WASHINGTON STATE at TEXAS STATE
San Marcos, Texas | Bobcat Ballpark (2,500)
Feb. 19, 4 p.m. (PT) | Feb. 20, 1 p.m. (PT)
Feb. 21, 11 a.m. (PT) | Feb. 22, 3 p.m. (PT)
WASHINGTON STATE OPENS 2016 CAMPAIGN AT TEXAS STATE
Under the direction of first-year head coach Marty Lees, Washington State opens the 2016 season with a four-game series at Texas State in San Marcos, Texas Feb. 19-22.
FOLLOW ALONG
Cougar baseball fans can follow all the season's action on the Washington State baseball official twitter page @CougBaseball and instagram page @Coug_Baseball and wsucougars.com. Every Cougar home game will be webstreamed through Pac-12.org.
COMING UP
The Cougars will remain in Texas for another four games at the Al Ogletree Classic hosted by the University of Texas - Rio Grande Valley Feb. 25-28. WSU will face UTRGV Thursday, Houston Baptist Friday, Prarie View A&M Saturday and Houston Baptist again Sunday.
ABOUT WASHINGTON STATE
Washington State posted a 29-27 overall mark last season including a 11-19 record in Pac-12 Conference play, finishing ninth in the league. The Cougars return 13 letterwinners off of last year's club led by two-time All-Pac-12 pitcher Ian Hamilton who will made the move from reliever to starter this season. Third baseman Shane Matheny returns after starting all 56 games while recording 10 doubles and 20 RBI, outfielder Cameron Frost also returns after driving in 25 RBI and outfielder Derek Chapman also returns after posting a .265 batting average with nine stolen bases.
COUGAR QUICK HITS
• WSU head coach Marty Lees begins his first season at the helm of Cougar Baseball
• Lees and pitching coach Dan Spencer were assistants on Oregon State's back-to-back National Championship teams (2006-07)
• Assistant coach Jim Horner played for the Cougars (1993-96), earned All-Pac-10 honors at catcher in 1996
• RHP Ian Hamilton owns the WSU record with 28 career saves
• Hamilton is a two-time All-Pac-12 Conference selection, both as a reliever
• Hamilton was named to the 2016 Stopper of the Year Preseason Watch List
• INF Shane Matheny started all 56 games at third base last season,
• INF Jack Strunc was second on the team with 11 multiple-hit games last season
• WSU returns 15 letterwinners from the 2015 club and welcomes in 14 newcomers including 12 freshmen
HAMILTON GARNERS PRESEASON ALL-AMERICAN HONORS
Junior pitcher Ian Hamilton was named to the Louisville Slugger Preseason All-America Second Team by Collegiate Baseball, one of two Pac-12 Conference pitchers placed on the first or second team, appearing as a reliever. He was also rated No. 44 among the Top-100 college prospects by Baseball America prior to the season. In 2015, Hamilton repeated as a member of the All-Pac-12 Conference team after finishing the year with a 1.67 ERA in 43 innings and tied for the Pac-12 lead with 13 saves. His total ranked him tied for 16th nationally as he became WSU's all-time leader with 28. The Vancouver, Wash. native earned Freshman All-America honors as a freshman in 2014 after setting a school record with 15 saves and posted a 2.70 ERA.
• WSU head coach Marty Lees begins his first season at the helm of Cougar Baseball
• Lees and pitching coach Dan Spencer were assistants on Oregon State's back-to-back National Championship teams (2006-07)
• Assistant coach Jim Horner played for the Cougars (1993-96), earned All-Pac-10 honors at catcher in 1996
• RHP Ian Hamilton owns the WSU record with 28 career saves
• Hamilton is a two-time All-Pac-12 Conference selection, both as a reliever
• Hamilton was named to the 2016 Stopper of the Year Preseason Watch List
• INF Shane Matheny started all 56 games at third base last season,
• INF Jack Strunc was second on the team with 11 multiple-hit games last season
• WSU returns 15 letterwinners from the 2015 club and welcomes in 14 newcomers including 12 freshmen
HAMILTON GARNERS PRESEASON ALL-AMERICAN HONORS
Junior pitcher Ian Hamilton was named to the Louisville Slugger Preseason All-America Second Team by Collegiate Baseball, one of two Pac-12 Conference pitchers placed on the first or second team, appearing as a reliever. He was also rated No. 44 among the Top-100 college prospects by Baseball America prior to the season. In 2015, Hamilton repeated as a member of the All-Pac-12 Conference team after finishing the year with a 1.67 ERA in 43 innings and tied for the Pac-12 lead with 13 saves. His total ranked him tied for 16th nationally as he became WSU's all-time leader with 28. The Vancouver, Wash. native earned Freshman All-America honors as a freshman in 2014 after setting a school record with 15 saves and posted a 2.70 ERA.
