Mountain West Conference Baseball Tournament Preview

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Utah Quick Hits

The Utes are 32-24 overall and 16-14 in conference play. They rank second in the league with a .325 overall batting average and a 6.03 ERA. Utah's offense is first with a .519 slugging percentage, 146 doubles and 1072 total bases. The Utes are also first with 72 home runs, which is 21 more than any other team in the league. The Ute pitching staff ranks second with a .306 opponent batting average, 32 wins, 10 saves and is first with 18 runners picked off. Utah has won five of its last seven league games and is averaging 11 runs and nearly 14 hits during those games. In league play, the Utes averaged eight runs per game and scored 10 or more runs in 12 games.

Utah vs. UNLV

The two teams split six games this season. The Utes took two-of-three in Las Vegas, while the Rebels took two-of-three in Salt Lake City. UNLV has proven to be a better team at home with a 17-12 record at Earl E. Wilson Stadium, versus a 7-14 road record. This is the first time the Rebels and Utes will face off in a Mountain West Conference Tournament game.

Scouting The Rebels (No. 5)

UNLV has a 13-17 conference record and a 28-28 overall record this season. As a team, UNLV ranks sixth in the conference with a .313 overall batting average. Eric Nielsen pilots the Rebels' plate attack with a .341 batting average, while David Trujillo has knocked in a team-high 63 runs. The Rebels' pitching staff sits third in the league with a 6.53 ERA. Robbie Van has posted a 7-5 record with a 4.74 ERA to guide the pitching staff.

Scouting Air Force (No. 4)

Utah took five-of-six games from the Falcons this season. Air Force ranks first in the conference with 98 stolen bases. Bowie Frost is hitting at a .377 clip and has 20 doubles to lead the Falcons' plate attack. Matt Kaercher is 7-9 on the year and Johnny Koegel has a 6-6 record to pilot the pitching staff.

Scouting Brigham Young (No. 3)

The two teams split six games with each taking two-of-three at its home field. Dave Jensen boasts a conference-leading .394 batting average and has a team-high 10 home runs and 57 RBI. Jeff Mousser is 8-4 on the season with a 5.09 ERA to lead the mound staff.

Scouting New Mexico (No. 6)

The Lobos rank first in the league with a .348 team batting average, but rank last with an 8.30 ERA. Chris Alexander leads the conference with 18 home runs and 74 RBI. The Lobos have three batters ranked in the top five for batting average.

Scouting San Diego State (No. 1)

The Aztec's have a league-best 4.56 ERA. Royce Ring has recorded 16 saves and a 4-1 record in 32 appearances. Chris Dunwell is 8-3 with a 3.77 ERA for second place in the league rankings. Jon Stephens has a .377 average, which is fifth-best in the conference.

Esmay Insights

"This is by far the most interesting tournament we've been a part of as a team. Whichever team comes out and plays well will win. It's a flip of the coin type tournament where any team could be the winner."

Head Coach Tim Esmay

Tim Esmay is in his sixth season as head coach of the Utes. Esmay joined the Utes in 1996 as an assistant coach. He was named head coach in 1997. Under Esmay's direction, the Utes are 166-165-1. A talented player in his own right, Esmay played for the Arizona State 1987 College World Series Team. Before ASU, he was named a juco All-American while playing at Scottsdale Community College in 1986. Esmay received his bachelor's degree in 1998 from ASU in physical education.

Ute Leaders

Avg.    Adam Castleton   .368     ERA      Mitch Maio       3.75Hits    Nate Weese    80      Wins     Mitch Maio          9HR      Nate Weese        16      App.     Mitch Maio             21RBI     Nate Weese    58      IP       Cheyenne Rushton  98.2Runs    Donnie Saba      62      SO       Mitch Maio         842B  Brit Pannier    24      O/BA     Mitch Maio       .2663B  Adam Castleton     5      Saves    Maio, Snyder     5

Take Note

Utah's 32 wins this season is the second-most in school history dating back to 1963. In its 32 wins, Utah is hitting .343 with 52 home runs and 58 stolen bases, and it has a team ERA of 3.71. In their 24 losses, the Utes are batting .300 with 20 home runs, 22 stolen bases and they have a team ERA of 9.25.

More Maio Please

Mitch Maio has a league-high nine wins and a league-low 3.75 ERA this season. The senior righthander is tied for second with five saves. Maio has thrown five complete games in 10 starts and has recorded 84 strikeouts to 29 walks. He is one of only two pitchers to be named Mountain West Conference Pitcher of the week four times.

Wild About Weese

Senior Nate Weese leads the team with 58 RBI, 16 home runs and 80 hits, and is second with 16 stolen bases. The first baseman's 16 home runs is second-best in the conference. Weese was selected as Baseball America's pre-season pick for the best defensive first baseman in the league. He leads the Utes with a .983 fielding percentage this season.

