ELLENSBURG, Wash. - The No. 1 ranked UC San Diego baseball team had eight student-athletes named to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association D-II All-West Region team, it was announced on Wednesday. The NCBWA squad was headlined by Triton head coach Dan O'Brien being named NCBWA West Region Coach of the Year. Brandon Gregorich was named NCBWA West Region Player of the Year, while Matt Rossman took home NCBWA Pitcher of the Year honors. The Tritons repeated as CCAA champions, CCAA tournament champions and NCAA West Regional champions, earning a spot in the NCAA D-II national finals.

To be eligible for the NCBWA Division II All-West Region teams, student-athletes must have been selected as either first- or second-team all-conference this season. The selection panel for the NCBWA Division II all-region team consists of six baseball SIDs from within the region -- the same panel that voted weekly for the NCBWA Division II regional polls during the 2010 regular season.

Joining Gregorich and Rossman on the NCBWA All-West Region team included first-team award winners in Vance Albitz, Kyle Saul and Tim Shibuya. Earning second-team honors was Aaron Bauman. Honorable mention awards went to Kellen Lee and Kirby St. John.

This is head coach Dan O'Brien's second consecutive NCBWA All-West Region Coach of the Year award. O'Brien has guided the Tritons to a 51-7 record and numerous team records this season. Most importantly, the Tritons won the NCAA West Regional title and will aim for a national title next week. O'Brien is 409-267-1 in his 13th season as head coach for the Tritons.

Gregorich's NCBWA West Region Player of the Year award adds to his growing collection of honors in 2010. The senior first baseman has already been honored as the California Collegiate Athletic Association Player of the Year and the Daktronics West Region Player of the Year. Gregorich enters the national finals with a .469 average, 99 hits, 29 doubles and 84 RBI.

Like Gregorich, Rossman's NCBWA West Region Pitcher of the Year award adds to his CCAA Pitcher of the Year and Daktronics West Region Pitcher of the Year awards. The senior right-hander is 9-0 with a 2.45 ERA. Rossman has tossed two complete games and opponents are hitting .229 against him. In 99.1 innings, Rossman has struck out 70 and has given up just 18 extra base hits.

Albitz has 88 hits in 2010, a personal career-high. The senior shortstop enters the week with 324 career hits which is seventh in NCAA D-II history. The 2009 defensive Player of the Year has stepped up his defense in his senior season. Albitz has a .984 fielding percentage with just five errors at the shortstop position. He is also hitting at a .342 clip with an on-base percentage of .404. Albitz has also earned CCAA All-Conference and Daktronics All-West region awards in 2010.

Saul has been one of UCSD's most consistent hitters with his .415 average, 20 doubles, six triples and seven homeruns. He has scored a team-high 74 runs and has 18 stolen bases. In the outfield, Saul has made five assists from his right field position. The NCBWA West Region award adds to his CCAA and Daktronics awards. Saul is 13-for-25 combined in both the CCAA and NCAA West Regional tournaments. He was named the NCAA West Regional tournament MVP.

Shibuya earns NCBWA first-team honors and adds to his All-CCAA and Daktronics All-West Region awards. With two postseason wins in the CCAA and NCAA West Regional, the junior has been named to both all-tournament squads. In 2010, Shibuya has a single-season school record of 12 wins and a 1.95 ERA. In 111.0 innings, Shibuya has 73 strikeouts and holds opponents to a .247 average.

Bauman also earned CCAA and Daktronics West Region awards. The junior transfer is the team leader in on-base percentage with his .553 average. For the year, Bauman is hitting .412 with 77 hits, 71 runs scored, 17 doubles and eight homeruns.

Lee has now been named to the NCBWA West Region, CCAA and Daktronics West Region teams. Lee is second on the Tritons with his .423 average, along with eight homeruns, 12 doubles and nine stolen bases. Lee is also a force behind the plate, as the junior catcher has only allowed nine stolen bases and thrown out four potential base stealers.

St. John also won CCAA and Daktronics awards. The four-year letterwinner was named to the CCAA All-Tournament team after pitching a complete-game in UCSD's title clinching game. St. John is 11-1 with a 3.92 ERA. In 80.1 innings, St. John has allowed 35 earned runs and holds opponents to a .286 average.