ABOUT TEXAS STATE
Texas State posted a 24-32-1 record last season, going 14-16 in Sun Belt Conference play. Tanner Hill returns after leading the Bobcats with a .319 batting average and 44 RBI while Granger Studdar also returns after hitting 11 home runs. Head coach Ty Harrington is in his 17th season at Texas State. Washington State owns a 2-1 all-time series lead against Texas State, taking two out of three in a 2014 series played in Pullman.
COUGAR BULLPEN RETURNS COUPLE FAMILIAR FACES
In addition to Hamilton, the Cougars return three members of the pitching staff who were major contributors last season. Junior lefthander Layne Bruner closed out the 2015 season allowing just one earned run and one hit over his final seven appearances (5 2/3 IP). Sophomore lefthander Scotty Sunitsch made 24 appearances last year including a pair of starts and finished the season with 26 strikeouts over 33 2/3 innings. Sophomore righty Ryan Walker produced an impressive freshman campaign in 2015, posting a 2.72 ERA in 25 appearances while holding opposing hitters to a .221 average over 25 appearances including seven starts. Walker earned a spot in the rotation over the final month, earning Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week honors in early May after scattering four hits and striking out 12 and holding opponents to a .105 batting average over a combined 11 2/3 innings in two starts against Washington and Arizona. Against Arizona, he struck out a career-best seven in seven shutout innings.
COUGARS ANNOUNCE 2016 SIGNING CLASS
Washington State signed eight players to National Letters of Intent to join the program in 2016, first-year head coach Marty Lees announced Nov. 19. Lees' first recruiting class at Washington State features Cody Anderson (LHP), A.J. Block (LHP), Peter Hutzal (INF), Cory Meyer (C), Dillon Plew (INF), Joe Rosenstein (RHP), James Rudkin (1B) and Danny Sinatro (INF). The class features four junior college players and four players who hail from the state of Washington.
HAMILTON, PISTORESE PACE COUGARS ALL-PAC-12 HONORS
Joe Pistorese and Ian Hamilton highlighted WSU's All-Pac-12 Conference baseball honors last season. Pistorese, a senior pitcher from Kalispell, Mont., and Hamilton, a sophomore closer from Vancouver, Wash., were named to the All-Pac-12 Conference team. Senior infielder Ian Sagdal, from East Wenatchee, Wash., garnered honorable mention honors. Pistorese, who received honorable mention honors is 2014, posted an 8-5 record with a 2.41 ERA while starting all 15 games he pitched. Twice he was named Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week in 2015, led the Pac-12 in complete games with four, and ended his Cougar career as the all-time leader in innings pitched and tied for most career starts.Hamilton repeated as a member of the All-Pac-12 Conference team after finishing the regular season with a 1.67 ERA in 43 innings and tied for the Pac-12 lead with 13 saves. His total ranked him tied for 16th nationally as he became WSU's all-time leader with 28. Sagdal led the team in nearly every offensive category, setting career highs in batting average (.298), runs (35), hits (61), doubles (13), triples (5), home runs (6), RBI (34) and stolen bases (13). He finished ranked among the Pac-12 leaders in slugging percentage, home runs, triples and stolen bases.
LEOW LEADS THREE COUGARS ON ALL-ACADEMIC TEAMS
Washington State sophomore Wes Leow was named to the 2015 Pac-12 Conference Baseball All-Academic First Team, highlighting three Cougars receiving conference all-academic honors. In addition to Leow, senior Sam Triece and sophomore Cameron Frost received honorable mention honors. Leow, an outfielder from Anacortes, Wash., boasted a 3.68 grade point average as an undeclared major. For the season he hit .254, totaling 17 hits with three doubles and nine RBI. Triece, a pitcher from Edmonds, Wash., carries a 3.11 GPA as a criminal justice major. Frost, an outfielder from Olympia, Wash., posted a 3.05 GPA as an undeclared major. He played in 50 games on the season, finishing second on the team with 25 RBI.
FIVE COUGARS SELECTED in 2015 MLB Draft
Washington State baseball had five players selected in the 2015 Major League Baseball Draft. Pitcher Sam Triece was selected in the tenth round by the Tampa Bay Rays. Infielder Ian Sagdal was selected in the 16th round by the Washington Nationals. Pitcher Joe Pistorese was selected in the 17th round by the Seattle Mariners. Catcher P.J. Jones was selected in the 19th round by the Seattle Mariners and reliever Matt Bower was selected in the 23rd round by the Houston Astros. All five signed professional contracts.
