Tag: Washington Huskies Baseball

San Diego coach Brock Ungricht reportedly in mix for Washington opening

San Diego head coach Brock Ungricht is reportedly among the candidates for Washington’s opening.

It didn’t take long for potential candidates in the search for Washington’s next head baseball coach to reveal themselves. Not long after it was reported that Jason Kelly would be leaving for Texas A&M to become their next pitching coach, rumors began to swirl about potential candidates to take over on Montlake.

D1Baseball.com’s managing editor Kendall Rogers singled out University of San Diego head coach Brock Ungricht as one of the potential frontrunners for the job, a candidate who has a lot of success with the Toreros.

He holds a 102-60-1 record over three seasons at the helm and has led his team to appearances in NCAA Regionals in 2022 and 2024. The Toreros went 41-15 under his watch in 2024 and took home the WCC regular season title thanks to a stellar 20-4 record, and the conference tournament title.

That led to an appearance in the Santa Barbara Regional, where Ungricht’s team lost to the Oregon Ducks in the opening game and beat the Fresno State Bulldogs in their second game before their season eventually came to an end at the hands of their hosts, the Gauchos.

More candidates for the job should reveal themselves over the next few days as athletic director Pat Chun should work quickly to fill the opening.

Washington head coach Jason Kelly hired as Texas A&M pitching coach

The Washington Huskies are in search of another new head coach.

For the fourth time in 2024, the Washington Huskies are in search of a new head coach after baseball coach Jason Kelly was hired as Texas A&M’s new pitching coach.

In January, it was the departure of football coach Kalen DeBoer. March, the firing of men’s basketball coach Mike Hopkins, and in May, gymnastics coach Jen Llewellyn left for Iowa.

As the Aggies continue to deal with the fallout from coach Jim Schlossnagle leaving College Station for the Texas Longhorns one day after they lost in the College World Series, new coach Michael Earley has quite the mess on his hands to deal with.

After acting as the team’s hitting coach for the last three seasons, Texas A&M decided that he was the best man for the job and has had to put together a staff rather quickly. Three hours after the school officially announced his promotion, D1Baseball’s Teddy Cahill reported Kelly would be returning to the SEC to a role that he has also held with the Huskies and Arizona State Sun Devils.

He spent the 2022 season as LSU’s pitching coach before returning to Montlake as Washington’s head coach after the season. Over his two years at the helm, the Huskies went 54-51-1, including 35 wins in his first season, the second-most for a first-year head coach in school history.

Former Husky Levi Jordan could hang around with the Cincinnati Reds

Former Washington Huskies star Levi Jordan is getting his shot in the major leagues.

Former Washington Huskies standout Levi Jordan got his shot on Monday when the Cincinnati Reds called him up to join the ranks of the MLB. The Reds selected Jordan in the Rule 5 draft over the offseason from the Chicago Cubs and sent him to play for their AAA affiliate, the Louisville Bats.

So far this season, Jordan has batted .302 with 5 home runs, 10 doubles, and six stolen bases in 54 games with the Bats. While he has primarily acted as a utility player in Louisville, manning second and third base in the field, along with center and left field, he will be in right field for the Reds in place of the injured TJ Friedl and mostly face left-handed pitchers.

The Puyallup, Washington native was a walk-on for the Huskies in 2015 after being part of an undefeated state championship team at Puyallup High School during his senior year. Once on Montlake, he quickly established himself as one of the best infielders in the Pac-12, making just 2 errors in 206 chances during his freshman season.

He covered second base his during his first three years on the team before taking over at shortstop for his senior year.

During his time at Washington he was credited as an All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention in 2016 and 2017 before being named to the All-Pac-12 Team in 2018. He really impressed at the plate during his final season, slugging 8 home runs and 17 doubles while holding a .305 as the Huskies made a run to the College World Series, which also led to the Cubs selecting him with the No. 878 overall pick.

Jordan played in 210 games and had 710 at bats, which both inside the top five in school history. If he can display the defensive versatility and consistency at the plate that he did in college, he could make it tough to send him back to Triple-A.

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Washington’s Levi Jordan stars for the Cincinnati Reds in his MLB debut

One of the stars of Washington’s run to the College World Series made his MLB debut earlier this week.

Levi Jordan has come a long way since he walked on with the Washington Huskies. He was selected to the All-Pac-12 Team in 2018 and by the Chicago Cubs in round No. 27 of the MLB draft as he helped lead the Huskies to the College World Series.

