May 24, 2010

SAN DIEGO, Calif. -

The Mountain West Conference announced its 2010 Baseball All-MWC Team and postseason awards today as selected by the league's seven head coaches. Utah catcher/first baseman C.J. Cron earned MWC Player of the Year honors, while TCU right-hander Steven Maxwell was named MWC Pitcher of the Year and TCU left-hander Matt Purke garnered MWC Freshman of the Year accolades. TCU skipper Jim Schlossnagle earned his fifth consecutive MWC Coach of the Year honor.

Cron, a 6-4, 230-pound sophomore from Phoenix, Ariz., led the MWC with 43 runs batted in, 79 total bases and a .806 slugging percentage in Conference play. He also ranked among the top-10 in batting average (.429), hits (42), runs scored (26), doubles (10), home runs (9) and on-base percentage (.462) against league opponents. Overall, Cron tops the MWC in RBI (72), home runs (18) and slugging percentage (.788), while ranking second with a .418 batting average.

Maxwell, a 6-0, 180-pound junior from The Woodlands, Texas, posted a 4-1 record in MWC games. He registered a 3.35 earned run average in 51.0 innings of work against Conference opponents, ranking third in the league in both categories. He also finished among MWC-only leaders in strikeouts (47) and opposing batting average (.261). Overall, Maxwell is 9-1 on the season and ranks among the Conference's top-10 in ERA (2.93), innings pitched (83.0), strikeouts (74) and opposing batting average (.236).

Purke, a 6-4, 180-pound left-hander from Spring, Texas, posted a league-best 6-0 record and struck out a Conference-high 64 MWC opponents this season. He also ranked second in the Mountain West with a .215 opposing batting average while compiling a 3.78 ERA in league contests. Overall, Purke boasts a perfect 11-0 record on the season, ranking among the league's top-10 in strikeouts (99), ERA (3.51), innings pitched (82.0) and opposing batting average (.230).

Schlossnagle led the sixth-ranked Horned Frogs to their fourth straight 40-win campaign and fifth consecutive Mountain West regular-season title. Now in his seventh season with TCU, Schlossnagle has a record of 294-131 with the Frogs and a career mark of 371-178. This is Schlossnagle's sixth MWC Coach of the Year award overall, including one he earned in 2003 at the helm of the UNLV program.

2010 All-Mountain West Conference Baseball Team
FIRST TEAM
Position	Name	Team	Ht.	Wt.	Yr.	Hometown (Previous School)
Catcher	Bryan Holaday*!	TCU	5-11	190	Sr.	Dallas, Texas (North Central Texas)
First Base	Matt Curry	TCU	6-1	215	Sr.	Red Oak, Texas (Howard)
Second Base	Jerome Pena	TCU	5-11	182	Jr.	Cave Creek, Ariz. (Western Nevada CC)
Shortstop	Taylor Featherston!	TCU	6-1	175	So.	Houston, Texas (Taylor HS)
Third Base	Nick Kuroczko	Utah	6-0	195	Sr.	San Rafael, Calif. (Marin Catholic HS)
Outfield	Brandon Meredith!	San Diego State	6-2	220	So.	Chula Vista, Calif. (Montgomery HS)
Outfield	Jason Coats	TCU	6-2	190	So.	Plano, Texas (Plano West HS)
Outfield	Brance Rivera	TCU	6-3	170	So.	Muscatine, Iowa (Muscatine HS)
DH/Utility	C.J. Cron	Utah	6-4	230	So.	Phoenix, Ariz. (Mountain Point HS)
Pitcher	Willy Kesler	New Mexico	6-0	215	Sr.	Thornton, Colo. (Lamar CC)
Pitcher	Steven Maxwell	TCU	6-0	180	Jr.	The Woodlands, Texas (The Woodlands HS)
Pitcher	Matt Purke	TCU	6-4	180	Fr.	Springs, Texas (Klein HS)
Relief Pitcher	Tyler Lockwood*	TCU	6-0	170	Sr.	Sugar Land, Texas (Kempner HS)
SECOND TEAM
Position	Name	Team	Ht.	Wt.	Yr.	Hometown (Previous School)
Catcher	Rafael Neda*!	New Mexico	6-1	220	Jr.	Obregon, Sonora, Mexico (Tucson Amphitheater HS)
First Base	Justin Howard	New Mexico	6-0	205	Sr.	Ennis, Texas (Navarro College)
Second Base	Mitch Blackburn	San Diego State	5-8	175	Sr.	Temecula, Calif. (Palomar JC)
Shortstop	Brandon Relf	BYU	5-10	200	Sr.	Sandy Utah (Alta HS)
Third Base	R.J. Arnold	UNLV	6-0	160	Fr.	Covina, Calif. (North View HS)
Outfield	Sean McNaughton*	BYU	5-9	190	Sr.	Lakewood, Wash. (Curtis HS)
Outfield	Chris Juarez	New Mexico	6-1	190	Sr.	Lakewood, Colo. (Cochise College)
Outfield	Cory Vaughn!	San Diego State	6-4	230	Jr.	Elk Grove, Calif. (Jesuit HS)
DH/Utility	Drew Beuerlein	UNLV	6-0	200	Jr.	Scottsdale, Ariz. (Desert Mountain HS)
Pitcher	Addison Reed!	San Diego State	6-3	215	Jr.	Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. (Los Osos HS)
Pitcher	Kyle Winkler	TCU	5-11	190	So.	Sugar Land, Texas (Kempner HS)
Pitcher	Tanner Peters	UNLV	6-0	150	So.	Simi Valley, Calif. (Royal HS)
Pitcher	Rick Anton	Utah	6-0	195	Jr.	Prescott, Ariz. (Yavapai JC)
Relief Pitcher	Kevin Sloan	BYU	6-2	180	Sr.	Kansas City, Mo. (Park Hill South HS)
Player of the Year - C.J. Cron, Utah
Pitcher of the Year - Steven Maxwell, TCU
Freshman of the Year - Matt Purke, TCU
Coach of the Year - Jim Schlossnagle, TCU
!2009 All-MWC selection *2008 All-MWC selection %2007 All-MWC selection

Printer-friendly format	Email this article