COUGARS CONTINUE ROAD SWING IN SAN DIEGO FOR TONY GWYNN LEGACY
Washington State hits the road for the second straight weekend, heading to San Diego for the Tony Gwynn Legacy. Due to rain the forecast, the Cougars will play two games Friday beginning at 10 a.m. against UC Irvine followed by a 2 p.m. matchup against San Diego State, with both games played at SDSU's Tony Gwynn Stadium.

FOLLOW ALONG
Every game in San Diego will have live stats but only games agianst San Diego State and UC San Diego will be webstreamed. All links will be available on wsucougars.com.

ON DECK
WSU returns home for it's home-opening weekend series against Southern Indiana. The series begins Friday at 4:05 p.m., continues Saturday at 2:05 p.m. and wraps up Sunday at 1:05 p.m.

ABOUT WASHINGTON STATE
Washington State enters week two of the 2023 season with a 4-0 mark after beating Villanova and UC Riverside each twice last weekend in Peoria, Ariz., the spring training home of the Seattle Mariners. The Cougars hit .348 as a team, hit six home runs and stole 12 bases while the pitching staff averaged over 12 strikeouts per game and posted a 2.50 ERA on opening weekend. WSU returned a pair of 2022 All-Pac-12 Conference selections after posting a 27-26 mark last season, their third-straight winning season after claiming four of their final five series along with road series wins over No. 9 Arizona and No. 10 Oregon and closed the season with the program's first sweep over Arizona State. 2022 ABCA All-West Region selection Jacob McKeon returns after hitting .348 with 15 doubles, seven homers and 32 RBI while All-Pac-12 reliever Caden Kaelber also returns after recording seven saves and a 3.64 ERA in 28 appearances last season. Brian Green is in his fourth season at WSU with 66-56 record with the Cougars along with a 224-178-1 career mark in his ninth season as a head coach. 

COUGAR QUICK GAME
TEAM
•  WSU beat Villanova twice and UC Riverside twice last weekend for its first 4-0 start since 2010
•  WSU was hit by a pitch 9 times in last Saturday's win over Villanova, a program single-game record
•  WSU posted a program-best 3.21 team GPA in the 2022 fall semester, WSU has set records last 5 semesters
•  WSU will play on the Pac-12 Networks 12 times in 2023, all at home (UCLA, Arizona, Washington, Stanford)
•  WSU recorded its 3rd-straight winning season (2020-22) for the 1st time since 2008-10
•  WSU closed last season sweeping Arizona State for the 1st time in program history
•  WSU pitching set a program record with 473 strikeouts last season, breaking the 2009 record of 453
•  WSU won 2 road series over Top-10 teams (No. 9 Arizona, No. 10 Oregon) for the 1st time in program history

INDIVIDUAL
• OF Jonah Advincula was named Pac-12 Player of the Week, 8-of-16 (.500), 2 2B, 3B, 2 HR, 13 RBI, 3 SB, 1.744 OPS
•  Jacob McKeon was named a 2022 CoSIDA Academic All-American (McKeon, 3.98 GPA, Kinesiolgy)
•  McKeon was named to the 2023 Preseason All-Pac-12 Team, rated No. 27 1B in country (D1Baseball)
•  Relievers Chase Grillo and Cam Liss made 30 appearances, tied for 4th-most in WSU single-season history
•  2021 WSU All-American 1B Kyle Manzardo was named the 2022 Tampa Bay Rays Minor League Player of the Year

ABOUT UC IRVINE
UC Irvine enters the week with a 4-0 record after sweeping a three-game home series with Tulane last weekend and recorded an 8-7 win at USC Tuesday. The Anteaters went 32-24 last season including a 16-14 mark in Big West Conference play. UCI leads the all-time series with Cougars 7-2 after sweeping a three-game series in Irvine in 2019, the last meeting between the two programs.

ABOUT SAN DIEGO STATE
San Diego State enters the week with an 0-4 mark after dropping all three contests last weekend at Arizona State and lost a 7-5 decision to CSUN in San Diego Tuesday. SDSU went 18-38 last season including a 10-20 mark in Mountain West Conference play. The Aztecs lead the all-time series with Washington State 10-6 after taking two of three in a series played in San Diego in 2000, the last meeting between the two teams.

ABOUT UC SAN DIEGO
UC San Diego enters the week with a 1-3 record after beating Michigan and dropping three games to Grand Canyon, Tennessee and Arizona in Phoenix last weekend. UCSD went 24-32 last season including a 13-17 mark in Big West Conference play. Sunday will be the first meeting between Washington State and the Tritons.

ABOUT UNLV
UNLV enters the week with a 3-1 record after sweeping a weekend series at home against Pacific and dropped a Tuesday night matchup at Arizona State. The Rebels went 36-22 overall last season including a 21-9 mark in Mountain West Conference play. UNLV leads the all-time series with WSU 12-10 after spliting a two-game set in Las Vegas in 2021.