Castle-ton On The Hill

Adam Castleton has proven to be the Utes go-to-guy at the plate. Castleton, a senior, has a team-high .432 average with runners on base. He leads the Utes this year with a .368 batting average, a .681 slugging percentage and a .482 on base percentage.

Newcomer Nook

The Utah freshmen have made a big impact this season, especially the starting three. Matt Ciaramella has a .330 batting average with four triples and 11 stolen bases. Ciaramella, who starts in center field and as the lead-off batter, has a sterling .982 fielding percentage and has committed just two errors in his debut season. Brett Baldwin has started all but one of Utah's 56 games. Baldwin plays at short and bats ninth in the lineup. Jared Snyder is one of Utah's most versatile players, playing both at catcher and at pitcher. Snyder is hitting .327 in his 18 games at catcher, and he has five saves in 17 appearances as a reliever.

Repeat Performers

Donnie Saba leads the Utes with 25 multiple hit games. Nate Weese has a team-high 17 multiple RBI games. Brit Pannier brings a team-leading nine-game hitting streak into the tournament, while Saba has an eight-game hitting streak. Utah as a team has hit at least one extra base hit in its last 10 games and has at least one home run in its last five games.

Utah Mountain West Conference Tournament History

The Utes are entering the 2002 tournament with their highest seed, No. 2, since joining the Mountain West Conference. In the previous two tournaments, Utah has defeated the No. 1 seed, but has struggled with the other seeds.

2001 Recap

Utah finished third in the league standings last season. The No. 3 Utes lost their first tournament game to No. 4 New Mexico, 7-4. In the second round, Utah beat No. 1 BYU, 15-14. The Utes' tournament run ended with a 5-4 loss to No. 2 San Diego State.

2000 Recap

In 2000, the Utes finished fourth in the conference standings. No. 4 Utah opened the tournament with a loss to No. 3 BYU, 9-6. Next, the Utes defeated No. 1 New Mexico, 6-4. Utah ended the tournament with a 10-5 loss to No. 6 Air Force.

2002 Ute Honors

Mountain West Conference Player/Pitcher of the Week

Cheyenne Rushton     May 20  (pitcher)   Mitch Maio         Mar. 25 (pitcher)Matt Ciaramella       May 13  (player)    Mitch Maio     Mar. 6  (pitcher)Mitch Maio     May 6   (pitcher)   Cheyenne Rushton        Feb. 25 (pitcher)Cheyenne Rushton Apr. 29 (pitcher)   Brit Pannier     Feb. 11 (player)Mitch Maio              Apr. 2     (pitcher)

Career Clips

Nate Weese is Utah's new career hits, at bats and home run leader. As of May 20, Weese has compiled 277 hits, 864 at bats and 49 home runs during his career in a Ute uniform. Brit Pannier and Adam Castleton are tied for the Ute career doubles record with 58 apiece. Pannier is also tied for the Utah single-season doubles record of 24. Mitch Maio has tied the Utah single-game strikeout record of 11, three times this season. Utah as a pitching staff surpassed the team single-season strikeout record of 306 earlier this year. The staff has 367 strikeouts as of May 20. Jason Wylie set a new Ute single-season record with 18 starts this year.

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Mountain West Conference Baseball Tournament Preview

Upcoming Event: Baseball at Fresno State on February 13, 2026 at 7 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Baseball at Fresno State on February 14, 2026 at 4 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Baseball at Fresno State on February 15, 2026 at 3 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Baseball at Fresno State on February 16, 2026 at 3 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Baseball at UC San Diego on February 19, 2026 at 7 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Baseball at San Diego on February 20, 2026 at 7 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Baseball at San Diego State on February 21, 2026 at 7 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Baseball versus Creighton on February 22, 2026 at 2 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Baseball at UC Santa Barbara on February 27, 2026 at 5:05 p.m.

Completed Event: Baseball versus Vanderbilt on October 10, 2025 ,

Completed Event: Baseball versus TCU on May 17, 2025 , Loss , 6, to, 8 , (11 inn.)

Completed Event: Baseball versus TCU on May 16, 2025 , Win , 8, to, 6

Completed Event: Baseball versus TCU on May 15, 2025 , Loss , 5, to, 13

Completed Event: Baseball at BYU on May 13, 2025 , Loss , 8, to, 9

Completed Event: Baseball at No. 18 Arizona on May 11, 2025 , Loss , 7, to, 8

Completed Event: Baseball at No. 18 Arizona on May 10, 2025 , Win , 13, to, 5

Completed Event: Baseball at No. 18 Arizona on May 9, 2025 , Win , 8, to, 6

Completed Event: Baseball versus Utah Valley on May 6, 2025 , Win , 8, to, 2

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Mountain West Conference Baseball Tournament Preview

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