COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – A total of six San Diego State baseball student-athletes garnered all-Mountain West accolades, as announced Thursday by the league office. Outfielder Matt Rudick and catcher Wyatt Hendrie merited first-team honors, while outfielder Jaden Fein, shortstop Mike Jarvis, starting pitcher Michael Paredes and relief pitcher Tre Brown received second-team recognition.
The Aztecs' six honorees were the second-most in the Mountain West behind Nevada, which had seven selections. The all-conference teams are voted on by the league's seven head coaches.
Rudick, who collected his third straight all-MW award, finished third in the conference with a team-best .415 batting average in 36 league games while sharing the lead with 13 stolen bases and four triples. In addition, the SDSU redshirt junior ranked near the top of the conference perch in runs scored (2nd - 48), hits (T-2nd - 61), RBIs (3rd - 38), walks (T-5th – 20) and on-base percentage (6th - .486). For the season, Rudick reached base in all 43 games he made a plate appearance and occupied the second spot on the squad with multiple hits in 23 outings. Not to be outdone, the Aztec center fielder was the toughest player in the nation to strike out, fanning just nine times in 178 at-bats, while finishing third and ninth in the country, respectively, with an average of 1.39 runs and 1.66 hits per game during the regular season.
Meanwhile, Hendrie batted .388 with eight home runs, 48 RBIs and 39 runs scored to go with eight stolen bases in MW action. Against league foes, the SDSU redshirt sophomore led the conference in RBIs and found himself among the top 10 in numerous statistical categories, including runs scored (5th), stolen bases (5th), walks (7th - 19), home runs (T-7th), batting average (8th), hits (8th - 50), slugging percentage (9th - .674), on-base percentage (9th - .476) and doubles (T-9th – 11). A semifinalist for the Buster Posey National Collegiate Catcher of the Year Award and three-time MW Player of the Week, Hendrie earned all-conference honors for the first time in his career. He tied for the team's third-longest hitting streak of the season, finishing the year with a 12-game stretch while tying for the No. 3 spot with multiple hits in 21 contests.
In addition, Fein received all-MW recognition for the first time in his career after hitting .366 against conference opponents with three homers, 15 doubles and 37 RBIs, 34 runs scored and six stolen bases. The Aztec redshirt sophomore ranked fourth in league games in both RBIs and doubles and fifth in hits (53). He also tied for the sixth position in stolen bases and shared the seventh spot in stolen bases. Earlier in April, the SDSU right fielder became the first non-pitcher in conference history to earn four MW Player of the Week honors in the same season, the last of which came on the heels of a career-best 6-for-6 performance at the plate with five runs scored in SDSU's 21-14 victory at Fresno State. Fein, who earned a spot on the Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watch List, fashioned two 11-game hitting streaks and found himself among the nation's leaders in several offensive categories for much of the spring, finishing 15th in the country with 1.61 hits per game during the regular season.
Elsewhere, Jarvis picked up the second all-MW certificate of his career after batting .367 in conference play with a league-best 66 hits and 49 runs scored. The Aztec shortstop, who saw additional part-time action in left field, also tied for the top spot against MW opponents with 13 stolen bases and occupied the fifth position in league play with 14 doubles while ranking sixth in batting average and 11th in on-base percentage (.459). Jarvis was one of SDSU's hottest hitters down the stretch, finishing the 2021 campaign with a season-long 16-game hitting streak during which he posted a team-high .464 batting average, a .519 on-base percentage and 20 runs scored. For the spring, the Aztec super senior led the Scarlet and Black with multiple hits in 29 games and finished the regular season among the nation's leaders in hits per game (8th - 1.72) and runs per contest (9th - 1.26). In late March, Jarvis received MW Player of the Week recognition for the first time in his career after hitting .615 in a three-game series at San José State, where he led the Aztecs in several offensive categories, including batting average, slugging percentage (1.000), on-base percentage (.706), hits (8), runs (5), total bases (13) and walks (4).
