Jake Jackson, Kevin Vance Earn Mountain West Top Honors; Six Aztecs Named All-MW

SAN DIEGO – After winning the Mountain West regular-season championship, the San Diego State baseball team collected eight conference honors on Thursday, highlighted by junior Jake Jackson (San Diego, Calif.), who captured the league’s Tony Gwynn Player of the Year award, while Kevin Vance was named MW Coach of the Year.

The Mountain West postseason awards were voted by the league's nine head coaches and take into account MW games only. The announcement was made by the conference in advance of the MW Championship in Mesa, Arizona.

Joining Jackson on the list of first-team all-honorees were juniors Rohan Lettow (Chandler, Ariz.) and Jabin Trosky (Carmel, Calif.), along with freshman Max Farrell (Carlsbad, Calif.), while seniors Tyce Peterson (Kirkland, Wash.) and Aidan Russell (Vacaville, Calif.) received second-team recognition.

The Aztecs led the Mountain West with six all-conference selections, including four first-team honorees, while their eight MW postseason awards are tied for the second-most in program history behind the 2004 squad (11).

In addition, Jackson becomes the second Aztec to garner Tony Gwynn Player of the Year accolades since Danny Sheehan shared the award in 2017.

An alumnus of nearby Madison High in San Diego, Jackson hit .347 against conference foes, blasting eight home runs with 28 RBIs and 28 runs scored. The SDSU outfielder has displayed his penchant for the dramatic recently, launching a two-run bomb in the 11th inning of a 4-3 victory at Fresno State, followed by a walk-off grand slam in a 7-3 thriller over Nevada at home.

For the season, Jackson is hitting .321 with team highs of 14 home runs and 46 RBIs while sharing the second spot with 45 runs scored. The Aztec junior is currently slotted third the MW in home runs (14) and sixth in slugging percentage (.612) while sharing the ninth spot in RBIs (46).

Jackson’s 14 home runs are the most by an SDSU player since Tyler Adkison went yard 15 times in 2017. He has reached base safely in 20 consecutive games, scoring at least one run on 16 occasions while belting eight homers.

Not to be outdone, Jackson is tied for the team lead with multiple RBIs in 12 games and shares the second spot with two or more hits in 21 contests.

Vance earned MW Coach of the Year honors in his first season at the helm, becoming the third Aztec skipper to merit such distinction after Mark Martinez received co-recognition in 2023, along with the legendary Tony Gwynn in 2004.

Picked to finish seventh in the Mountain West preseason poll, Vance marshalled the Aztecs to a dramatic turnaround in 2026, becoming the first coach in MW history to guide his team to a regular-season championship in his first season at the helm. He also holds the unique distinction of being the initial first-year head coach since the league’s inception in 2000 to merit MW Coach of the Year plaudits.

Vance oversaw a pitching staff that led league in numerous categories for all games, including ERA (4.87), WHIP (1.37), opposing batting average (.252) walks allowed per nine innings (3.78), strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.37) and hits allowed per nine innings (8.5).

Under Vance’s tutelage, SDSU has posted its highest victory total since 2018, amassing a 33-22 record heading into the MW tournament. Among the many highlights this season, the Aztecs fashioned an 11-game winning streak from April 14-May 8, marking the program’s longest victory stretch since 1997.

With Vance at the controls, the Scarlet and Black has finished strong this year, posting a 24-1 record when leading after seven innings and a 24-5 ledger when scoring six or more runs.

A transfer from Arizona State, Lettow has emerged as the Aztecs’ No. 1 starter this season, posting a 6-1 record overall with a 3.42 ERA and 90 strikeouts in 73 2/3 innings across 14 starts. The SDSU right-hander currently ranks second in the MW in ERA (3.42), strikeouts (90) and opponent batting average (.236) while sharing the third position in victories (6) and innings pitched (73.2).

Lettow has recorded double-digit strikeouts on four occasions this year, including a career-high 11 against Nevada on May 1. Earlier in the season, the Chandler, Arizona, product combined on a 3-0 shutout of Brigham Young at the Tony Gwynn Legacy, fanning 10 hitters in 6 2/3 innings en route to earning MW Pitcher of the Week honors.

In conference play, Lettow owns a 4-1 record in conference play, compiling a 3.74 ERA with 52 strikeouts in 43 1/3 innings and has won his last two starts.

A transfer who joined the Aztecs from Oregon State, Trosky posted a .330 batting average in conference action, amassing eight extra bases hits, including a homer, triple and six doubles. He did not commit an error in 24 games at shortstop against MW foes, making 32 putouts with 74 assists for a clean 1.000 fielding percentage. He was also part of 16 double plays during that stretch.

For all games, Trosky leads the team with a .326 batting average and is tied for second with 45 runs scored, contributing 13 doubles, 21 RBIs and nine stolen bases. The Carmel, California, native tops the squad with multiple hits in 23 games and has been the second-toughest player in the Mountain West to strike out, fanning once every 12.1 at-bats, which ranks 35th in the nation.

Earlier this season, Trosky was named to the Brooks Wallace Award, presented annually to the top collegiate shortstop in the nation.

An alumnus of nearby San Marcos High, Farrell has enjoyed a spectacular debut for the Scarlet and Black, posting a .330 batting average against MW competition with seven homers and a team-high 31 RBIs to go with eight stolen bases, which ranked second.

In his first year on The Mesa, Farrell has started all 55 games at first base, hitting .294 for the season with seven home runs, 39 RBIs and 39 runs scored. He is currently tied for fourth in the conference with a team-high four triples and is slotted sixth with 16 stolen bases. Farrell twice earned MW Freshman of the Week honors earlier this year.

Another transfer from Oregon State, Peterson hit .318 in conference action with seven home runs, seven doubles and 24 RBIs. The SDSU third baseman received MW Player of the Week recognition on April 6 after helping the Scarlet and Black to a home sweep of Air Force.

For the season, Peterson is hitting .318 with 13 homers, 46 RBIs and 40 runs scored. The Kirkland, Washington, product ranks among the conference leaders in several categories, sharing the MW lead with 20 doubles, which is tied for 28th in the nation. He also finds himself among the MW top 10 in home runs (T-4th, 13), slugging percentage (5th, .615) and  OPS (6th, 1.004).

Russell excelled in eight relief appearances during conference play, posting a 3-1 record with a 2.55 ERA and one save. In 24 2/3 innings, the Aztec right-hander struck out 14 batters and limited the opposition to a .148 batting average.

For all games, Russell has compiled a 6-2 record and a 2.36 ERA with 41 strikeouts and four saves. The Vacaville, California, native earned the first of two MW Pitcher of the Week awards after preserving the Aztecs’ 4-3 victory at No. 1 UCLA, when he retired all 11 batters he faced.

Entering the MW tournament, Russell shares the conference lead with his four saves,  while his six victories is tied for third. Earlier this season, he was named to College Baseball Foundation’s National Pitcher of the Year Watch List in March.

The top-seeded Aztecs open the 2026 Mountain West Championship on Friday, May 22, when they face either fourth-seeded Nevada or No. 5 seed New Mexico at Sloan Park in Mesa, Arizona. First pitch is set for 1:05 p.m. PDT.