OPENING WEEKEND BY THE NUMBERS
.583 - Elijah Hainline hit .583 (7-of-12) on opening weekend, tied for 4th in the Pac-12, leads league with 9 runs
.348 - WSU opened the season hitting .348 during last weekend's four games, entered week 2nd in the Pac-12
13 - Jonah Advincula's 13 RBI last weekend the most by any player in the country
10 - Dakota Hawkins matched a career-high with 10 strikeouts on opening day last Friday against Villanova
9 - WSU was hit by the pitch 9 times in last Saturday's win over Villanova, the most in WSU single-game history
8 - Jonah Advincula collected 8 hits last weekend, the most of any Pac-12 player
6 - WSU hit 6 home runs on opening weekend, tied for 3rd-most in the Pac-12
4 - WSU is 4-0 for the first time since 2010

ADVINCULA NAMED PAC-12 PLAYER OF THE WEEK AFTER HUGE OPENING WEEKEND
Outfielder Jonah Advincula was named the Pac-12 Conference Player of the Week after producing huge offensive numbers during opening weekend. Playing at the Peoria Sports Complex in Arizona, Advincula helped the Cougars beat Villanova twice and UC Riverside twice over the weekend for its first 4-0 start since 2010. In four games, Advincula, a transfer from Redlands University (DIII), went 8-for-16 (.500) with two doubles, one triple, two home runs, 13 RBI, three stolen bases and four runs scored. The junior from Santa Clara, Calif. hit in the leadoff stop all weekend, recorded two multiple-hit games, posted a .619 on-base percentage and a 1.125 slugging percentage. In Friday's season-opening win over Villanova, Advincula walked twice and stole two bases. In game one against UC Riverside Saturday, the lefthanded hitter collected four hits including two home runs, a double, a triple, two runs scored, one stolen base and eight RBI, the second-most RBI in WSU single-game history. In the eighth inning, Advincula went to the plate needing just a single to hit for the cycle, he instead hit a grand slam. In game two against Villanova, he drove in three runs before tallying three hits in Sunday's finale against UC Riverside including the go-ahead 2-run single in the sixth innings to break a 5-5 tie. 

2022 BY THE NUMBERS
3,609 - WSU set a program record for home-opening series attendance in 2022 against No. 4 Oregon State (3,609)
473 - WSU pitching set a program record with 473 strikeouts last season, breaking the 2009 record of 453
200 - WSU's 11-6 win over Texas A&M at the Frisco Classic in 2022 was its 1st win over an SEC team since 2012
30 - Relievers Chase Grillo and Cam Liss made 30 appearances, tied for 4th-most in WSU single-season history
3 - WSU recorded its 3rd-straight winning season (2020-22) for the 1st time since 2008-10
2 - WSU produced 2 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans for the 1st time since 1973
2 - WSU won 2 road series over Top-10 teams (No. 9 Arizona, No. 10 Oregon) for the 1st time in program history
1st - WSU swept Arizona State for the 1st time in program history

MCKEON PICKS UP 2022 ABCA ALL-WEST REGION ACCOLADES
Jacob McKeon was named to the ABCA All-West Region Second Team by the American Baseball Coaches Association in 2022. McKeon gave the Cougars an All-West Region selection for the second straight season after All-American Kyle Manzardo earned first-team honors in 2021. McKeon was named to the All-Pac-12 Conference team after finishing the regular season tenth in the conference in hitting (.348), seventh in on-base percentage (.446) and ninth in slugging percentage (.584). The Phoenix, Ariz. native recorded team-highs in extra base-hits (23), home runs (7), slugging percentage, on-base percentage and walks (28), and was second on the team in hits (56), doubles (15) and RBI (32). 

MCKEON, KAELBER AND SMITH RECEIVED 2022 ALL-PAC-12 ACCOLADES
Washington State designated hitter Jacob McKeon was named to the All-Pac-12 Conference Team while reliever Caden Kaelber and Jack Smith each earned All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention.

SMITH, MCKEON NAMED 2022 COSIDA ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICANS
Infielders Jack Smith and Jacob McKeon were each named to CoSIDA Academic All-America Teams by the College Sports Information Directors of America. Smith and McKeon were the first set of Cougar teammates to earn Academic All-America honors in the same season since Jim Chapados (OF) and Joe McIntosh (P) in 1973. McKeon owns a 3.98 GPA while majoring in kinesiology and earned Pac-12 Conference Academic Honor Roll accolades last season. 