On Monday, he made his professional debut with the Cincinnati Reds, starting for manager David Bell’s squad in right field.

Jordan went 1 for 3, picking up his first career hit with a double in the sixth inning, and would score shortly after thanks to an RBI single by Luke Maile. He also picked up the first RBI of his career courtesy of a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning as the Reds would go on to beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 11-5 thanks to a strong day from budding superstar Elly De La Cruz.

“I’ve never really been in a situation where people cheered for me like that,” Jordan told reporters after the game. “Worth some chills, for sure.”

The former Husky star will have an opportunity to make a name for himself over the next few weeks in the big leagues, as he was called up in place of outfielder TJ Friedl, who Cincinnati placed on the injured list on Monday.

Washington second baseman Aiva Arquette named to All-Pac-12 team

The Washington Huskies’ star second baseman took home multiple postseason honors from the Pac-12.

Washington Huskies standout second baseman Aiva Arquette had an impressive season and was properly honored by the Pac-12. He found his name on the All-Pac-12 first team and the conference’s All-Defensive team after being one of the most dynamic players in the conference this season.

The sophomore from Kailua, Hawai’i was drafted in the eighteenth round by the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2022 but decided to bring his talents to Montlake.

The 6-foot-4, 220-pound dual threat started 48 games during his sophomore season and finished the year with a .325 batting average, 36 runs batted in, and blasted 12 home runs, the second-most on the team, all out of the leadoff spot.

He was equally as impressive on the field with a .974 fielding percentage with only committing 6 errors in 231 chances, turning 28 double plays with his partner up the middle, shortstop Cam Clayton, the conference’s Defensive Player of the Year.

With two years of eligibility remaining, it appears coach Jason Kelly has a star on his hands in Arquette. [lawrence-related id=3396]

Washington baseball ends its season with a loss to Arizona

The Washington Huskies’ season comes to a close with an eight-game losing streak.

The Washington Huskies couldn’t pull off their third upset of the Arizona Wildcats this season, falling 6-5 in the Pac-12 Tournament and ending their season. Coach Jason Kelly’s team was in it until the end and mounted a late rally in the ninth inning, but couldn’t push the tying run across.

Left fielder AJ Guerrero ended his strong campaign on a high note with a two-run home run in the first inning, but it wasn’t enough to match shortstop Mason White.

Arizona’s No. 3 hitter provided the majority of the team’s runs on Wednesday, going 2 for 4 with 4 runs batted in and a run scored thanks to a three-run home run in the third inning and an RBI single in the sixth.

Second baseman Garen Caufield hit a solo home run in the second inning as part of Arizona’s 14-hit onslaught. Right fielder Carson Ohland and second baseman Aiva Arquette each responded with RBI singles of their own, but the Huskies came up short, finishing the year with a 19-31-1 record.

Jared Engman took the loss for the Huskies, his eighth of the season after allowing 6 hits, 1 walk, and 4 earned runs over 2 2/3 innings while striking out 4 batters. Tony Pluta earned his second win of the year for the Wildcats thanks to two perfect innings in relief with 1 strikeout.

Washington baseball run-ruled by Cal in Pac-12 Tournament opener

The Washington Huskies lost their fourth straight game to the Cal Golden Bears on Tuesday night.

The Washington Huskies’ struggles away from home continued on Tuesday, as coach Jason Kelly’s team lost its fourth straight matchup with the California Golden Bears and seventh consecutive game. Even though Washington secured a berth in the Pac-12 Tournament, they might be sent home early following a 12-0 defeat in seven innings.

The Huskies mustered just two hits off of Cal starter Andres Galan, who worked 6 1/3 innings and struck out 7 batters to improve to 5-2 on the season. On the other side, Calvin Kirchoff struggled, yielding 8 hits, 6 earned runs, and 2 walks to the Golden Bears offense in 4 innings, dropping to 4-5.

That offense was led by third baseman Max Handron, who went 3 for 4 with a triple, 3 runs batted in, and 2 runs scored. Catcher Caleb Lomavita had a 2 for 3 night with a double and a triple along with a run scored, while shortstop PJ Moutzouridis collected 2 hits, 3 RBI, and 3 runs scored.

Second baseman Jarren Advincula also added a solo home run in Cal’s 15 hit onslaught.

The Huskies will continue pool play on Wednesday with a matchup against the tournament’s top seed, the Arizona Wildcats.

