Shaun Montoya Season 2023

HONORS
2023 Second-Team All-Mountain West Selection
Mountain West Freshman of the Week (4-18-22)

2023 SEASON (As a Redshirt Sophomore): Played 52 games during his second year on The Mesa, making 41 starts in right field and nine in center to help the Scarlet and Black clinch a share of the Mountain West regular-season title… Garnered second-team all-MW accolades after batting .304 with a homer and eight RBIs in conference play, finishing second on the team in those games with 35 hits, three triples and 25 runs scored… Posted a slash line of .298/.388/.452 for the season, contributing two homers, 15 RBIs, 36 runs scored and 16 stolen bases, the latter of which ranked third in the league… Led the Aztecs in hits (56) and doubles (15) while tying for the top spot in total bases (85) and runs (36)… Was also slotted second on the squad in batting average (.298) and on-base percentage (.388)… Compiled the team’s second-longest streak of reaching base at 18 games from Feb. 17-March 25… Tied for second on the squad with multiple hits in 14 games and crafted a season-long seven-game hitting streak from April 1-10… Went 3-for-4 at the plate with a career-high four runs scored in SDSU’s 8-5 series-opening triumph at UNLV (3-3-23)… Stole a collegiate-best three bases and scored the Aztecs’ lone run in a 3-1 setback at UC Riverside (3-7-23)… Drove in a pair of runs in back-to-back games vs. UConn (3-19-23) and Air Force (3-24-23)… Smacked his first career home run in that latter contest against the Falcons, a two-run shot, helping the Scarlet and Black to an 11-0 romp… Matched his collegiate best with four hits and scored three runs in SDSU’s big 19-7 victory at New Mexico (4-2-23)… Crossed the plate on three additional occasions and stole a pair of bases to fuel a 14-5 triumph over UC Riverside (4-4-23)… Went yard for the second time during the season with a solo shot in the series-opener at No. 25 USC (4-12-23)… Tripled and scored the tying run in the sixth inning of SDSU’s dramatic 8-6 victory over New Mexico in the regular-season finale, as the Aztecs overcame a 6-1 deficit to clinch the MW co-championship and secure a No. 2 seed in the conference tournament (5-20-23).

2022 SEASON (As A Redshirt Freshman): Started 39 of 42 games, batting .284 with three doubles, 11 RBIs and 17 runs scored to go with five stolen bases … Led the Mountain West with nine sacrifice bunts, which was tied for 32nd nationally … Ranked sixth on the team with multiple hits in 12 games and totaled two RBIs in three different contests … Made 29 starts in right field and 10 in center … Earned his first collegiate start vs. California at the MLB4 Tournament in Scottsdale, Arizona (2-20-22) … Helped the Aztecs secure a thrilling 4-3 victory over Utah at the Tony Gwynn Legacy thanks to a 2-for-3 effort with an RBI and a run scored (2-27-22) … Went 2-for-5 and crossed the plate in SDSU’s 13-1 romp at Nevada in the opener of a weekend series … Stole a base in consecutive home games vs. San José State (4-9/10/22) … Garnered Mountain West Freshman of the Week honors after a four-game stretch from April 12-16 in which he led the Scarlet and Black in led batting average (.647), on-base percentage (.684), slugging percentage (.882), total bases (15), hits (11) and runs scored (7) while sharing the top spot with two doubles … Additionally topped the squad  with an 83.3 success rate in advance runners for the week (10-12) and hit .833 with runners in scoring position (5-6), compiling five RBIs … Began the week by recording his first career double at San Diego (4-12-22) … Was instrumental in SDSU’s first series sweep over New Mexico in Albuquerque since 1990 after leading the Aztecs with a .714 batting average during the three-game set (10-14) while tying for the top spot with 10 hits … Recorded seven straight hits at one point between the first and second games of the series vs. the Lobos, finishing with multiple hits in all three contests, including a 4-for-4 performance in the opener when he contributed two RBIs (4-14-22) … Doubled and scored in the third inning of that game, helping the SDSU build a 4-0 lead it would not relinquish … Tied his career high with a 4-for-6 effort in game two, highlighted by his first collegiate triple, becoming the first Aztec to record four hits in consecutive games since Danny Sheehan accomplished the feat at Air Force in May 2017 (4-15-22) … Also set a personal best with three runs scored in that contest and delivered two more RBIs, as the Aztecs outlasted the Lobos, 14-13 (4-16-22) … Went 2-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored in the series finale … Was struck by a pitch in the eighth inning of that game and scored a key run, helping SDSU hold off a late UNM charge, 11-8 (4-16-22) ... Hit .438 (7-16) in four games from April 30-May 4, adding three runs and two RBIs … Laced a pair of run-scoring singles in the Aztecs’ 8-5 triumph at Fresno State (5-1-22) … Finished with two hits and two runs scored vs. UC San Diego at home (5-3-22) … Collected two more hits with a stolen base the following night vs. CSUN (5-4-22) … Singled and scored the tying run in the ninth inning of SDSU’s 7-6 thriller over Air Force in 12 innings (5-8-22) … Also contributed an RBI groundout earlier in that contest vs. the Falcons.

2021 SEASON (As A Freshman At UC Irvine): Did not compete.

PRIOR TO COLLEGE: Graduated in 2020 from Damien High School in La Verne, California, where he was a teammate of former Aztec  Alex Rodriguez … Competed for one season in baseball as a senior, batting .419 with one homer, three RBIs and nine runs scored in nine games before the remainder of the campaign was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic … Was listed as a top 1000 recruit nationally by Perfect Game and was ranked as the No. 62 outfielder in the state for the class of 2020 … Received preseason All-America honorable mention for the California region by Perfect Game prior to his senior season … Was named to the all-tournament team as a member of the West Coast Braves club program at the 2019 WWBA 17U West National Championship in Surprise, Arizona, as well as the WWBA 2020 Grads/16U National Championship in 2018 in Cartersville, Georgia … Also played three years of football as a prep at free safety, strong safety and wide receiver … Compiled 109 all-purpose yards as a receiver and punt returner in five games as a junior to go with five tackles on defense.

PERSONAL: Parents are Daniel and Shea Montoya … His mother played collegiate soccer at Cal State Fullerton … Has three younger siblings, Daniel, Ava and Jacob … Enjoys hunting, fishing and surfing ... Lists Ken Griffey Jr. as his favorite athlete ... Plans to major in kinesiology at San Diego State.