May 24, 2005
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah - UNLV baseball head coach Buddy Gouldsmith was named the Mountain West Conference Coach of the Year and seven Rebels were selected to the all-conference team the league announced Tuesday evening.
Justin Tellam, Mike Cruz, Zeke Parraz, Ryan Bird, JC Sibley, Derek Rodriguez and Efren Navarro Jr. all represented UNLV on the All-MWC squad as selected by the league's coaches.
Gouldsmith earns the award in his second year at the helm of the Rebels as he helped engineer UNLV's strong turnaround this season. The Rebels started the season 6-15, but were playing one of the toughest schedules in the MWC, including games against three teams in Collegiate Baseball's top 10. But over their final 35 games the Rebels went 24-11, including a MWC-best mark of 23-7 in league play to win the regular season championship. Gouldsmith has an overall record of 67-50 (.572) in his two years as the head coach of the Rebels.
Brandon Taylor of BYU was named the MWC Player of the Year, Bruce Billings of San Diego State was named the pitcher of the year and Jon Polston of Air Force was given the league's sportsmanship award.
Tellam led UNLV and was second in the MWC this year with 16 home runs and the sophomore catcher was fourth overall in the league in slugging percentage with a .651 mark. Sibley was one of the top leadoff men in the league finishing fourth in the league in batting average with a .425 and was eighth in runs scored with 35. Parraz was third overall in the MWC in RBI with 59 and during league play he was fourth in runs scored with 40 and eighth in slugging percentage with a .689 mark. Bird had a strong MWC campaign finishing fifth in the league in runs scored with 39, sixth in RBI with 36 and 10th in batting average at .405. Cruz had a solid first year playing third for the Rebels, hitting .343 three home runs and 32 RBI.
Rodriguez and Navarro Jr. were honored by the league for their performances on the mound this year for the Rebels. Rodriguez, a senior right-hander, finished second during league play with four wins and was eighth in strikeouts with 47. Navarro Jr., only a freshman, finished fourth during league play with a 5.18 ERA and he had an overall record 4-3.
UNLV opens the MWC Tournament on Thursday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. (PT) against the lowest-remaining seed from Wednesday's opening round at Franklin Covey Field in Salt Lake City, Utah.
2005 All-Mountain West Conference TeamINFIELDERS:Catcher Jordan Swaydan*, San Diego StateCatcher Justin Tellam, UNLVFirst Base Jeff Hiestand, BYUSecond Base Jordan Pacheco, New MexicoSecond Base Doug Beck, UtahThird Base Brandon Taylor*, BYUThird Base Lance Zawadski, San Diego StateThird Base Mike Cruz, UNLVThird Base Jay Brossman*, UtahShortstop James Guerrero*, San Diego StateShortstop Zeke Parraz, UNLVOUTFIELDERS:Ben Saylor, BYURyan Chambers*, BYUGarrick Haymore, New MexicoQuintin Berry, San Diego StateJake McLintock*, San Diego StateRyan Bird, UNLVJ.C. Sibley, UNLVUtility Chris Carlson, New MexicoPITCHERS:Dave Horlacher, BYUDanny Ray Herrera, New MexicoBruce Billings, San Diego StateAlex Hinshaw, San Diego StateDerek Rodriguez, UNLVEfren Navarro, UNLVJosh Cooper, Utah
Player of the Year - Brandon Taylor, BYUPitcher of the Year - Bruce Billings, San Diego StateSportsmanship Award - Jon Polston, Air ForceCoach of the Year - Buddy Gouldsmith, UNLV* 2004 All-MWC Selection
