAA Divisions I, II, and III, the Pacific Association Division, and high school. ABCA/Rawlings Gold Glove teams were first recognized in 2007.
Be sure to follow your Gaels on Facebook, Instagram, and X to get all the latest Saint Mary's athletics updates and information.
#GaelsRise
Redshirt sophomore and first year Gael Jacob Johnson earned First Team honors for his first career All-Region selection. Johnson garnered one of the two Designated Hitter spots on the team and was the only WCC player to be named to the First Team. Johnson also joined elite company, representing the second consecutive year the Gaels have earned an All-West Region First Team selection as Eddie Madrigal was named to the First Team in 2025. Johnson and Madrigal are the only back-to-back ABCA All-Region First Team selections in program history and Johnson is just the fourth First Team selection in program history. Johnson hit .338 for the season along with 15 homers and 54 RBI including an electric four-game regional in Los Angeles, recording three home runs to be named to the regional's All-Tournament Team.
Three other players were named to the All-West Region Second Team including catcher Ian Armstrong, first baseman Makoa Sniffen and right fielder Diego Castellanos. Armstrong surged over the last month of the season and took over the WCC home run lead with a career high 16 on the season. Armstrong finished his 2026 season with a .351 average, 80 hits, 17 doubles, 16 homers and 51 RBI. He was named the WCC Tournament's Most Outstanding Player and was also named to the All-WCC First Team for his second consecutive all-conference selection.
Makoa Sniffen filled the shoes of Eddie Madrigal at first base and was every bit as productive as he broke Madrigal's single-season hits record with 97 hits to lead the WCC and rank third in all of Division I. Sniffen also had a career high eleven homers and led the team with 64 RBI as one of the most productive first basemen in college baseball. Sniffen's career highlight came in the NCAA Regional where he walked-off No. 1 UCLA in the tenth inning with an RBI single into left field, sending the Bruins home and completing another historic win over the top ranked team in the country. This is the sophomore's first career ABCA All-Region selection.
Lastly for the Gaels is junior right fielder Diego Castellanos who also earned his first career ABCA All-Region selection joining Armstrong and Sniffen on the Second Team. Castellanos continued to rise up draft boards after hitting over .300 with eight homers in a breakout season in 2025. This season, Castellanos led the WCC with a .382 batting average and was just one hit behind Sniffen with 96 hits on the season. Castellanos and Sniffen became the program's first 90-hit players as he also scored a team high 61 runs and slashed 21 doubles during his junior campaign. Castellanos recorded five hits during the NCAA Regional and made history in the process, setting a new program and conference hit-streak record with at least a hit in 39 consecutive games dating back to March 24.
Saint Mary's won 36 games this season including its second consecutive WCC Tournament title, becoming just the second program to win back-to-back conference tournament titles in WCC Tournament history. The Gaels also earned the program's third NCAA Regional appearance and won a program record two games including the program's first ever upset over the number one team in the nation not once, but twice, as they defeated UCLA twice to eliminate the Bruins from their own regional. The Gaels became the first ever four-seed to defeat the number one overall seed in the opening game of the regional in NCAA Tournament history. Head coach Eric Valenzuela is now responsible for nine of the program's eleven ABCA all-region selections dating back to his first season at the helm in 2016.
The full 2026 ABCA/Rawlings All-West Region teams can be found below with the complete all-region teams at abca.org.
| NCAA Div. I West All-Region First Team | ||||
| Pos. | Player | Cl. | School | State |
| C | Ryan Tayman | Jr. | Cal Poly | CA |
| 1B | Mulivai Levu | Jr. | UCLA | CA |
| 2B | Nu'u Contrades | Jr. | Arizona State | AZ |
| 3B | Drew Smith | Sr. | Oregon | OR |
| SS | Roch Cholowsky | Jr. | UCLA | CA |
| OF | Will Gasparino | Jr. | UCLA | CA |
| OF | Landon Hairston | So. | Arizona State | AZ |
| OF | Teddy Tokheim | Fr. | Stanford | CA |
| DH | Jacob Johnson | So. | Saint Mary's | CA |
| DH | Augie Lopez | So. | USC | CA |
| P | Mason Edwards | Jr. | USC | CA |
| P | Jackson Flora | Jr. | UC Santa Barbara | CA |
| P | Logan Reddemann | Jr. | UCLA | CA |
| P | Dax Whitney | So. | Oregon State | OR |
| RP | Easton Hawk | So. | UCLA | CA |
| NCAA Div. I West All-Region Second Team | ||||
| Pos. | Player | Cl. | School | State |
| C | Ian Armstrong | So. | Saint Mary's | CA |
| 1B | Miller Durham | Jr. | Utah Tech | UT |
| 1B | Makoa Sniffen | So. | Saint Mary's | CA |
| 2B | Ryan Cooney | Jr. | Oregon | OR |
| 3B | Mikey Bell | Jr. | Gonzaga | WA |
| SS | Drew Barragan | Sr. | UNLV | NV |
| SS | Chris Ramirez | So. | California Baptist | CA |
| OF | Jack Basseer | Sr. | USC | CA |
| OF | Diego Castellanos | Jr. | Saint Mary's | CA |
| OF | Paul Contreras | Jr. | Cal State Fullerton | CA |
| OF | Jackson Hotchkiss | So. | Washington | WA |
| OF | Jake Long | Jr. | Utah | UT |
| DH | Mikey Cruz Jr. | Sr. | Nevada | NV |
| P | Grant Govel | So. | USC | CA |
| P | Nick Lewis | So. | Washington State | WA |
| P | Isaiah Magdaleno | Jr. | Hawai'i | HI |
| P | Michael Malki | So. | California Baptist | CA |
| P | Mikiah Negrete | Sr. | Cal State Fullerton | CA |
| P | Karsten Sweum | So. | Gonzaga | WA |
| RP | Nick Bonn | Sr. | Cal Poly | CA |
| RP | Albert Roblez | Sr. | Oregon State | OR |
About the ABCA…
First Team All-Region selections are eligible for ABCA/Rawlings All-America honors. The 2026 ABCA/Rawlings NCAA Division I All-America teams will be announced on Friday, June 12, prior to the start of the NCAA Division I College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska.
The ABCA/Rawlings postseason awards schedule continues with the announcement of the NCAA Division I Gold Glove finalists on Monday, June 15, via X by Rawlings Sporting Goods (@RawlingsSports), followed by the Gold Glove winners in all divisions on Wednesday, June 17. ABCA/Rawlings National Pitchers and Position Players of the Year across all divisions will be announced on Monday, June 22.
The ABCA All-America Team was first recognized in 1949 and now spans nine divisions: NCAA Divisions I, II, and III, NAIA, NJCAA Divisions I, II, and III, the Pacific Association Division, and high school. ABCA/Rawlings Gold Glove teams were first recognized in 2007.
Be sure to follow your Gaels on Facebook, Instagram, and X to get all the latest Saint Mary's athletics updates and information.
#GaelsRise
Players Mentioned
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