On the mound, Paredes garnered his first career all-MW accolade after posting a 4-0 mark against conference opponents while ranking second in the league with 66 1/3 innings pitched and third with 52 strikeouts. The SDSU redshirt sophomore made nine starts in 11 appearances during MW play, tying for fifth in the conference with four victories while limiting the opposition to .275 batting average, which ranked sixth. Logging wins in three consecutive starts earlier this spring, Paredes threw a season-high eight innings against UNLV on March 13 before tying his career-best with nine strikeouts vs. Air Force in 7 2/3 innings on March 20. The Aztec right-hander followed those stints with another triumph at San José State, where he gave up three runs against five strikeouts in six innings of work. Paredes later broke a victory drought at Air Force on May 22, when he yielded two runs on five hits and four walks while striking out six in six innings, as the Scarlet and Black rolled to a 17-3 run-rule triumph.
Brown (4-1) also earned his first career all-conference honor after posting four victories and four saves against MW competition, the latter of which was good for fourth place in the league. The SDSU senior tied for the conference league with 15 appearances, including 13 as a reliever, finishing with 29 strikeouts in 29 innings during those games. Brown was victorious in three patented Aztec comeback wins against New Mexico (April 1), Fresno State (April 18) and at New Mexico (May 28), garnering MW Pitcher of the Week accolades in the latter outing vs. the Lobos. He was also triumphant in his first career start vs. San José State on May 8, when he allowed two unearned runs on one hit and four walks in four innings to go with five strikeouts in four innings as SDSU's opener. In addition, Brown saved both Aztec victories vs. UNLV at home (March 13-14), as well as road wins at San José State (March 27) and Fresno State (April 17). For the season, the SDSU right-hander led the conference with seven victories and ranked second on the club with a 5.02 ERA and fourth with 41 strikeouts overall.
San Diego State finished the 2021 campaign with a 30-16 overall record and a second-place ledger of 22-14 in the Mountain West. The Aztecs claimed series victories in 12 of 15 weeks and were the only conference team to play all 36 games on its original MW schedule.
SDSU ranked second in the nation during the regular season with a .335 team batting average and occupied the third spot with an average of 9.1 runs scored per game. In addition, the Aztecs tied for seventh with a collective .413 on-base percentage and ranked 13th with 420 runs scored overall.
2021 ALL-MOUNTAIN WEST BASEBALL FIRST TEAM
Wyatt Hendrie, RS-So., C, San Diego State
Matt Rudick, RS-Jr., OF, San Diego State
Paul Skenes, Fr., C/DH, Air Force
Andrew Kachel, So., 3B, Fresno State
Tyler Bosetti, Jr., 3B, Nevada
Dario Gomez, So., OF, Nevada
Dillan Shrum, Sr., 1B, Nevada
Kyler Castillo, Jr., OF, New Mexico
Brendan Brooks, Jr., SS, UNLV
Jack-Thomas Wold, Jr., 1B/DH, UNLV
John Byrnes, Sr., RHP, Air Force
Cam Walty, Fr., RHP, Nevada
Shane Gustafson, Sr., RHP, Nevada
Justin Armbruester, Sr., RHP, New Mexico
2021 ALL-MOUNTAIN WEST BASEBALL SECOND TEAM
Tre Brown, Sr., RHP, San Diego State
Jaden Fein, RS-So., OF, San Diego State
Mike Jarvis, Sr., SS, San Diego State
Michael Paredes, RS-So., RHP, San Diego State
Braydon Altorfer, Jr., C/DH, Air Force
EJ Andrews, So., OF, Fresno State
Joshua Zamora, Jr., 2B, Nevada
Ruben Ibarra, Jr., 1B, San José State
Myles Denson, Sr., OF, UNLV
Edarian Williams, So., 2B, UNLV
Jake Jackson, Jr., RHP, Nevada
Bradley Spooner, Sr., RHP, UNLV
Tony Gwynn Player of the Year: Dillan Shrum, Sr., 1B, Nevada
Pitcher of the Year: Justin Armbruester, Sr., RHP, New Mexico
Freshman of the Year: Paul Skenes, C/RHP, Air Force
Coach of the Year: T.J. Bruce, Nevada