COUGAR BASEBALL OPENS 2017 AT SACRAMENTO STATE
Washington State Cougar baseball opens the 2017 season this weekend with a four-game series at Sacramento State. The opener is set for 6 p.m. Friday.

FOLLOW ALONG
Cougar baseball fans can follow all the season's action on the Washington State baseball official twitter page @CougBaseball, instagram page @Coug_Baseball and wsucougars.com. Every Cougar home game will be webstreamed through Pac-12.org. All four games this weekend at Sacramento State will have live audio streamed, visit the baseball schedule page on wsucougars.com

ON DECK
The Cougars will continue their season-opening California road trip with a four-game series at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles beginning next Friday.

WALKER NAMED TO STOPPER OF THE YEAR PRESEASON WATCH LIST
Junior Ryan Walker has been named to the preseason watch list for the National Collegiate Baseball Associate Stopper of the Year, the NCBWA announced Monday. The award is given to the top relief pitcher in NCAA Division I Baseball. Walker earned All-Pac-12 honorable mention last season after posting the sixth lowest ERA (2.66) and batting average against (.212) in the conference during Pac-12 play. Of Washington State's 11 conference wins in 2016, the right-hander from Arlington, Wash. had his hand in eight of them, recording four wins and four saves. Overall, Walker led the Cougars with a 6-3 record and five saves in 18 appearances along with a 2.40 ERA, a .210 batting average against and 50 strikeouts in 63.2 innings, all in relief. Walker's six relief wins tied for the second-most relief wins in WSU single-season history. Former Cougar pitcher and WSU's all-time leader in saves, Ian Hamilton was named to the same watch list prior to last season. The Pac-12 Conference had the most representation with nine players finding their names on this year's watch list.

ABOUT SACRAMENTO STATE
Sacramento State, out of the Western Athletic Conference, went 30-28 last season including a 16-11 in WAC play to finished fourth in the standings. This will be the first series meeting between the Cougars and Hornets since 2005 when the two clubs played two series during the year. Sacramento State opened the season taking two of three in Sacramento befor WSU took two of three in Pullman in May. WSU leads the all-time series 21-15. Head coach Reggie Christiansen is in his seventh season at SSU and owns a 187-171 record at the

COUGAR BASEBALL ON WASHINGTON STATE IMG RADIO
This season, 38 games will be broadcast on the Washington State IMG College Network and every radio broadcast will be available through the WSU Gameday App via TuneIn, also online at wsucougars.com and on KQQQ (1150 AM) in Pullman. There will also be 10 select games broadcast on KXLY (920 AM) in Spokane and 18 games will be available on KONA (610 AM) in Tri-Cities. Included in the 38 broadcasts are all 30 Pac-12 Conference contests and all three meetings against Gonzaga University. Matt Chazanow enters his second season calling Cougar Baseball and will be joined in the booth by former Cougar All-American and Major Leaguer Mike Kinkade who will serve as an analyst for all home games and select road contests in 2017. Kinkade played at Washington State from 1992-95, earned All-America honors as a junior and finished his WSU career the all-time leader in hits, runs scored and doubles and went on to play six seasons in the big leagues with the Mets, Orioles and Dodgers. The first broadcast is scheduled for March 17 when the Cougars open Pac-12 Conference play with a three-game series at USC.

RECRUITING CLASS RANKED AMONG NATION'S BEST
The 2016 WSU recruiting class was ranked No. 28 in the country according to D1Baseball.com, who began to release its Top-30 signing classes.  It is the first Cougar recruiting class to be nationally ranked by D1Baseball.com and features 12 players including eight junior college transfers and four freshmen. Two freshmen hail from the state of Washington and were selected in the Major League Baseball Draft but chose to play for Washington State. According to D1baseball.com "…this is a high quality and high upside class that has head coach Marty Lees very excited and comparing his class to some of the powerhouse recruiting classes he had as an assistant at Oregon State and Oklahoma State…"

