TUCSON, Ariz. – San Diego State junior Casey Schmitt has been named a third-team All-American as a utility player by Collegiate Baseball, the publication announced Tuesday.
With his honor, the Aztec third baseman/relief pitcher received recognition from Collegiate Baseball for the second time in his career after earning a spot on the magazine's Freshman All-American first team in 2018.
An all-Mountain West selection, Schmitt tied for the national lead with six saves in eight relief appearances during the 2020 campaign, compiling a 3.75 ERA and 10 strikeouts in 12.0 innings. With his effort, the Eastlake High alumnus climbed into fourth place on the school's all-time list with 23 career saves.
Earlier, Schmitt was tabbed Mountain West Pitcher of the Week on Feb. 24 after posting consecutive saves against Power 5 schools Iowa and Nebraska at the Tony Gwynn Legacy (Feb. 21-22) to go with another save earlier that week vs. No. 24 Cal State Fullerton (Feb. 18). He also saved games against 2018 national champion Oregon State (March 1), helping SDSU earn a series split, as well as at No. 11/14 Oklahoma (March 6).
As the Aztecs' starting third baseman, Schmitt rallied from a slow start at the plate to finish among the Mountain West leaders in several categories, including batting average (11th - .323), hits (T-12th - 20), slugging percentage (19th - .452) and on-base percentage (20th - .386). He was just beginning to hit his stride before the COVID-19 pandemic, ending the year with a six-game hitting streak while notching two or more hits in his final four outings.
On March 9, Schmitt garnered MW Player of the Week accolades after leading the Aztecs in numerous categories in four games vs. No. 17/17 Long Beach State (March 3) and Oklahoma (March 6-8), including batting average (.500), on-base percentage (.500), slugging percentage (.833), hits (9), RBIs (6) doubles (2) and triples (2).
Over the past three years, Schmitt made 121 starts in 130 games played, posting a career .295 batting average to go with six home runs, 77 RBIs and 71 runs scored. In addition, he appeared in 50 games with four starts as a pitcher, logging a 4-5 record with 23 saves and a 2.48 ERA while striking out 78 batters in 87.0 innings.
As a freshman in 2018, Schmitt set an SDSU's single-season earned run average record with a 0.28 mark (minimum 30 IP) and was named Most Valuable Player in the Mountain West Championship.
After it was picked for a first-place finish in the Mountain West preseason poll, San Diego State posted a 10-6 record in its first 16 games of the shortened 2020 campaign. The Aztecs defeated a trio of ranked teams in No. 11 Oklahoma, No. 17 Long Beach State and No. 24 Cal State Fullerton to go with victories over recent national champions Coastal Carolina (2016) and Oregon State (2018, twice).