SAN BRUNO, Calif. — Saint Mary’s baseball head coach Eric Valenzuela was named the 2016 West Coast Conference Coach of the Year Tuesday and six Gaels were recognized on All-WCC teams, as the conference announced its annual awards.
Valenzuela led the Gaels (30-23, 18-9 WCC) to their first-ever WCC title this season, clinching a share of the championship with a three-game sweep on the road at Portland in the final weekend of conference play. In doing so, he also geared Saint Mary’s to its first-ever WCC postseason berth as the No. 1 seed in this week’s WCC Championship Tournament.