Mejia, Lopez honored as best in Pac-12
TUCSON, Ariz. – Arizona junior shortstop Alex Mejia and coach Andy Lopez made off with three of the top honors on the All-Pac-12 baseball team, announced Wednesday by the conference.
Mejia was named the Pac-12 Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, while Lopez earned Coach of the Year honors. Five other Wildcats were named to the 25-player All-Conference team.
Designated hitter Bobby Brown, outfielder Johnny Field, pitcher Kurt Heyer, third baseman Seth Mejias-Brean and outfielder Robert Refsnyder joined Mejia on the all-conference team, and outfielder Joey Rickard earned honorable mention.
Mejia is becomes Arizona’s first conference player of the year since Trevor Crowe in 2005. A native of Sylmar, Calif., Mejia’s spectacular defensive play, improved offensive skills and leadership on and off the field drew attention from the league coaches, who selected the team.
Mejia has started at shortstop in all 172 of Arizona's games since his arrival in 2010. He finished third on the team and No. 5 in the Pac-12 with a .357 batting average and led all Pac-12 players with 81 hits -- including five triples and three home runs -- during the regular season. He ranked No. 9 with 47 runs scored and tied for No. 10 with 46 RBI.
Brown, a fifth-year senior, established himself as one of the conference’s top run-producers as a designated hitter. He entered the season with just 40 starts, 164 at bats, and 23 RBI but capped his career by hitting .343 with a .560 slugging percentage and 47 RBI, despite not playing in 10 games and not starting 15.
Field was the Pac-12 regular-season batting champion with a .379 average. He ranks No. 7 nationally with a .494 on-base percentage, leads the Pac-12 with 59 runs scored and 39 walks (against just 24 strikeouts) and ranks No. 2 with 80 hits. He batted .459 over his last 27 games.
Heyer earned All-Conference recognition for the third consecutive season but was beaten out for Pitcher of the Year honors by Oregon’s Alex Keudell. Heyer has an 11-2 record and 2.03 ERA, lowest among Pac-12 starting pitchers. He's second in the conference in strikeouts (91) and has walked just 20 while pitching a league-leading 119.2 innings.
Mejias-Brean, a junior third baseman, has a .351 average with 50 runs scored and 52 RBI.
Refsnyder, a repeat all-conference selection, has a .359 batting average, .558 slugging percentage and .447 on-base percentage. He's scored 53 runs, driven in 57, stolen 12 bases and leads the Wildcats with six home runs.
Rickard, an all-conference pick last year, is hitting .310 with a team-leading 16 stolen bases.
Lopez was named Coach of the Year for the first time in his 11-year tenure at Arizona.
He has guided the Wildcats to a 38-17 overall record and a share of the Pac-12 championship with UCLA. The conference title is Arizona’s first since 1992, and the school is hosting an NCAA Regional for the first time since that same season.
The tournament berth is the eighth for the Wildcats in the last 10 seasons, following just one postseason berth in the eight years prior to Lopez's arrival. He has a 393-246-1 record since taking the Arizona job.
Arizona opens NCAA Regional action at home against Missouri (32-26) on Friday at 8 p.m. at Hi Corbett Field.