LA JOLLA, Calif.  – The 4th-ranked UC San Diego baseball team had eight members selected to the California Collegiate Athletic Association All-Conference team, it was announced by the league office.  Head coach Dan O'Brien was named CCAA Coach of the Year, guiding UCSD to the regular season conference title.  Of UCSD’s eight all-conference selections, six made the All-CCAA First-Team.  Josh Tanner, Vance Albitz, Evan Kehoe, Matt Rossman, Tim Shibuya and Guido Knudson made the first-team while Garrett Imeson was honored on the CCAA Second-Team and Trevor Decker made Honorable Mention.  For the third consecutive season, the Tritons had at least seven student-athletes on the CCAA All-Conference Team.

The CCAA Player of the Year went to Jon Alia of Cal State Dominguez Hills.  The Most Valuable Pitcher went to Gary Moran of Sonoma State.  In other individual awards, the Newcomer of the Year went to Adam Arakawa of Chico State and the Freshman of the Year went to Aaron Brooks of Cal State San Bernardino.

O’Brien, in his 12th season at UCSD, enters the CCAA Tournament with a career record of 350-257-1 (.575).  The Tritons have reached the postseason six consecutive seasons with NCAA appearances in 2007 and 2008.  This is O’Brien’s first CCAA Coach of the Year honor.

This is Tanner’s first CCAA All-Conference team selection.  The senior third baseman leads UCSD in batting average, hitting at a .405 average.  Tanner recently had a team-high 17 game hitting streak.

This is Albitz’ third all-conference award in three years.  The junior is hitting at a .366 clip with 64 hits and a team-high 48 runs scored.

Kehoe earns his second all-conference award in as many seasons.  The sophomore from San Diego is hitting .389 with 17 doubles, 44 RBI and 100 total bases.  Kehoe has played left field, third base and first base this season.

Rossman earns his first all-conference honor, serving as one of UCSD’s aces.  Rossman is 7-2 with a 2.74 ERA, holding opponents to a .243 average.

Shibuya earns his second all-conference award in as many seasons.  The 2008 CCAA Freshman of the Year has continued his run, making the move to starting pitcher.  Shibuya is 6-4 with a 1.85 ERA as opponents are hitting .202.  Shibuya is averaging nearly eight innings per start.

Knudson earns his first all-conference selection.  The sophomore has made the move to the bullpen and has been an effective closer.  Knudson is 4-0 with a 3.12 ERA and eight saves on the season.

Imeson, UCSD’s career hits leader earned his fourth-consecutive All-CCAA selection.  Imeson was the CCAA Freshman of the Year in 2006 and was honored in each of his four years on the La Jolla campus.  The second baseman is hitting .345 with 15 doubles and 17 stolen bases.

Decker earns his third All-Conference award.  UCSD’s career leader in wins, Decker is 7-2 this season with a 4.19 ERA.  He threw a no-hitter against the No. 1 ranked team in the nation earlier this season.

UC San Diego will face Cal State Dominguez Hills in the first round of the CCAA Baseball Tournament at 3:00 p.m. on Thursday.