Player of the Year: Brandon Gregorich, Sr., 1B, UC San Diego
Pitcher of the Year: Matt Rossman, Sr., UC San Diego
Coach of the Year: Dan O'Brien, UC San Diego

FIRST TEAM
Pos. No. Name Yr. School Hometown
C 1 #Mario Ramirez Sr. Cal State L.A. Brea, Calif.
1B 12 *Brandon Gregorich Sr. UC San Diego Oakley, Calif.
2B 9 Jackson Evans Jr. Chico State Vancouver, Wash.
3B 12 Abel Medina Jr. Cal State Dominguez Hills Santa Ana, Calif.
SS 10 #Vance Albitz Sr. UC San Diego Torrance, Calif.
OF 18 *Brett Adams Sr. Dixie State Sandy, Utah
OF 4 Kevin Pillar Jr. Cal State Dominguez Hills West Hills, Calif.
OF 11 Kyle Saul Jr. UC San Diego Downey, Calif.
DH 6 Kyle Pond Jr. Cal State Dominguez Hills Torrance, Calif.
UT 21 Jenzen Torres So. Cal Poly Pomona Valencia, Calif.
SP 8 Pat Haugen Sr. San Francisco State Cayucos, Calif.
SP 29 Jacob Pettit Sr. Western Oregon Orting, Wash.
SP 31 *@Matt Rossman Sr. UC San Diego La Verne, Calif.
SP 41 Tim Shibuya Jr. UC San Diego Jackson, Wyo.
RP 4 Leonard Giammanco Jr. Cal State Stanislaus Salinas, Calif.

SECOND TEAM
Pos. No. Name Yr. School Hometown
C 4 Bas Nooij Sr. Hawaii Pacific Landsmeer, The Netherlands
1B 24 Jon Keller Sr. Northwest Nazarene Eugene, Ore.
2B 2 #Carlos Leyva Jr. Cal State Dominguez Hills Los Angeles, Calif.
3B 4 Kyle Boe Sr. Western Oregon Burlington, Wash.
SS 1 Kenny Turner Sr. Hawaii Pacific San Carlos, Calif.
OF 31 @Blake Amaral So. Hawaii Pacific Hilo, Hawaii
OF 6 Aaron Bauman Jr. UC San Diego Mendocino, Calif.
OF 6 Daniel Dillard Jr. Western Oregon Olalla, Wash.
DH 33 Jason Moseby Sr. Western Oregon Bellevue, Wash.
UT 16 Sam Wiley Sr. Cal State L.A. North Hollywood, Calif.
SP 29 Michael Gleason Sr. Chico State Willows, Calif.
SP 44 Bret Montgomery Sr. Cal State Dominguez Hills Thousand Oaks, Calif.
SP 33 Caelan O'Meara Sr. Hawaii Pacific Windsor, Calif.
SP 37 Michael Ward Jr. Western Oregon Eugene, Ore.
RP 35 Danny March Sr. Hawaii Pacific Burlingame, Calif.
RP 34 Matt Phillips Sr. Cal State Dominguez Hills Santa Maria, Calif.

HONORABLE MENTION
C-Jake Hammons, Central Washington; Kellen Lee, UC San Diego. 1B-Steve Carrillo, Cal State Dominguez Hills; Travis Jones, Saint Martin's. 2B-Grant Glover, Western Oregon; Erik Ornelas, Cal State San Bernardino; Sean Winston, Hawaii Pacific; Colton Yack, Dixie State. 3B-None. SS-Mike Murphy, Chico State. OF-#Adam Arakawa, Chico State; Devon Bouvier, Western Oregon; Ethan Chapman, Cal State San Bernardino; Andrew Elke, Saint Martin's; Kyle Jones, Sonoma State; @Keoni Manago, Hawaii Hilo; Sean McDonald, Northwest Nazarene. DH-Johnny Hay, Chico State; Rhett Welsh, Dixie State. UT-Kevin Walkenhauer, Central Washington. SP-Michael Greene, Hawaii Pacific; Jesse Gwaltney, Northwest Nazarene; #Blake Keitzman, Western Oregon; Justin Prodan, Dixie State; Kirby St. John, UC San Diego; Jeff Urlaub, Grand Canyon. RP-Kalen Hruza, Northwest Nazarene; Kirk Lind, Western Oregon; Todd Morlock, Dixie State.

* Unanimous first-team selection ... # 2009 NCBWA Division II West Region first team ... @ 2009 NCBWA Division II West Region second team

BREAKDOWN BY TEAM (1st/2nd/HM)
Western Oregon 9 (1/4/4), UC San Diego 8 (5/1/2), Cal State Dominguez Hills 7 (3/3/1), Hawaii Pacific 7 (0/5/2), Chico State 5 (1/1/3), Dixie State 5 (1/0/4), Northwest Nazarene 4 (0/1/3), Cal State L.A. 2 (1/1/0), Cal State San Bernardino 2 (0/0/2), Central Washington 2 (0/0/2), Saint Martin's 2 (0/0/2), Cal Poly Pomona 1 (1/0/0), Cal State Stanislaus 1 (1/0/0), Grand Canyon 1 (0/0/1), Hawaii Hilo 1 (0/0/1), San Francisco State 1 (1/0/0), Sonoma State 1 (0/0/1).