MARTY LEES BEGINS FIRST YEAR AT WASHINGTON STATE
Marty Lees was introduced as the Washington State University Head Baseball Coach in June, becoming the 15th head coach in program history after spending the last three seasons as the assistant coach/recruiting coordinator at Oklahoma State and the previous 11 at Oregon State. In those 14 years he has coached 10 teams that have reached the NCAA Tournament, including two national champions with Oregon State. Last season the Cowboys posted a 38-20 record, falling in the NCAA Stillwater Regional. Along with helping lead the Cowboys to the NCAA Louisville Regional final in 2013 and a Big 12 Conference championship and NCAA Super Regional appearance in 2014, Lees thrived as Oklahoma State's recruiting coordinator. The Cowboys' first class with Lees on board was ranked No. 4 nationally by Baseball America and No. 5 by Collegiate Baseball, and followed that with a 2014 class that was ranked No. 5 by Collegiate Baseball for the second-consecutive year. Lees arrived at Oklahoma State after spending the previous 11 years on the coaching staff at Oregon State, including the final three (2010-12) as the Beavers' associate head coach. Lees joined the Oregon State staff as a volunteer assistant in 2002 and moved to a full-time assistant coach in 2004. He helped coach the Beavers to three-straight College World Series berths from 2005-07, including back-to-back national championships in 2006-07. A native of Lakeview, Ore., Lees earned his bachelor's degree in physical education from Western Oregon in 1994. He and his wife, Kristy, have three sons, Brandon, Brady and Jacob.
ABOUT ASSOCIATE HEAD COACH / PITCHING COACH DAN SPENCER
In his first official move as head baseball coach, Marty Lees named Dan Spencer as the Cougars' associate head coach. Spencer will oversee WSU's pitching staff and reunites with Lees as the two spent four seasons together at Oregon State, winning back-to-back College World Series titles in 2006 and 2007. Spencer recently completed his third season with the New Mexico Lobos after serving the previous four years as the head coach of Texas Tech, compiling a 115-112 record. Before joining Texas Tech for the 2008 season, Spencer spent 11 seasons at Oregon State as the Beavers hitting coach (1997-2003) and pitching coach (2004-2007). He began his head coaching career at Green River Community College in Auburn, Wash., where he was the head coach from 1992-1996. In 1992 and 1994 he was named the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges Coach of the Year. A native of Vancouver, Wash., Spencer received his bachelor's degree in history from Portland State University in 1990. He and his wife, Susie, have three children: Wade, Logan, and Elizabeth.
ABOUT ASSISTANT COACH JIM HORNER
Marty Lees filled out his coaching staff hiring former Washington State catcher and minor league manager Jim Horner as an assistant coach in June. Horner, a first-team All-Pacific-10 catcher for the Cougars in 1996, jumped at the opportunity to return to the Palouse after managing the Seattle Mariners Double-A affiliate Jackson Generals (Tenn.) for the 2014 season and the first half of the 2015 campaign. Horner owns seven-plus years of managerial experience, serving as the skipper of the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (Seattle – Low-A) from 2006-07 before managing the High Desert Mavericks (Seattle - High-A) from 2008-10 and 2013. In 2009, he was named California League Manager of the Year and Seattle Mariners Staff Member of the Year after guiding the Mavericks to South Division first and second half titles and earning a spot in the championship series. From 2011-12, Horner coached two seasons at Texas Tech University serving as the Red Raiders' hitting coach under then head coach Dan Spencer. Horner joined the coaching ranks immediately after completing a nine-year professional playing career, all with the Mariners' organization. He was a catcher in the Seattle farm system from 1996-2004. In 2000, Horner reached the Triple-A level with the Tacoma Rainiers. He was a Double-A All-Star with the San Antonio Missions in 2003 and collected the John Ellis Award for community service in 2000. as a member of the New Haven Ravens in the Eastern League. He batted .259 with 116 doubles, six triples, 59 home runs and 298 RBI during his nine year minor-league career. Horner played at Washington State for coaches Bobo Brayton (1993-94) and Steve Farrington (1995-96). The Twin Falls, Idaho native earned first-team All-Pac-10 Conference honors as a senior after leading the Cougars with a .332 batting average. Horner was also named the Pacific-10 Conference Medal Winner for Washington State as WSU's top male student-athlete and received all-academic honors while earning a bachelor's degree in criminal justice. Jim and his wife, Katie, have four children: daughters, Madison and Reagan, and sons, Jackson and Tyler.