IN THE CLASSROOM, IN THE COMMUNITY
Head coach Brian Green emphasized winning in the classroom and the community in his introductory press conference and the Cougs backed him up in his first three years at WSU. 
- Last fall, WSU posted a semester team GPA (3.21) the highest team GPA in program history. WSU has set program GPA records in the last five semesters.
- WSU does a viral campaign under Green named Meet The Professor where each baseball student-athlete introduces themselves and takes a selfie with their professor in the first class of each semester. 
- In January of 2020, WSU gathered at a local elementary school and helped the Whitman County Special Olympics with basketball practice.
- This past summer, WSU partnered with WSU ROAR to host a Lentil Cookoff. WSU ROAR is a two-year postsecondary education program for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

RV TAILGATE PROGRAM RETURNS TO BAILEY-BRAYTON FIELD FOR 2023
The Cougar Baseball RV Tailgate program returns for 2023. RV Parking and Tailgating will highlight the gameday experience at Bailey-Brayton Field and will be located behind the Indoor Practice Facility along the first base side. Washington State is accepting deposits for new season tickets for the 2023 baseball season. For the 2023 season, we will be offering general admission down the 1st and 3rd baseline as well as reserved seating behind home plate. Current season ticket holders do not need to place a deposit and will have first right to the reserved seating locations. Please contact the WSU Athletic Ticket Office at 1-800-GO-COUGS for season ticket information and/or to secure an RV pass for the season, or select series.

PROJECT: BTO (COUGAR BASEBALL COMPLEX Photos on BACK PAGE)
Washington State broke ground on the Cougar Baseball Facility Project: BTO (Back to Omaha) in October of 2019 and officially moved into its new home this past January. The state-of-the-art facility features a $10 million clubhouse facility, a new entrance to Bailey-Brayton Field, a 1,300 square-foot locker room, a 1,500 square-foot weight room, academic area, team meeting room, areas for Cougar equipment, nutrition and athletic medicine, coaches offices as well as recognition of WSU's storied history. In addition, the facility will enhance the game day experience for players, coaches and fans, and provide improved ingress and egress along with new public restrooms and concessions. All costs were all covered through donor support. 

KYLE MANZARDO NAMED TAMPA BAY RAYS 2022 MINOR LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Former Washington State Baseball first baseman Kyle Manzardo was named the Tampa Bay Rays 2022 Minor League Player of the Year and was recently invited to the 2023 big league spring training. Manzardo opened the 2022 season at High-A Bowling Green where he collected 34 extra-base hits, 55 RBI, .329 batting average, 16 doubles and 17 home runs in 63 games before being promoted to Double-A Montgomery. In 30 games at Double-A, Manzardo hit .323 with 10 doubles, five home runs and 26 RBI. Manzardo finished the 2022 season with a combined .327 batting average, 26 doubles, 22 homers, 81 RBI and a 1.043 OPS, leading all Rays' minor-leaguers in average, on-base percentage and slugging. Manzardo, taken in the second round as the No. 63 overall pick in the 2021 Major League Baseball Draft, the highest draft pick for the Cougars since Scott Hatteberg was selected in the first round compensation round and No. 43 overall in 1991. Manzardo earned All-America first-team honors by Collegiate Baseball as a junior in 2021, WSU's first All-American first-team selection since pitcher Aaron Sele in 1990 and was the first position player to earn All-American first-team honors since John Olerud in 1988. In his three seasons in Pullman, Manzardo was a two-time All-American, hit .336 with 37 doubles, 16 home runs, 105 RBI, 149 hits, set the WSU record with a 43-game on-base streak and recorded a 27-game hitting streak, the second-longest hitting streak in program history. Manzardo also tallied 45 multiple-hit games including 11 3-hit games and four 4-hit games. Manzardo was just the second Cougar to be a two-time All-American, joining Phil Westerndorf (1975, 1977) after earning third-team honors in 2020.

JOHN OLERUD NAMED PAC-12 PLAYER OF THE CENTURY
The Pac-12 Conference inducted Coug legend John Olerud into the Pac-12 Hall of Honor in 2019. Olerud was named the Pac-12 Conference's Baseball Player of the Century in 2016. During his three seasons in a Cougar uniform, Olerud (1987-89) had one of the finest careers of any Cougar student-athlete, in any sport, in Washington State history, rewriting the WSU record books and becoming the only Cougar baseball athlete ever to be named College Athlete of the Year. In 1988, Olerud became the only player in NCAA history to win 15 games on the mound and hit 20 home runs in the same season, going 15-0 with 23 home runs that year. Olerud went 26-4 overall with a 3.17 ERA over 241.1 innings during his three seasons, hitting .434. He set two Pac-10 records and 10 Pac-10 North marks, highlighted by his sophomore season when he was named Athlete of the Year by Baseball America. In January prior to his junior year at WSU, Olerud suffered a subarachnoid hemorrhage, a type of brain seizure. He missed the first 28 games of the spring season, but returned to hit .359 for WSU over the final 27 games. Prior to his senior season, Olerud signed a contract with Toronto and went directly to the Major Leagues. In 1993, he became the first Blue Jay to win a batting title, hitting .363. Olerud played for Toronto, the New York Mets and Yankees, Seattle and Boston during his 17-year career, winning back-to-back World Series titles with Toronto in 1992 and 1993. In 2001 he joined his father, John Sr., in the WSU Athletics Hall of Fame, and is a member of the College Baseball, State of Washington and Inland Northwest Sports Halls of Fame. The John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Award, given annually by the College Baseball Hall of Fame, was named in his honor and in 2016, he was named the Pac-12 Conference Player of the Century.