Seven Zags Earn All-WCC Baseball Honors

May 18, 2001

MALIBU, Calif. - Seven members of the Gonzaga University baseball team were named to the All-West Coast Conference baseball team announced by the conference office on Friday morning. Jared Hertz and Barry Matthews were named to the All-WCC first team while Nate Gold, David Hixson, Sean Lichter, Kevin Richardson, and Eric Rodland were all second team selections. Head coach Steve Hertz was also recognized for his team's efforts this season being named the WCC Coach of the Year. It was the fifth such honor Hertz has won during his 24-year head coaching career.

Matthews was named to the first-team for the second consecutive season after earning honorable mention honors as a sophomore. The senior from Northridge, CA, led the Gonzaga team with a .336 average and served as the team's number one starter with a 8-2 record.

Hertz was named to the first-team after ranking third on the Gonzaga squad with a .330 average. The senior from La Verne, CA, ranked second on the club this season with 43 RBI's and was recently named to the Verizon Academic All-District VIII team for the second consecutive year.

Hixson was named to the second team after earning WCC Pitcher of the Week honors twice during the 2001 season. The senior from Vancouver, WA, finished the regular-season with a 5-7 record and 3.41 earned run average.

Gold earns his first all-conference recognition with a selection to the second team. A junior from Centerville, UT, Gold led the team in home runs with 13 and RBI's with 45 and was named the WCC Player of the Month for April earlier this season.

Lichter's selection to the second team gives Gonzaga all three starting pitchers on the All-WCC list this season. A sophomore from Glendale, AZ, he finished second on the club this season with a 6-2 record and currently ranks third on the team in strikeouts.

Richardson earns his first all-conference recognition with a selection to the second team. A junior from Bellingham, WA, Richardson finished fourth on the team with a .316 batting average and has become a mainstay for the Zags at the catcher position.

Rodland earns his first all-conference honor after being named to the honorable mention Freshman All-American squad last season. A sophomore from Snohomish, WA, Rodland led the club in batting during the 30-game league schedule and currently ranks second on the team with a .332 average and leads Gonzaga with 15 doubles.

Coach Hertz was recognized after leading Gonzaga to its first-ever West Coast Conference division crown. It becomes the fifth honor for Hertz who has now won four such awards at Gonzaga and one award at UC Irvine.

Pepperdine University with its 25-5 conference mark swept the two of the four major awards in the league with Daniel Haren winning Player of the Year honors and Noah Lowry winning Pitcher of the Year honors. Joey Prast of San Diego was named the WCC Freshman of the Year.

WEST COAST CONFERENCE FIRST TEAM
C   Kris Zacuto     JR  Loyola Marymount1B  Jared Pitney        SR  Pepperdine2B  Danny Garcia        JR  PepperdineSS  Tony Garcia     JR  Pepperdine3B  Taggert Bozied      SR  San FranciscoUT  Tom Caple       SO  San DiegoDH  Barry Matthews     SR  GonzagaOF  Dane Ball       SR  PepperdineOF  Jack Headley        SO  Santa ClaraOF  Jared Hertz       SR  GonzagaOF  Woody Cliffords     JR  PepperdineP   Noah Lowry      JR  PepperdineP   Daniel Haren        JR  PepperdineP   Ricky Barrett       SO  San Diego

WEST COAST CONFERENCE SECOND TEAM
C   Kevin Richardson JR  Gonzaga1B  Nate Gold       JR  Gonzaga2B  Eric Rodland     SO  GonzagaSS  Josh Harris     JR  San Diego3B  Greg Sain       JR  San DiegoUT  Eric Hull       JR  PortlandDH  Matt Queen      SR  Santa ClaraOF  Joe Lima        JR  San DiegoOF  Jeremy Janz     JR  San FranciscoP   Joe Diefenderfer    SO  Santa ClaraP   Jesse Foppert       JR  San FranciscoP   David Hixson     SR  GonzagaP   Sean Lichter     SO  Gonzaga

Coach of the Year - Steve Hertz
Player of the Year - Daniel Haren
Pitcher of the Year - Noah Lowry
Freshman of the Year - Joey Prast

Upcoming Events

Results

Completed Event: Baseball versus 3-Seed San Francisco on May 22, 2026 , Loss , 5, to, 6

Completed Event: Baseball versus 5-seed Saint Mary's on May 21, 2026 , Loss , 4, to, 13

Completed Event: Baseball versus Seattle on May 16, 2026 , Win , 16, to, 13

Completed Event: Baseball versus Seattle on May 15, 2026 , Win , 5, to, 1

Completed Event: Baseball versus Seattle on May 14, 2026 , Win , 12, to, 2

Completed Event: Baseball at San Francisco on May 10, 2026 , Win , 12, to, 5

Completed Event: Baseball at San Francisco on May 9, 2026 , Win , 13, to, 0

Completed Event: Baseball at San Francisco on May 8, 2026 , Win , 7, to, 0

Related News

Related Videos

Footer