PORTLAND, Ore. --- Portland junior shortstop Chad Stevens was voted to the 2020 All-West Coast Conference Preseason Team and the Pilots were picked to finish eighth this year in a vote of the league's 10 head coaches. Stevens was Portland's top hitter last season and landed on the All-WCC Second Team.
 
Stevens is one of 19 returning letterwinners for the Pilots, who also add 16 newcomers. Stevens batted .284 as a sophomore and led the Pilots with 62 hits, 13 doubles, a triple, 12 stolen bases, and 36 runs scored, which are the ninth most in a single season in Portland program history. Stevens also belted five homers and collected 27 RBI's. In the field, his 150 assists rank number 10 on the program's all-time single-season list.
 
Sophomore Tracye Tammaro also earned all-conference recognition last year, landing on the league's all-freshman team. He hit .261 overall with five home runs, 26 RBI's, a triple, and 11 doubles in his first year with the Pilots. Tammaro's on-base percentage of .407 was a team-high, and his 409 putouts at first base rank 10th on the program's single-season chart.
 
Portland features a deep pitching staff, led by senior reliever Connor Knutson and junior starter Eli Morse. Knutson enters the year with 18 career saves, which are just six shy of matching the program's all-time record. Last year he compiled 10 saves, three wins, and a 2.85 ERA. Morse has a career ERA of 3.57, he ranks seventh all-time for UP baseball in fewest walks per nine innings (2.18), and his 8.03 K's per nine innings are No. 10 on the Portland charts.
 
Head coach Geoff Loomis enters his fifth year at the helm of the program, and the Pilots won 25 games overall last season, which was the most wins since 2012.
 
Gonzaga was selected by the Conference's ten head coaches to claim the WCC regular season title in 2020. In tight voting, the Zags received two first place votes and 71 overall. Defending regular season champion BYU earned five first-place votes and 68 total to place second on the poll. LMU broke through for the 2019 WCC Tournament Championship, making their first NCAA Regional appearance since 2000. The Lions were tabbed third with 65 points, including three first-place votes.
 
Pepperdine and San Diego tied for fourth place on the survey with 52 votes apiece. San Francisco was slotted sixth in the poll with 46 votes, and Saint Mary's was picked seventh with 40 points.
 
Portland (20) finished ahead of Santa Clara (19) and Pacific (17) to round out the 2020 poll. 
 
The Pilots begin the 2020 campaign with a four-game series against Nevada, which is set to take place Feb. 14-16 at the Ridgefield Sports Complex in Ridgefield, Wash. First pitch for the season-opener on Friday, Feb. 14 is slated for 1 p.m.
 
2020 WCC Preseason Baseball Coaches Poll
Team (First Place Vote), Points
1. Gonzaga (2), 71
2. BYU (5), 68
3. LMU (3), 65
4. Pepperdine, 52
4. San Diego, 52
6. San Francisco, 46
7. Saint Mary's, 40
8. Portland, 20
9. Santa Clara, 19
10. Pacific, 17
 
2020 All-WCC Preseason Baseball Team – Position Players
Name, Institution, Yr., Pos.
Trevin Esquerra, LMU, Sr., IF
Brett Harris, Gonzaga, Sr., INF
Adam Kerner, San Diego, Jr., C
Shane McGuire, San Diego, Jr., C/IF
Mitch McIntyre, BYU, Jr., OF
Chad Stevens, Portland, Jr., IF
Tyler Villaroman, San Francisco, Sr., OF
Jack Winkler, San Francisco, Jr., IF
Ernie Yake, Gonzaga, Sr., IF
Wyatt Young, Pepperdine, So., IF
 
2020 All-WCC Preseason Baseball Team – Pitchers
Name, Institution, Yr., Pos.
Nick Frasso, LMU, Jr., RHP
Alek Jacob, Gonzaga, Jr., LHP
Carlos Lomeli, Saint Mary's, Jr., RHP
Riley Ornido, San Francisco, Sr., RHP
Easton Walker, BYU, Jr., RHP