Cal Poly baseball received recognition on May 19 as the team matched a school record with 11 players honored in the Big West postseason awards. The announcement followed a vote by the conference’s head coaches.
The significance of this achievement is underscored by its rarity; only once before, in 2014, has Cal Poly had as many players recognized. Both years also saw Cal Poly win the Big West regular-season title and Larry Lee named Coach of the Year.
Junior catcher Ryan Tayman was named Big West Co-Field Player of the Year, sharing the honor with Paul Contreras from Cal State Fullerton. Fifth-year center fielder Casey Murray Jr. earned Defensive Player of the Year honors. Tayman led several offensive categories in the conference, including home runs (16), RBIs (53), and slugging percentage (.673). He also threw out 16 base stealers defensively and posted a .351 batting average for the season. “Twice this season…Tayman was named Big West Field Player of the Week for his performances following the UC Riverside and Long Beach State series.” Murray became just the second non-catcher from Cal Poly to win Defensive Player of the Year after committing two errors over three seasons in center field while hitting .315 at bat.
Larry Lee has now guided Cal Poly to two regular-season titles during his tenure as head coach and has achieved more than 1,200 career wins across four decades coaching at both Cal Poly and Cuesta College. “He earned his 1,200th career victory…with an 8-6 triumph at UC Irvine on May 3,” according to Tuesday’s announcement.
Other Mustangs recognized include Alejandro Garza (third base), Nate Castellon (shortstop), Nick Bonn (closer) on first team; Dylan Kordic (outfield), Carson Turnquist (starting pitcher), Brady Estes (relief pitcher) on second team; Jake Downing (second base), Gavin Spiridonoff (utility player), Griffin Naess (starting pitcher) receiving honorable mention.
Cal Poly will compete alongside UC Santa Barbara—co-champions with identical records—in this week’s Big West Championship Tournament.