WHO'S NEW? NOTES ON KEY NEWCOMERS
Andres Alvarez (So., Shortstop, Trinidad JC)    All-Region 1st-Team, .395, 23 2b, 15 SB
Cody Anderson (Jr., LHP, Bellevue CC)    Northwest Athletic Conference-best 114 Ks in 85.2 IP
A.J. Block (Fr., LHP, Newport HS)    39th-RD draft pick (Cubs), All-State 1st Team
Blake Clanton (Jr., OF, Western Oklahoma State College)    NJCAA DII Region II MVP - .373, 19 HR
Cory Meyer (So., C, Spokane Falls CC)    JUCO All-America 3rd Team, .333
Dillon Plew (Fr., INF, Kennewick HS)    League Player of the Year, .473, 7 2b, 23 RBI
Ryan Ramsower (Jr., INF, Pima CC)    All-Region 2nd-Team, .360, 15 2b, 39 RBI, 9 SB
Joe Rosenstein (Jr., RHP, Lamar CC)    All-Region 1st-Team, 7-1, 60 Ks in 59.2 IP
James Rudkin (Jr., 1B, McLennan JC)    2016 - .308, 10 2b, 7 HR, 41 RBI
Danny Sinatro (Fr., UTL, Skyline HS)    40th-RD draft pick (Indians), All-State 1st-Team, 10 SB
David Wallum (So., RHP, Linn-Benton CC)    7-3, 3.24 ERA, 60 Ks in 58.1 IP
Cal Waterman (Fr., C, Summit HS)    Oregon Player of the Year, .574, 17 2B, 8 HR, 43 RBI

COUGARS NOTCH BIG SERIES WINS UNDER MARTY LEES in FIRST SEASON
Washington State went 19-35 overall including an 11-19 Pac-12 Conference mark under the direction of first-year head coach Marty Lees in 2016. The Cougars picked up series wins over No. 10 Oregon State and at No. 14 Washington and finished the year second in the league in stolen bases.

THREE COUGARS ALL-PAC-12 HONORS
Three Washington State Cougars received All-Pac-12 Conference recognition in 2016. Second baseman Trek Stemp was named All-Pac-12 while pitchers Ian Hamilton and Ryan Walker each received All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention, as voted on by the conference coaches. Stemp finished the regular season fifth in the conference with a .355 batting average and tied for second with 12 stolen bases. The Kennewick, Wash. native earns his first career all-conference accolade after posting team-highs with 65 hits and 32 runs scored despite missing the final nine games with an injury. Hamilton, a junior that moved to the starting rotation after two All-Pac-12 seasons as a closer, led the Cougars with 62 strikeouts and 87 innings in 15 starts. The Vancouver, Wash. native excelled in Pac-12 play, notching wins over Arizona State and at No. 14 Washington. Hamilton fired six strong innings against No. 10 Oregon State and later earned Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week after beating UW in Seattle, helping WSU to series wins over both. Walker, a sophomore, earned his first career All-Pac-12 accolade after posting the sixth lowest ERA (2.66) and batting average against (.212) in the conference during Pac-12 play. Of Washington State's 11 conference wins, the righthander from Arlington, Wash. had his hand in eight of them, recording four wins and four saves.

FOUR COUGARS EARNED PAC-12 ALL-ACADEMIC HONORS
Four Washington State Baseball student-athletes received Pac-12 Conference All-Academic honors
Sophomore Jack Strunc was a first-team selection while fellow sophomores Derek Chapman, Shane Matheny and Ryan Walker each received honorable mention. It is the first all-academic honor for all four student-athletes. Chapman posted a 3.15 cumulative GPA while appearing in 36 games, scoring 17 runs, recording four doubles and finished third on the team with 11 stolen bases. Matheny had a 3.33 cumulative GPA while appearing in 52 games with 49 starts, 17 runs scored, one triple, one homers, was third on the team with nine doubles and second with 26 RBI. The Bremerton, Wash. native was impressive in Pac-12 play, producing a team-high seven doubles and 17 RBI in addition to a 1.000 fielding percentage in all 30 conference games. Walker owned a 3.23 cumulative GPA and earned All-Pac-12 Conference honorable mention after posting a 6-3 record with five saves, a 2.40 ERA and held hitters to a .210 batting average. To be eligible for selection to the academic team, a student-athlete must have a minimum 3.0 GPA and be a starter or significant contributor.

