TUCSON, Ariz. – University of Arizona junior center fielder Johnny Field, junior third baseman Brandon Dixon and freshman shortstop Kevin Newman were named to the 25-man Pac-12 All-Conference team, announced Wednesday by the league office.
Field, from Las Vegas, is a repeat selection. After winning the Pac-12 batting title as a sophomore, he ranked second on the Wildcats and fifth in the Pac-12 as a junior with a .347 average. He ranked first in the Pac-12 in runs scored (58) and triples (seven) and ranked third in hits (77), total bases (117) and stolen bases (16).
Field also ranked sixth in the conference for both slugging percentage (.527) and on-base percentage (.424).
Dixon, of Murrieta, Calif., replaced his teammate as the Pac-12 batting champion in his first season as a full-time starter. He batted .369 and also led all Pac-12 players with 30 stolen bases. He ranked second in slugging percentage (.561), runs batted in (51) and runs scored (57), and third in on-base percentage (.443) and triples (five). His batting average improved from .245 as a sophomore.
Newman, of Poway, Calif., hit .336 with 42 runs batted in while playing an outstanding defensive shortstop. He committed only six errors and had a .975 fielding percentage while helping the defense turn 45 double plays.
Sophomore second baseman Trent Gilbert was Arizona's only player to earn honorable mention. He hit .344 with 45 runs scored and 49 runs batted in.
The conference's top individual awards went to Oregon State sophomore outfielder Michael Conforto (Player of the year) and UCLA sophomore right-hander David Berg (Pitcher of the Year). UCLA junior shortstop Pat Valaika was voted Defensive Player of the Year, Oregon State pitcher Andrew Moore was Freshman of the Year and Oregon State’s Pat Casey was Coach of the Year.
Conforto is hitting .332 with a .512 slugging percentage, .457 on-base percentage and nine home runs for the regular-season conference champions. Berg is 6-0 with 18 saves and an NCAA-best 0.70 ERA in 41 appearances.
Oregon State has seven players named to the all-conference team. Oregon and UCLA had four apiece; Arizona, Arizona State and Stanford had three each; and California had one.
Newman, Oregon State's Moore and Arizona State pitcher Ryan Kellogg were the only freshmen on the team.
