RENO, Nev. - Five Nevada baseball players earned all-conference honors from the Western Athletic Conference today. Senior first baseman Brock Stassi earned first-team honors, while junior outfielder Nick Melino, senior outfielder Brian Barnett, freshman shortstop Braden Shipley and junior RHP Troy Marks earned second team honors.
Stassi finished the 2011 regular season with the fourth-highest overall batting average at .376, third-most doubles with 19, the second-best average in conference play at .438 and the most hits in WAC play with 42. Stassi was the 2010 WAC Pitcher of the Year and also earned second-team honors as a utility player last season.
Melino's overall .312 average was 17th best, he was hit by a conference-leading 15 pitches, and hit a conference-best 13 doubles in WAC play to earn his third all-conference honor in three years. The junior earned first-team designated hitter honors his freshman year and second-team honors in 2010 and 2011 as an outfielder.
Barnett hit .267 with 11 doubles, led all Nevada hitters with five home runs and hit .289 in conference play. The versatile senior saw time in right field, center field, first base and second base and posted a .984 fielding percentage this season. Barnett earned second-team outfield honors in both of his years with the Wolf Pack.
The honors are the first for Shipley and Marks who are in their first year at Nevada. Shipley, a freshman from Medford, Ore., started 42 games at shortstop and posted the 11th-best average in conference play at .344. He finished the season hitting .271 overall with six doubles, 17 RBI and 15 walks.
Marks transferred to Nevada after two years at Fresno City College and went 2-5 with a 3.88 ERA and 50 strikeouts in 16 appearances this season. His 3.88 ERA was sixth in the WAC, .238 opposing batting average was third, 58 hits allowed were the second fewest and 35 runs allowed were tied for the sixth fewest. He was named WAC Pitcher of the Week after a career-best performance versus Hawai'i (5/5) when he threw a complete-game shutout and held Hawai'i to just three hits.
FIRST TEAM ALL-WAC
OF – Aaron Judge, Fr., Fresno State
OF – Dusty Robinson, Jr., Fresno State
OF – Kyle Roliard, Jr., Louisiana Tech
OF – Tanner Waite, Jr., New Mexico State
1B – Jordan Ribera, Sr., Fresno State
1B – Brock Stassi, Sr., Nevada
1B – Danny Stienstra, Sr., San Jose State
2B – Kolten Wong, Jr., Hawai‘i
3B – Danny Muno, Sr., Fresno State
SS – Garrett Weber, Sr., Fresno State
C – Austin Wynns, So., Fresno State
DH – Zack Swasey, Jr., Hawai‘i
SP – Greg Gonzalez, Sr., Fresno State
SP – Mike Jefferson, Jr., Louisiana Tech
SP – Roberto Padilla, Jr., San Jose State
RP – Scott Coffman, Jr., New Mexico State
SECOND TEAM ALL-WAC
OF – Brennan Gowens, Jr., Fresno State
OF – Brian Barnett, Sr., Nevada
OF – Nick Melino, Jr., Nevada
OF – Craig Hertler, Sr., San Jose State
1B – Jeff Van Doornum, Sr., Hawai‘i
2B – Parker Hipp, So., New Mexico State
3B – Mark Threlkeld, Jr., Louisiana Tech
SS – Ryan Gebhardt, Fr., Louisiana Tech
SS – Braden Shipley, Fr., Nevada
SS – Tyler Forney, Jr., New Mexico State
C – Derrick Chung, Jr., Sacramento State
DH – Zac Fisher, So., New Mexico State
SP – Josh Poytress, Jr., Fresno State
SP – Troy Marks, Jr., Nevada
SP – Esteban Guzman, Jr., San Jose State
RP – Lenny Linsky, Jr., Hawai‘i
Player of the Year: Dusty Robinson, Jr., Fresno State
Pitcher of the Year: Greg Gonzalez, Sr., Fresno State
Freshman of the Year: Aaron Judge, Fresno State
Coach of the Year: Mike Trapasso, Hawai‘i
