COUGARS HOST No. 3 STANFORD ON PAC-12 NETWORK
Washington State hosts third-ranked Stanford for a crucial Pac-12 Conference series beginning Thursday at 7:05 p.m., continuing Friday at 3:05 p.m. and wraps up Saturday at 12:05 p.m.

WSU TO RECOGNIZE 11 SENIORS PRIOR TO SATURDAY
Prior to Saturday's series-finale, WSU will recognize 11 seniors before their final game at Bailey-Brayton Field; RHP Connor Barison, LHP McKabe Cottrell, OF Greg Fuchs, RHP Chase Grillo, OF Jake Harvey, RHP Dakota Hawkins, LHP Cam Liss, RHP Caden Kaelber, INF Jacob McKeon, undergraduate assistant coach Michael Newstrom and student manager Grady Benton.

ON DECK
Washington State enters the final weekend of the regular season looking to clinch a spot in next week's Pac-12 Conference Tournament held in Scottsdale, Ariz. The top nine teams make the tournament.

ABOUT WASHINGTON STATE
Washington State enters the weekend with a 29-20 overall record including a 10-16 mark in Pac-12 Conference play after taking two of three at Cal last weekend. The Cougars enter the weekend leading the Pac-12 in hit-by-pitch (91) and second in doubles (115) while the pitching staff is second in the league averaging 10.2 strikeouts/9 innings and the defense owns the second-best fielding percentage. Sam Brown is third in the Pac-12 in doubles (19), fourth in hitting (.385) and seventh in RBI (54) while Jonah Advincula is second in doubles (20) and third in stolen bases (23). Head coach Brian Green owns an 91-76 record in his fourth season at WSU and a 249-198-1 career mark (9th season). 

ABOUT STANFORD
Stanford enters the weekend with a 34-14 overall record including a 20-7 mark in Pac-12 Conference play after taking two of three against Arizona in Stanford last weekend, clinching the Pac-12 Regular Season Title last Saturday. The Cardinal lead the all-time series 63-27 against the Cougars and have won 11 straight series against WSU including the last seven in Pullman. Washington State's last series win against Stanford came after taking two of three in 2007.

THREE COUGARS EARNED ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT ACCOLADES
Three Cougars were named to the Academic All-District Team by the College Sports Communicators Tuesday. Senior designated hitter Jacob McKeon, redshirt-junior pitcher Chase Grillo and sophomore infielder Elijah Hainline each earned the honor, matching the 1972 team for the most Academic All-District selections in program history. McKeon earned Academic All-District honors for the second straight season after earning CSC Academic All-America second-team honors and Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll accolades last season. The Phoenix, Ariz. native graduated with his degree in kinesiology and a 3.95 GPA. Grillo earned his first career academic honor after posting a 3.74 grade point average while graduating with a bachelor's degree in social sciences. Hainline picked up his first career academic accolade after producing a 3.80 GPA while majoring in kinesiology. 

COUGS BY THE NUMBERS 
2017 - WSU took both games against No. 12 UCLA for its first series win over the Bruins since 2017
2014 - WSU claimed its Pac-12 opening series (at OSU) for the 1st time since 2014 (at Arizona)
2006-07 - WSU owns series wins over Arizona in back-to-back years for the 1st time since 2006-07
1999, 2001 - WSU won back-to-back series at Cal (2021, 2023) for the 1st time since 1999 and 2001
485 - WSU pitching set the WSU single-season record with 485 strikeouts for 2nd straight year (473)
91 - WSU has been hit by the pitch 91 times, most in the Pac-12 and tied for 4th-most in WSU history
84 - Dakota Hawkins is 3rd in the Pac-12 with 84 strikeouts, most since 2009 (124, Matt Way) 
69 - WSU's 69 stolen bases are the most by a Cougar team since 2015 (71), 2nd-most in the Pac-12
44 - WSU has used 44 different lineups in the 49 games, 33 different defensive lineups
31 - Andrew Baughn is 2nd in the Pac-12 with 31 appearances, tied for 2nd in WSU season history
29 - WSU's 29 wins are the most since 2015 (29), seeking 1st 30-win season since 2010 (37)
19 - WSU is 19-4 in nonconference play with wins at UC San Diego, San Diego St., UNLV, Gonzaga 2x
17 - WSU owns 3 games with 17 K, tied for the 3rd-most in single-game history (Villanova, Oregon 2x)
15 - WSU has tallied 15 comeback wins in 2023 after recording 16 last season
11 - WSU started the season 11-1, its best start since 1980 (18-0)
12 - Caden Kaelber owns 12 career saves, 7th-most WSU history
9 - WSU was hit by the pitch 9 times in the Feb. 18 win over Villanova, most in WSU history
1 - Four Cougar pitchers combined for a 1-hitter in the series-clinching win at No. 15 Oregon State

