Xavier Cardenas III Season 2023

HONORS
2024 Mountain West Preseason Pitcher of the Year (D1Baseball.com)
2023 Mountain West Preseason Freshman of the Year (D1Baseball.com)

2023 SEASON (As a Freshman): Appeared in 15 games with two starts during his rookie campaign… Posted a 1-0 record with a 3.31 ERA and 24 strikeouts in 15.2 innings… Limited the opposition to a .200 batting average and yielded one walk or less in 12 outings… Fanned multiple batters on seven occasions… Made his Aztec debut at UC Riverside, striking out the side in the bottom of the sixth in his lone inning of work (3-7-23)… Pitched the final frame in SDSU’s 13-1 home conquest of Air Force, collecting a pair of strikeouts (3-25-23)… Tossed two scoreless innings in his first career start at UC San Diego, recording two strikeouts against one hit and one walk without a decision (3-28-23)… Picked up his first collegiate victory in the completion of a suspended game at San José State, allowing one unearned run while posting career-high six strikeouts in a season-long 4.1 innings (5-5-23)… Started the opener in the Aztecs’ final series of the regular season vs. New Mexico, striking out five batters in 2.2 innings before the Scarlet and Black rallied to win in dramatic fashion later in the contest (5-18-23).

PRIOR TO COLLEGE: Graduated in 2022 from Servite High School in Anaheim, California, where he was a three-year varsity competitor under head coach Shawn Gilbert… Gave up just one hit while striking out nine batters in 5.1 innings vs. Santa Margarita High, propelling the Friars to a 7-2 victory (3-22-22)… Was rated the No. 6 right-handed pitching prospect in California by Perfect Game and the No. 15 player overall in the state for the 2022 high school graduating class… Also received a No. 42 national ranking for right-handed pitchers by the website and was listed at No. 138 among all players in the country that year… Earned first-team preseason All-America honors for the California region from Perfect Game in 2022 after receiving the same distinction as an underclassman in 2021… Appeared at the 2021 Perfect Game All-American Classic in Phoenix, Arizona, after competing in the PG National Showcase earlier that summer in St. Petersburg, Florida, where he was named to the Top Prospect Team… Additionally garnered all-tournament accolades as a member of the CBA Marucci National club team at the 2021 PG 17U Ultimate Baseball Championship in San Diego after he collected the same plaudits at the 2018 14U PGBA Battle of the West in Placentia, California, playing for the OC Ducks… Chose the Aztecs over Cal State Fullerton, Nevada, San José State and UNLV… Also played basketball as a prep at power forward.