Texas State posted a 24-32-1 record last season, going 14-16 in Sun Belt Conference play. Tanner Hill returns after leading the Bobcats with a .319 batting average and 44 RBI while Granger Studdar also returns after hitting 11 home runs. Head coach Ty Harrington is in his 17th season at Texas State. Washington State owns a 2-1 all-time series lead against Texas State, taking two out of three in a 2014 series played in Pullman.
COUGAR BULLPEN RETURNS COUPLE FAMILIAR FACES
In addition to Hamilton, the Cougars return three members of the pitching staff who were major contributors last season. Junior lefthander Layne Bruner closed out the 2015 season allowing just one earned run and one hit over his final seven appearances (5 2/3 IP). Sophomore lefthander Scotty Sunitsch made 24 appearances last year including a pair of starts and finished the season with 26 strikeouts over 33 2/3 innings. Sophomore righty Ryan Walker produced an impressive freshman campaign in 2015, posting a 2.72 ERA in 25 appearances while holding opposing hitters to a .221 average over 25 appearances including seven starts. Walker earned a spot in the rotation over the final month, earning Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week honors in early May after scattering four hits and striking out 12 and holding opponents to a .105 batting average over a combined 11 2/3 innings in two starts against Washington and Arizona. Against Arizona, he struck out a career-best seven in seven shutout innings.
COUGARS ANNOUNCE 2016 SIGNING CLASS
Washington State signed eight players to National Letters of Intent to join the program in 2016, first-year head coach Marty Lees announced Nov. 19. Lees' first recruiting class at Washington State features Cody Anderson (LHP), A.J. Block (LHP), Peter Hutzal (INF), Cory Meyer (C), Dillon Plew (INF), Joe Rosenstein (RHP), James Rudkin (1B) and Danny Sinatro (INF). The class features four junior college players and four players who hail from the state of Washington.
HAMILTON, PISTORESE PACE COUGARS ALL-PAC-12 HONORS
Joe Pistorese and Ian Hamilton highlighted WSU's All-Pac-12 Conference baseball honors last season. Pistorese, a senior pitcher from Kalispell, Mont., and Hamilton, a sophomore closer from Vancouver, Wash., were named to the All-Pac-12 Conference team. Senior infielder Ian Sagdal, from East Wenatchee, Wash., garnered honorable mention honors. Pistorese, who received honorable mention honors is 2014, posted an 8-5 record with a 2.41 ERA while starting all 15 games he pitched. Twice he was named Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week in 2015, led the Pac-12 in complete games with four, and ended his Cougar career as the all-time leader in innings pitched and tied for most career starts.Hamilton repeated as a member of the All-Pac-12 Conference team after finishing the regular season with a 1.67 ERA in 43 innings and tied for the Pac-12 lead with 13 saves. His total ranked him tied for 16th nationally as he became WSU's all-time leader with 28. Sagdal led the team in nearly every offensive category, setting career highs in batting average (.298), runs (35), hits (61), doubles (13), triples (5), home runs (6), RBI (34) and stolen bases (13). He finished ranked among the Pac-12 leaders in slugging percentage, home runs, triples and stolen bases.
LEOW LEADS THREE COUGARS ON ALL-ACADEMIC TEAMS
Washington State sophomore Wes Leow was named to the 2015 Pac-12 Conference Baseball All-Academic First Team, highlighting three Cougars receiving conference all-academic honors. In addition to Leow, senior Sam Triece and sophomore Cameron Frost received honorable mention honors. Leow, an outfielder from Anacortes, Wash., boasted a 3.68 grade point average as an undeclared major. For the season he hit .254, totaling 17 hits with three doubles and nine RBI. Triece, a pitcher from Edmonds, Wash., carries a 3.11 GPA as a criminal justice major. Frost, an outfielder from Olympia, Wash., posted a 3.05 GPA as an undeclared major. He played in 50 games on the season, finishing second on the team with 25 RBI.
FIVE COUGARS SELECTED in 2015 MLB Draft
Washington State baseball had five players selected in the 2015 Major League Baseball Draft. Pitcher Sam Triece was selected in the tenth round by the Tampa Bay Rays. Infielder Ian Sagdal was selected in the 16th round by the Washington Nationals. Pitcher Joe Pistorese was selected in the 17th round by the Seattle Mariners. Catcher P.J. Jones was selected in the 19th round by the Seattle Mariners and reliever Matt Bower was selected in the 23rd round by the Houston Astros. All five signed professional contracts.