JONAH ON THE RUN 
Jonah Advincula has been on the run all season long beginning with his first game as a Coug when the Redlands University transfer stole two bases in the season-opening win over Villanova in Peoria, Ariz. Advincula owns four games with two stolen bases and enters the weekend third in the Pac-12 Conference with 23 stolen bases, the first Coug with 20 bags in a season since Mike Wetmore stole 32 in 1996. Advincula enters the week second in doubles (20), tied for ninth in hits (68) and ninth in hitting (.360).

SAM BROWN IMPRESSES 
Portland transfer Sam Brown has produced impressive numbers in his first season in the Pac-12 Conference. The 2021 Freshman All-American homered in his first four games at Bailey-Brayton Field earlier this season and recorded his first career two-home run game in Sunday's series-clinching win at Cal. Brown enters the week leading the Cougars in hitting (.385), slugging (.690), on-base percentage (.491), RBI (54) and doubles (19), and tied for the lead in home runs (10). The Petaluma, Calif. native enters the week with 21 multiple-hit games, a team-best 17 multiple-RBI games and with a 26-game on-base streak.

HAINLINE BREAKS OUT 
Sophomore Elijah Hainline enters the weekend hitting .318 with 11 doubles, 10 home runs and 10 stolen bases. The Spokane, Wash. native owns 18 multiple-hit games including four three-hit games and nine multiple-RBI games. As a freshman last season, Hainline hit .228 with seven doubles and one home run.

McKEON MAKING HIS MARK 
Senior Jacob McKeon continues to put monster numbers on and off the field for the Cougars. McKeon, an All-West Region second-team selection last season, enters the week hitting .337 with career highs in hits (65), doubles (18), RBI (44) and stolen bases (6). In just three seasons in Pullman, McKeon sits just outside the WSU all-time Top-10 for batting average (.343) and needs three more doubles to break into the Top-10 for career doubles, enters the weekend with 46. The Phoenix native has put up impressive numbers in the classroom as well, earning CoSIDA Academic All-America second-team honors last season and was recently named one of WSU Top Ten graduating seniors. For more than 80 years, Washington State University has recognized ten of the top seniors in each graduating class. The WSU Alumni Association selects those students who represent the highest standards in specific aspects of the college experience: academics, athletics, campus involvement, community service, and visual and performing arts.

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.

COUGAR BASEBALL RETURNED TO TOP-25 FOR FIRST TIME SINCE 2010
Washington State Baseball returned to the National Top-25 for the first time since 2010, appearing at No. 20 in the March 13 Collegiate Baseball Poll after beating No. 15 Oregon State the previous weekend. The Cougars took two of three at No. 15 Oregon State, dropping Friday's series opener before claiming a 6-3 win Saturday and four pitchers combined for a one-hitter in Sunday's 3-1 victory to clinch their first series win in Corvallis since 2009. The Cougars finished the 2010 season ranked No. 21 by Collegiate Baseball and No. 24 by Baseball America. The Collegiate Baseball Newspaper poll, which started in 1959, is the oldest college baseball poll.

CHASE GRILLO NAMED TO NCBWA MIDSEASON STOPPER OF THE WATCH LIST
Redshirt-junior Chase Grillo was one of 56 pitcher named to the 2023 NCBWA Midseason Stopper of the Year Preseason Watch List by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. Grillo enters the week tied for fourth in the Pac-12 Conference with six saves and earned notable saves at UC San Diego, both wins at No. 15 Oregon State and the series-clincher against Arizona.

2022 BY THE NUMBERS
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

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 and was promoted to Double-A Montgomery and 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 as a junior in 2021, WSU's 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. 

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.