SAN BRUNO, Calif. – The West Coast Conference announced its all-academic teams today with nine Dons earning honors for their work in the classroom, with
Riley Ornido,
Thomas Ponticelli and
Ross Puskarich earning first-team distinction.
For Ornido, this adds to his First-Team All-Conference honor he was awarded yesterday by the WCC. Both his all-conference awards are firsts for Ornido. The sophomore economic major not only impressed on the mound in his second year on the Hilltop but performed in the classroom as well. Ornido garnered a 3.96 GPA in the fall term.
Ponticelli earned his second academic honor from the conference. The Newbury Park, Calif. native was selected to the all-academic honorable mention team in 2017. This season the junior business administration major earned a 3.75 GPA in the fall. Ponticelli has not only been the Friday starter for the Dons all year but will take the mound in their first game of the WCC Tournament tomorrow.
In his final year on the Hilltop, Puskarich has earned his first all-academic distinction from the conference. Along with enjoying an impressive year, setting career bests in doubles (12) and RBIs (34), Puskarich boasted a 3.75 GPA, majoring in business/finance. In his final home game as a Don, Puskarich went two-for-four with an RBI.
Joining their teammates on the all-academic honors list in the honorable mention category are
Grant Goodman,
Brendan Jenkins,
Michael Perri,
Benji Post,
Joey Steele and
Grant Young. This is a first-time honor for all six of the student-athletes, with Goodman, Jenkins and Perri all capping off their USF careers with academic recognition.
USF (28-28, 15-12 WCC) will take on Pepperdine on Thursday in their first-round game of the West Coast Conference Tournament at 3 p.m. at Banner Island Ballpark in Stockton, Calif.
2018 WEST COAST CONFERENCE BASEBALL ALL-ACADEMIC TEAM
| Name |
School |
Class |
GPA |
Major |
| Daniel Bies |
Gonzaga |
Jr. |
3.62 |
Business Administration |
| *Cooper Casad |
Pacific |
Sr. |
3.94 |
Sport Management |
| *Joey Fiske |
Saint Mary's |
Sr. |
3.52 |
Biology |
| *Daniel Fredrickson |
Gonzaga |
Jr. |
3.81 |
Mechanical Engineering |
| Matthew Kanfer |
Pepperdine |
Jr. |
3.41 |
Media Production |
| Riley Ornido |
San Francisco |
So. |
3.96 |
Economics |
| Christian Peters |
Portland |
So. |
3.78 |
Business |
| Thomas Ponticelli |
San Francisco |
Jr. |
3.75 |
Business Administration |
| Ross Puskarich |
San Francisco |
Sr. |
3.75 |
Business/Finance |
| Jay Schuyler |
San Diego |
Jr. |
3.43 |
Finance |
| *Brandon Shearer |
Loyola Marymount |
Jr. |
3.63 |
Entrepreneurship |
| *Matthew Tarantino |
Pacific |
Sr. |
3.92 |
Business Administration |
| Jordan Wood |
BYU |
Jr. |
3.56 |
Exercise Science |
2018 WEST COAST CONFERENCE BASEBALL ALL-ACADEMIC HONORABLE MENTION
Alex Barden, Santa Clara; Justin Blatner, Gonzaga; Niko Decolati, Loyola Marymount; Freddie Erlandson, Santa Clara; Mark Finkelnburg, Loyola Marymount; Kiko Garcia, Pepperdine;
Grant Goodman, San Francisco; Brock Hale, BYU; Cody Hawken, Portland; Ryan Hoogerwerf, Portland; Bradley Jekich, Pacific;
Brendan Jenkins, San Francisco; Matt Kelly, Portland; Michael Mahony, Pepperdine; Aharon Modlin, Pepperdine;
Michael Perri, San Francisco; Austin Piscotty, Saint Mary's;
Benji Post, San Francisco; Cameron Richman, Portland; Michael Ricupito, Pacific;
Joey Steele, San Francisco; Christian Stoutland, Pepperdine; Jacob Talamante, Saint Mary's; Conor Thane, Saint Mary's; Nate Verlin, Pacific; Steven Wilson, Santa Clara;
Grant Young, San Francisco
