SAN DIEGO – San Diego State left-handed pitcher TJ Fondtain (Clovis, Calif./Buchanan HS) earned first-team ABCA/Rawlings All-West Region honors as announced Tuesday by the American Baseball Coaches Association.
The first- and second-team selections are determined by a vote of ABCA members from each of the eight regions, with the process guided by the ABCA Division I All-America committee. The West Region is comprised of schools located in California, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Nevada, Utah and Hawai'i.
With his first-team all-region acclaim, Fondtain received automatic consideration for the ABCA/Rawlings All-America teams, which will be announced on Friday, June 16 prior to the start of the 2023 College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska.
Fondtain also garnered the first ABCA/All-West Region accolade of his career and gave the Aztecs 12 such honorees since 2014. SDSU has had at least one player attain All-West Region status for the third year in a row after outfielder Matt Rudick and catcher Wyatt Hendrie received second-team recognition in 2021, while right-handed pitcher Troy Melton was a second-team selection as well in 2022.
Additionally, Fondtain becomes the Aztecs' first ABCA/Rawlings All-West Region first-team honoree since outfielder Tyler Adkison and shortstop Danny Sheehan merited the distinction in 2017.
The 2023 Mountain West Pitcher of the Year, Fondtain was the bona fide ace of the SDSU 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), earning second-team All-America honors from Collegiate Baseball newspaper in the process.
In a 4-0 Aztec victory over Nevada on April 21, Fondtain pitched the eighth no-hitter in program history, posting 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 flashed his versatility at the plate during the regular season, compiling 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.
For his efforts, Fondtain was named one of five finalists for the John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Award by the College Baseball Foundation.
After an 0-5 start to the 2023 campaign, San Diego State regrouped 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.
Fondtain Merits First-Team All-West Region Honors
