Stanford baseball nearly sweeps Pac-12 All-Conference honors

En route to another push to Omaha Stanford's baseball team nearly won all of the awards possible

On Tuesday the Pac-12 announced the 2023 baseball All-Conference honors, but now looking back at it, could have just been Stanford's team awards.

The Cardinal claimed five out of the six awards, after compiling a 37-14 record in the regular season and claiming the Pac-12 Championship yet again. Stanford is on track to host a regional, and is also the No. 1 seed in the Pac-12 tournament.

Led by numerous new names who stepped up to replace their stars that left after last season, the Cardinal were a constant within the top-15 this entire season. They are looking to avenge their disappointing College World Series appearance last season, and the amount of talent that they have reloaded with may help them do just that!

Let's take a look at which Cardinal won awards after the regular season.

Alberto Rios C/OF

Stanford Athletics

Award: Pac-12 Player of the Year

After being used in just seven games as a pinch hitter last season, Rios' bat was too big to keep out of the lineup. The junior started almost every game, racking up a .400 batting average which ranked third in the conference and top-30 in the nation. Rios also ranked top-five in the league in slugging percentage (2nd, .742), on-base percentage (3rd, .504), RBI (2nd, 63), hits (4th, 76) and home runs (5th, 16). Rios marks the third Cardinal to earn the Player of the Year award since 1999, and is the first to do so since Jed Lowrie won it in 2004.

  

Quinn Mathews, P

Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports

Award: Pac-12 Pitcher of the Year

Mathews emerged as the ace for this Stanford team this season, and very well could have gone pro after last season as he was selected in the 19th round of the MLB Draft. Mathews compiled a 7-3 record along season a 3.20 ERA in 98.1 innings pitched. Altering mainly being used as a reliever last season, he was used as a starter this season, and thrived. He notched 121 strikeouts, which is the best in the Pac-12 and ranks third in the country. Mathews is the third straight Stanford pitcher to win the award, joining Alex Williams (2022) and Brendan Beck (2021).

Malcolm Moore, C/1B

Stanford Athletics

Award: Pac-12 Freshman of the Year

Catcher was one of the key positions that needed a replacement following the departure of Kody Huff, and Malcolm Moore filled his shoes immediately. He started all 51 games for Stanford, and showed he was able to adjust to college pitching easily. Moore has a .300 batting average, making him one of the three players in the league to hit .300 or better. He also led all Pac-12 freshmen in homers as  (12) and RBIs (50). Moore winning this award marks two consecutive years a Stanford freshman has done so, as Braden Montgomery was honored in 2022.

 

David Esquer, Coach

Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports

Award: Pac-12 Coach of the Year

For the second straight year the Cardinal skipper has won this award, and showcased that even despite losing notable names such as Huff, Brock Jones, and Adam Crampton among others the Cardinal are still a dominant program. He led Stanford to wins in seven of its final eight conference series, and more importantly a second straight Pac-12 title that led to the No. 1 seed at the Pac-12 Tournament. 

 

Tommy Troy

Bruce Thorson-USA TODAY Sports

Award: Pac-12 Batting Champion 

The race for this award came down to the final game of the season, but Troy concluded the regular season with a .404 batting average. Along with an impressive batting average, Troy also smacked 13 home runs and a .720 slugging percentage. Troy also showed his speed on the bases, racking up 16 stolen bases this season.