SAN DIEGO – San Diego State's TJ Fondtain (Clovis, Calif./Buchanan HS) continues to garner national attention after the two-way Aztec star earned second-team All-America honors from Collegiate Baseball newspaper as a utility player. The announcement was made Thursday at the publication's office in Tucson, Arizona.
A 6-5 left-handed pitcher/outfielder, Fondtain was the genuine ace of the Aztec staff this spring, posting a 7-3 record during the regular season while leading the league in ERA (2.80), opposing batting average (.193), hits allowed per nine innings (6.23) and innings pitched (86.2). He also tied for the top spot in victories and ranked second in strikeouts (93).
On the national level, the Clovis, California, native ranked 19th in hits allowed per nine innings (6.23) and 33rd in ERA (2.80) for the regular season while tying for 47th in strikeouts (93).
For his efforts, Fondtain garnered Mountain West Pitcher of the Year honors in 2023 to go with first-team all-conference recognition after leading the Scarlet and Bllack to a share of the MW regular-season championship.
In a 4-0 Aztec triumph over Nevada on April 21, Fondtain tossed the eighth no-hitter in program history, recording a career-high 14 strikeouts while issuing just one walk to the leadoff batter in the ninth after pitching eight perfect innings.
With his performance, Fondtain earned multiple national honors, including Pitcher of the Week distinction from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) and D1Baseball.com, along with his selection as Peak Performer of the Week from the USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award.
Not to be outdone, Fondtain displayed his versatility at the plate during the regular season, posting a .279 batting average with a team-high nine home runs. The Aztec junior also topped the squad with a .902 OPS and ranked second with 35 RBIs in that span, logging 26 starts at designated hitter and 16 in left field.
With Thursday's honor, Fondtain became the first Aztec to receive All-America recognition since Matt Rudick merited third-team distinction in 2021 (NCBWA) and the first by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper since Casey Schmitt collected third-team plaudits in 2020.
After an 0-5 start to the 2023 campaign, San Diego State rebounded to claim a share of the Mountain West regular-season title with an 18-11 mark in conference play. The Aztecs' MW regular-season championship was the program's third overall and first since 2004.
Along with Fondtain's conference acclaim, SDSU earned five additional Mountain West postseason honors, including Mark Martinez, who received MW Co-Coach of the Year recognition, while Cole Carrigg, Poncho Ruiz and Kelena Sauer garnered first-team all-conference accolades. The Aztecs' four first-team all-MW selections were the most in the league, while Shaun Montoya was a second-team honoree.
TJ Fondtain Earns Second-Team All-America Honors