MARTY LEES BEGINS FIRST YEAR AT WASHINGTON STATE
Marty Lees was introduced as the Washington State University Head Baseball Coach in June, becoming the 15th head coach in program history after spending the last three seasons as the assistant coach/recruiting coordinator at Oklahoma State and the previous 11 at Oregon State. In those 14 years he has coached 10 teams that have reached the NCAA Tournament, including two national champions with Oregon State. Last season the Cowboys posted a 38-20 record, falling in the NCAA Stillwater Regional. Along with helping lead the Cowboys to the NCAA Louisville Regional final in 2013 and a Big 12 Conference championship and NCAA Super Regional appearance in 2014, Lees thrived as Oklahoma State's recruiting coordinator. The Cowboys' first class with Lees on board was ranked No. 4 nationally by Baseball America and No. 5 by Collegiate Baseball, and followed that with a 2014 class that was ranked No. 5 by Collegiate Baseball for the second-consecutive year. Lees arrived at Oklahoma State after spending the previous 11 years on the coaching staff at Oregon State, including the final three (2010-12) as the Beavers' associate head coach. Lees joined the Oregon State staff as a volunteer assistant in 2002 and moved to a full-time assistant coach in 2004. He helped coach the Beavers to three-straight College World Series berths from 2005-07, including back-to-back national championships in 2006-07. A native of Lakeview, Ore., Lees earned his bachelor's degree in physical education from Western Oregon in 1994. He and his wife, Kristy, have three sons, Brandon, Brady and Jacob.
ABOUT ASSOCIATE HEAD COACH / PITCHING COACH DAN SPENCER
In his first official move as head baseball coach, Marty Lees named Dan Spencer as the Cougars' associate head coach. Spencer will oversee WSU's pitching staff and reunites with Lees as the two spent four seasons together at Oregon State, winning back-to-back College World Series titles in 2006 and 2007. Spencer recently completed his third season with the New Mexico Lobos after serving the previous four years as the head coach of Texas Tech, compiling a 115-112 record. Before joining Texas Tech for the 2008 season, Spencer spent 11 seasons at Oregon State as the Beavers hitting coach (1997-2003) and pitching coach (2004-2007). He began his head coaching career at Green River Community College in Auburn, Wash., where he was the head coach from 1992-1996. In 1992 and 1994 he was named the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges Coach of the Year. A native of Vancouver, Wash., Spencer received his bachelor's degree in history from Portland State University in 1990. He and his wife, Susie, have three children: Wade, Logan, and Elizabeth.
ABOUT ASSISTANT COACH JIM HORNER
Marty Lees filled out his coaching staff hiring former Washington State catcher and minor league manager Jim Horner as an assistant coach in June. Horner, a first-team All-Pacific-10 catcher for the Cougars in 1996, jumped at the opportunity to return to the Palouse after managing the Seattle Mariners Double-A affiliate Jackson Generals (Tenn.) for the 2014 season and the first half of the 2015 campaign. Horner owns seven-plus years of managerial experience, serving as the skipper of the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (Seattle – Low-A) from 2006-07 before managing the High Desert Mavericks (Seattle - High-A) from 2008-10 and 2013. In 2009, he was named California League Manager of the Year and Seattle Mariners Staff Member of the Year after guiding the Mavericks to South Division first and second half titles and earning a spot in the championship series. From 2011-12, Horner coached two seasons at Texas Tech University serving as the Red Raiders' hitting coach under then head coach Dan Spencer. Horner joined the coaching ranks immediately after completing a nine-year professional playing career, all with the Mariners' organization. He was a catcher in the Seattle farm system from 1996-2004. In 2000, Horner reached the Triple-A level with the Tacoma Rainiers. He was a Double-A All-Star with the San Antonio Missions in 2003 and collected the John Ellis Award for community service in 2000. as a member of the New Haven Ravens in the Eastern League. He batted .259 with 116 doubles, six triples, 59 home runs and 298 RBI during his nine year minor-league career. Horner played at Washington State for coaches Bobo Brayton (1993-94) and Steve Farrington (1995-96). The Twin Falls, Idaho native earned first-team All-Pac-10 Conference honors as a senior after leading the Cougars with a .332 batting average. Horner was also named the Pacific-10 Conference Medal Winner for Washington State as WSU's top male student-athlete and received all-academic honors while earning a bachelor's degree in criminal justice. Jim and his wife, Katie, have four children: daughters, Madison and Reagan, and sons, Jackson and Tyler.