Completed Event: Baseball versus No. 11 seed Kansas State on May 19, 2026 , Loss , 5, to, 9
Final Score
Baseball
5
vs No. 11 seed Kansas State
9
The University of Utah Athletics
Photo by: Bryan Byerly/Utah Athletics
Pac-12 Lauds Four Utes on All-Conference Baseball Teams
5/23/2023 10:00 AM | Baseball
Ashman and Kiernan headline Utah quartet; Clarkson and McCleve tabbed Honorable Mention
SAN FRANCISCO – The Pac-12 Conference announced its 2023 All-Conference teams on Tuesday and the postseason honors included four members of the Utah baseball program.
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Left-handed pitcher Micah Ashman was tabbed All-Conference alongside first baseman Jayden Kiernan. In addition, outfielder TJ Clarkson and right-handed pitcher Zac McCleve were placed on the Honorable Mention team.
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Ashman, a sophomore out of nearby Sandy, Utah, was one of seven Pac-12 pitchers named to the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Midseason Watch List. His nine saves finished the regular season ranked second in the Pac-12 and 24th nationally—five of his nine closeouts came during conference play, the third-most in the league. All told, Ashman's nine saves were the most by a Utah pitcher since 2016 and tied for second in program history for a single season. He finished the year with a 3.63 ERA in 34.2 innings pitched, 38 strikeouts and just five walks over 23 relief appearances.
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He had an absolutely lockdown month of April, posting a 0.69 ERA in his eight appearances and 13 innings pitched. He had 13 strikeouts against only two walks.
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Kiernan (.402) became Utah's first .400 hitter in a full season in the Pac-12 era and first since C.J. Cron accomplished the feat in 2011. He finished the regular season 23rd in the country and was edged by just two points for the league batting title. Over his 44 games played, Kiernan belted a team-leading 74 hits to rank top-five in the Pac-12, while he placed ninth with a .464 on-base percentage. He contributed 11 doubles, five home runs and 32 RBI. Kiernan's 25 multi-hit games led the team and he finished the year with team-best hitting (16) and on-base (36) streaks. In conference play, his .407 batting average and 48 hits each placed second and his .470 OBP was top-six in the league.
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The Gallatin, Tennessee product struck out just 16 times in 184 at bats. It checked out to one strikeout per 11.5 at bats, making Kiernan the toughest batter to strikeout in the Pac-12 and 27th-toughest throughout college baseball.
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Defensively, Kiernan moved primarily to first base after spending much of the previous four seasons at catcher. He helped turn 35 double plays which was tied for the league lead.
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Clarkson started all 55 games, mostly in the outfield. He reset career-highs in every major offensive category including batting average (.301), slugging (.628), on-base percentage (.464), runs scored (56), hits (59), doubles (18), home runs (14) and RBI (45). His name dotted the Pac-12's offensive top-10 for walks (3rd), doubles (6th), runs scored (7th), homers (8th) and OBP (9th). Clarkson was error-free on 64 outfield chances and contributed an assist.
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He also made seven pitching appearances and had one of the more memorable two-way performances in recent Utah history. In the win at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on February 27, Clarkson began the game at designated hitter, then hit two game-changing home runs and had five RBI during a 2.2-inning relief appearance on the mound.
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McCleve, who grew up 15 minutes from Smith's Ballpark in West Valley City, capped off a homegrown career that saw the submariner make a program-record 107 appearances. In 2023, he was called upon 28 times ranking eighth in the Pac-12—working 38.1 innings and striking out 48 batters. He was 1-1 with three saves, helping Utah combine for 13 saves as a team; it was a Pac-12 era program record. In conference play McCleve made 18 appearances, tied for third-most in the league.
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He finished his career with 12 saves—sharing third-most in program history. McCleve also averaged 9.04 strikeouts per nine innings; it was the most in the Pac-12 era by a Utah pitcher to deal at least 100 innings.
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Follow Utah baseball on social media (@utahbaseball).
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Left-handed pitcher Micah Ashman was tabbed All-Conference alongside first baseman Jayden Kiernan. In addition, outfielder TJ Clarkson and right-handed pitcher Zac McCleve were placed on the Honorable Mention team.
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Ashman, a sophomore out of nearby Sandy, Utah, was one of seven Pac-12 pitchers named to the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Midseason Watch List. His nine saves finished the regular season ranked second in the Pac-12 and 24th nationally—five of his nine closeouts came during conference play, the third-most in the league. All told, Ashman's nine saves were the most by a Utah pitcher since 2016 and tied for second in program history for a single season. He finished the year with a 3.63 ERA in 34.2 innings pitched, 38 strikeouts and just five walks over 23 relief appearances.
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He had an absolutely lockdown month of April, posting a 0.69 ERA in his eight appearances and 13 innings pitched. He had 13 strikeouts against only two walks.
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Kiernan (.402) became Utah's first .400 hitter in a full season in the Pac-12 era and first since C.J. Cron accomplished the feat in 2011. He finished the regular season 23rd in the country and was edged by just two points for the league batting title. Over his 44 games played, Kiernan belted a team-leading 74 hits to rank top-five in the Pac-12, while he placed ninth with a .464 on-base percentage. He contributed 11 doubles, five home runs and 32 RBI. Kiernan's 25 multi-hit games led the team and he finished the year with team-best hitting (16) and on-base (36) streaks. In conference play, his .407 batting average and 48 hits each placed second and his .470 OBP was top-six in the league.
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The Gallatin, Tennessee product struck out just 16 times in 184 at bats. It checked out to one strikeout per 11.5 at bats, making Kiernan the toughest batter to strikeout in the Pac-12 and 27th-toughest throughout college baseball.
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Defensively, Kiernan moved primarily to first base after spending much of the previous four seasons at catcher. He helped turn 35 double plays which was tied for the league lead.
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Clarkson started all 55 games, mostly in the outfield. He reset career-highs in every major offensive category including batting average (.301), slugging (.628), on-base percentage (.464), runs scored (56), hits (59), doubles (18), home runs (14) and RBI (45). His name dotted the Pac-12's offensive top-10 for walks (3rd), doubles (6th), runs scored (7th), homers (8th) and OBP (9th). Clarkson was error-free on 64 outfield chances and contributed an assist.
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He also made seven pitching appearances and had one of the more memorable two-way performances in recent Utah history. In the win at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on February 27, Clarkson began the game at designated hitter, then hit two game-changing home runs and had five RBI during a 2.2-inning relief appearance on the mound.
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McCleve, who grew up 15 minutes from Smith's Ballpark in West Valley City, capped off a homegrown career that saw the submariner make a program-record 107 appearances. In 2023, he was called upon 28 times ranking eighth in the Pac-12—working 38.1 innings and striking out 48 batters. He was 1-1 with three saves, helping Utah combine for 13 saves as a team; it was a Pac-12 era program record. In conference play McCleve made 18 appearances, tied for third-most in the league.
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He finished his career with 12 saves—sharing third-most in program history. McCleve also averaged 9.04 strikeouts per nine innings; it was the most in the Pac-12 era by a Utah pitcher to deal at least 100 innings.
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Follow Utah baseball on social media (@utahbaseball).
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Players Mentioned
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