COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – San Diego State baseball players Casey Schmitt, Troy Melton and Matt Rudick were named to the 2020 all-Mountain West team, as announced Thursday by the league office.
With their honors, Schmitt and Rudick garnered all-MW accolades for the second time in their respective careers, while Melton collected his first all-conference certificate as a collegian.
Since no league games were played due to the COVID-19 pandemic and because of an unbalanced competitive schedule, there were no awards issued for the MW Player of the Year, MW Pitcher of the Year, MW Freshman of the Year and MW Coach of the Year. In addition, the conference selected just one all-MW team instead of first and second-team selections as in recent years.
A consensus preseason All-American as a utility player, Schmitt tied for the national lead with six saves in just eight relief appearances on the mound, which was also tops in the Mountain West, finishing with a 3.75 ERA and 10 strikeouts in 12.0 innings.. With his performances, the SDSU junior moved into fourth place on the school's all-time list with 23 career saves.
Earlier, Schmitt was named 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). The Eastlake High alumnus 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 overcame 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 heat up before the COVID-19 pandemic, ending the year with a six-game hitting streak while notching two or more hits in his final four contests.
On March 9, Schmitt merited MW Player of the Week honors 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).
A right-handed pitcher, Melton (3-1) shared the Mountain West lead with three victories, which was tied for 23rd nationally. The Aztec sophomore ranked second in the MW and found himself among the conference leaders in several categories, including opposing player batting average (3rd - .192), fewest hits allowed (3rd - 15), runs allowed (T4th - 9), ERA (7th - 3.22) and innings pitched (7th - 22.1).
In four starts, Melton picked up two of his victories against recent national champions Coastal Carolina (2016) and Oregon State (2018) while earning another against Nebraska, a Power 5 school. Against CCU, the Anaheim, California, native did not allow a run in five innings of work to go with a seven-strikeout performance vs. the Huskers.
Not to be outdone, Melton also garnered MW Pitcher of the Week accolades after combining on the Aztecs' 6-0 shutout of Oregon State on Feb. 29. In six scoreless innings, he limited the Beavers to four hits while striking out a career-high nine batters against only one walk.
Rudick, meanwhile, finished third on the Aztecs with a .313 batting average and topped the squad with a .478 slugging percentage, 21 hits and 13 runs scored, with the latter tying for ninth in the conference. The junior outfielder also led the Scarlet and Black with 32 total bases and tied for second in the MW with a team-high three triples, which was tied for 10th nationally.
In addition, Rudick was SDSU's leader with multiple hits in seven games, including a season-high three vs. USC at the Tony Gwynn Legacy on Feb. 23. The Scripps Ranch High product began the year with a six-game hitting streak, which was tied for the second-longest on the squad.
In the season-opener vs. Virginia Tech at the Coastal Carolina Tournament, Rudick sparked the Aztecs' 7-5 come-from-behind victory with a three-run homer in the bottom of the seventh, propelling SDSU to its fourth-straight win on opening day.
Rudick was also one of the toughest players in the conference to strike out, fanning once every 11.2 at-bats, which ranked third in the MW.
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 abbreviated 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).