SAN BRUNO, Calif. --- Portland senior outfielder Cody Hawken was named to the 2019 All-West Coast Conference Preseason Baseball Team and the Pilots were selected to finish eighth this year in the league's coaches' poll, which was released on Wednesday. Gonzaga, who won the 2018 WCC Championship, was picked as the favorite to finish on top of the league standings in a close vote among the conference coaches.
 
Hawken is coming off a career year as a junior, batting a team-best .340 during conference play in 2018. He also hit a career-best .323 overall and led the Pilots with 10 homers and 36 RBI's en route to All-WCC First Team honors.
 
The Pilots feature an experienced squad in 2019, returning 18 letterwinners and five position starters, while at the same time they add a bevy of newcomers. Senior Matt Kelly brings a wealth of experience back to the infield, and joining him are third baseman Daniel Lopez and Chad Stevens, who started every game at shortstop as a freshman in 2018.
 
Portland's pitching staff is loaded with veterans and features 2018 all-conference picks Eli Morse and Connor Knutson. Morse, a sophomore righty, flourished as Portland's Friday starter last spring, registering three wins and collecting the program's first complete-game win since 2015. He had an ERA of 3.62 as a freshman, and he fanned 71 in a staff-high 82.0 innings. Knutson, a junior right-handed reliever, made 22 appearances out of the pen last year, going 4-2 with eight saves, a 2.75 ERA and an opponents' batting average of .191.
 
Senior starter Kevin Baker also returns after missing most of last season with an injury. Baker earned All-WCC Second Team recognition in 2017, and he currently ranks No. 2 all-time at UP with a career average of 10.63 strikeouts per game.
 
Head coach Geoff Loomis, a Portland baseball alum, returns for his fourth year at the helm of the Pilots, and joining him in the dugout are assistants Jake Valentine (4th year), Connor Lambert (2nd year), and David Tufo (3rd year). The Pilots will be looking to build on their 23 wins and 12 league victories in 2018.
 
The Pilots open the 2019 campaign with a four-game road trip to Hawai'i, which is slated for Feb. 15-17 in Honolulu. Portland's first home game is against the Oregon Ducks on Tuesday, March 5 at Joe Etzel Field.
 
2019 WCC Preseason Baseball Coaches Poll
Team (First Place Vote), Pts.
1. Gonzaga (5), 74
2. Pepperdine, 66
3. Saint Mary's (4), 65
4. San Diego, 52
5. San Francisco, 44
6. BYU, (1), 41
7. LMU, 37
8. Portland, 32
9. Santa Clara, 26
10. Pacific, 13
 
2019 All-WCC Preseason Baseball Team – Position Players
Name, Institution, Yr., Pos.
James Free II, Pacific, Jr., C
Brock Hale, BYU, Sr., OF
Cody Hawken, Portland, Sr., OF
Riley Helland, San Francisco, Sr., IF/C
Adam Kerner, San Diego, So., C
Quincy McAfee, Pepperdine, Jr., IF
Shane McGuire, San Diego, So., C/IF
Kevin Milam, Saint Mary's, Jr., IF/RHP
Nick Sogard, LMU, Jr., IF
Ernie Yake, Gonzaga, Jr., IF
 
2019 All-WCC Preseason Baseball Team – Pitchers
Name, Institution, Yr., Pos.
Cooper Chandler, Pepperdine, So., RHP
Casey Legumina, Gonzaga, Jr., RHP
Riley Ornido, San Francisco, Jr., RHP
Jonathan Pendergast, Pepperdine, Sr., RHP
Ken Waldichuk, Saint Mary's, Jr., LHP