THREE COUGARS TAKEN IN MLB DRAFT
Pitcher Ian Hamilton was selected in the 11th round by the Chicago White Sox in the Major League Baseball Amateur Draft. Hamilton, a junior from Vancouver, Wash. was the No. 326 overall pick and 10th player taken the round. The right-hander was just the second Cougar to be drafted by the White Sox after pitcher Wayne Lindermann was taken in the 20th round in 1992. Hamilton is a three-time All-Pac-12 Conference selection, owns the school record with 28 career saves and is tied for ninth in WSU history with 70 career appearances. Hamilton earned All-Pac-12 honors as a closer during his freshman and sophomore seasons and picked up All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention accolades after serving as the Cougars ace this past season. In three seasons at WSU, Hamilton recorded 28 saves, five wins, 123 strikeouts in 160 innings and a 3.60 ERA. Pitcher Layne Bruner was selected in the 18th round by the Baltimore Orioles. Bruner, a junior lefthander from Montesano, Wash. appeared in 13 games out of the bullpen for the Cougars in 2016, recording 10 strikeouts in 10 innings of work. Bruner owns 47 career appearances in a Cougar uniform, mainly as a reliever, and recorded 38 strikeouts 46.2 career innings pitched. He was taken as the No. 541 overall pick, No. 15 selection in the 18th round. Infielder Trek Stemp was selected in the 29th round by the Tampa Bay Rays. Stemp, a redshirt-junior, earned All-Pac-12 Conference honors after finishing the regular season fifth in the conference with a .355 batting average and tied for second with 12 stolen bases. Stemp also led the Cougars with 17 multiple-hit games including a three 4-hit games and recorded three different hitting streaks of 10+ games throughout the season. Incoming freshman pitcher Jake Polancic was also drafted in the 11th round by the Arizona Diamondbacks, incoming junior college signee Nate Easley was taken in the 23rd round by the San Diego Padres, incoming freshman lefthanded pitcher A.J. Block was drafted in the 39th round by the Chicago Cubs and incoming freshman infielder Danny Sinatro was selected in the 40th round by the Cleveland Indians. Hamilton, Stemp, Bruner, Polanci and Easley all signed professional contracts.

WASHINGTON STATE TAKES SERIES FROM NO. 14 UW IN SEATTLE
The Cougars took two of three against No. 14 Washington to notch the first series win in Seattle since 2004. WSU used a seven-run sixth to take game one 9-3 and a five-run third to take Saturday's clincher 7-2. UW rallied with three runs in the sixth to take Sunday's finale. Third baseman Shane Matheny led WSU with a pair of three-hit games and hit .500 in the series with five RBI.

WASHINGTON STATE POSTS TWO-HIT SHUTOUT AT OREGON
Washington State allowed just two hits in a 4-0 series-opening win over Oregon last season. The Cougars saw starting pitcher Damon Jones and reliever Ryan Walker combine to strike out nine and didn't allow an Oregon hit until one out in the sixth. Washington State scored three runs in the first and added one more in the third in WSU's first two-hitter since 2009 at Rice. Walker finished with six strikeouts in six shutout innings.

COUGARS TAKE SERIES FROM NO. 10 OREGON STATE
Washington State won the final two games of its home series against No. 10 Oregon State to take the series. The Cougars dropped game one 12-3 but received a solid starting pitching performance form Ian Hamilton to take game two 7-5 and the offense came alive to win the finale 8-3. It was WSU's first series win against OSU since 2010 and first series win against a Top-10 team since beating No. 6 Oregon in 2012.

COUGARS RALLY LATE AT TEXAS STATE TO GET MARTY LEES FIRST WIN
Washington State rallied with two runs in the ninth inning and scored two more in the tenth inning to beat Texas State 9-8 in 10 innings in the final game of a season-opening four-game series in San Marcos, Texas, also giving first-year Cougar Head Coach Marty Lees his first career win. Down four runs to start the seventh inning, the Cougars scored twice in the seventh and two more in the ninth to send the game extra innings. In the tenth, Stefan Van Horn, who entered the game in the eighth, launched a solo homer high over the left field fence on the first pitch he saw. Jack Strunc, who also entered the game in the eighth, followed with a double down the left field line and later came around to score on Derek Chapman's sacrifice fly to left field which proved to be the game winner. In the bottom half of the tenth, Texas State opened the inning with a double and RBI single. The next batter laid down a sacrifice bunt and was called safe at first to put runners on first and second with nobody out. The Bobcats bunted both runners up a base and WSU intentionally walked the next hitter to load the bases with one out. Left-hander Scotty Sunitsch came up big for the Cougars striking out the final two hitters to seal up the win.

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 oversees WSU's pitching staff and reunited 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 coached three seasons 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 (1992-96) in Auburn, Wash. 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
Jim Horner, a first-team All-Pacific-10 catcher for the Cougars in 1996, jumped at the opportunity to return to the Palouse last season 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. From 2011-12, Horner coached two seasons at Texas Tech as the 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. 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.