Washington’s Clayton named Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year

Washington’s shortstop was honored by the Pac-12 for his impressive abilities in the field as the conference’s Defensive Player of the Year.

On Tuesday, Washington Huskies shortstop Cam Clayton was named the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year as the league announced its annual postseason awards before the conference tournament.

Clayton becomes just the second Husky to receive the honor, joining infielder Erik Forgione, who received it in 2014 before being selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the ninth round of the MLB draft.

Over his three seasons on Montlake, the junior from Lake Oswego, Oregon, has started every game for the Huskies. With 24 double plays under his belt and several highlight reel plays to his name, along with just 4 errors on 199 chances, good for a .980 fielding percentage, it’s easy to see why Clayton took home the honor.

Offensively, he was also a major contributor for coach Jason Kelly’s team. He holds a .273 batting average with 7 home runs, 8 doubles, and 30 runs batted in. Clayton also notched 2 multi-home run games this season, including one in Washington’s final game of the regular season against the California Golden Bears.

 

Washington baseball ends regular season on 6 game losing streak

The Washington Huskies didn’t end the regular season the way they hoped, being swept by the California Golden Bears.

Shortstop Cam Clayton did all he could to snap the Washington Huskies’ five-game losing streak, but it wasn’t enough. Coach Jason Kelly’s team lost its sixth straight game and will head into the Pac-12 Tournament with some work to do after a 4-3 loss to the California Golden Bears on Saturday.

Clayton gave the Huskies a 1-0 lead with a solo home run in the seventh inning, but Cal responded with 3 runs across the next two innings, headlined by a solo home run from center fielder Rodney Green Jr., who went 3 for 5 on Saturday with 3 runs scored and a run batted in.

In the ninth inning, Clayton stepped up to the plate with one out and tied the game with his second homer of the day, a two-run blast. He went 3 for 4 on the day with 3 runs batted in and 2 runs scored, tallying half of Washington’s 6 hits on the afternoon.

Seth Gwynn plated Green with a walk-off single off Sawyer Parkin in the tenth inning to secure the sweep of the Huskies.

Parkin, who took his second loss of the season, worked 2 1/3 innings and let up 2 hits, 1 walk, and 1 earned run. Connor Sullivan earned the win thanks to a perfect tenth inning with 2 strikeouts.

The Huskies finished the regular season 19-29-1, and 10-20 in Pac-12 play while the Golden Bears improved to 34-18 on the year and 17-13 against conference opponents. Now, Kelly’s team will await Cal once again, who they will face off with on Tuesday in the opening game of pool play in the Pac-12 Tournament.

Washington baseball runs losing streak to 5 with extra innings loss at Cal

The Washington Huskies continued to slide on Friday, losing their fifth straight game.

The Washington Huskies looked like they were well on their way to ending their four-game losing streak after jumping out to a 5-0 lead in the fourth inning. But the California Golden Bears came storming back and extended UW’s losing streak with a 6-5 victory in 11 innings.

Coach Jason Kelly’s team scored 5 runs in the top of the frame thanks to a two-run home run from shortstop Cam Clayton. The scoring came at a torrid pace, as Clayton was followed by back-to-back RBI doubles from designated hitter Carson Ohland and third baseman Sam DeCarlo, and an RBI single from right fielder Braeden Terry as the Huskies rattled off 6 consecutive hits in the inning.

However, that was all the offense the Huskies could muster, as they only tallied 3 hits through the game’s other 10 innings, with Clayton accounting for 2 of them, going 3 for 5 on the day with 2 runs batted in and a run scored.

The Golden Bears stormed back to tie the game, headlined by a pair of home runs. Designated hitter Dominic Smaldino hit a solo shot in the fifth inning and a two-run home run from shortstop PJ Moutzouridis in the eighth inning.

In the eleventh, first baseman Peyton Schulze was the hero with a walk-off solo home run.

Grant Cunningham took the loss for the Huskies, his fourth of the year, working 2 innings with 2 hits, 2 walks, an earned run, and 3 strikeouts. Tyler Stasiowski earned his fifth win of the season following 3 perfect innings with 5 strikeouts.

But it wasn’t all bad news on Friday, as the Huskies clinched a spot in the Pac-12 Tournament after the Washington State Cougars lost to the No. 20 Oregon Ducks.

The Huskies dropped to 19-28-1 on the year and 10-19 in conference play, while the Golden Bears improved to 33-18 overall and 16-13 against the Pac-12. The two teams will finish up the regular season on Saturday afternoon at 12:05.