LOS ANGELES – The UCLA baseball team was voted to finish second in the league, and six Bruins were selected to the preseason all-league team as the Pac-12 announced the results of its 2023 Pac-12 Baseball Preseason Coaches Poll on Wednesday.
UCLA received 90 points, including two first-place votes, in the poll of the league's 11 head coaches. The Bruins trailed only Stanford (99, nine first-place votes).
The Bruins' contingent of Preseason All-Conference honorees included junior right-hander Jake Brooks, sophomore DH Jack Holman, sophomore righty Luke Jewett, senior catcher Darius Perry, sophomore shortstop Cody Schrier, and sophomore right-hander Alonzo Tredwell.
With six picks, UCLA ranked second in preseason all-league honorees, trailing only Stanford's eight.
Brooks returns to the Bruin rotation after serving as the team's Opening Day starter in 2022. The Fountain Valley, Calif. native had a 5-4 record with a 3.96 ERA for the year. He started off last season hot – posting a 2.12 ERA over his first sever outings of the year – but didn't appear after Apr. 22 due to injury.
Holman slashed .263/.417/.474 in limited action last year, but is slated to be the team's primary DH this season. He was the Bruins' top performer in last week's Alumni Game, hitting a three-run home run that provided the majority of run production in a 5-0 win.
Jewett was a key bullpen piece for UCLA in 2022, leading the Pac-12 with 35 appearances. The Ladera Ranch, Calif. native logged a 3.68 ERA for year, including a 2.81 mark against Pac-12 opponents.
A member of the 2022 Pac-12 All-Conference Team, Perry enters year two as the Bruins' starting catcher. He put together a .286/.388/.376 slash line in 2022 and was one of the most-clutch hitters on the team, pacing the squad in batting average with runners in scoring position (.349) and on base (.359).
Schrier is coming off a Freshman All-America debut season that saw him slash .293/.383/.492 while leading the team in a litany of offensive categories including hits (77), home runs (nine), and total bases (127). This is the second preseason honor of the year for Schrier, as he was named a Third Team Preseason All-American by Collegiate Baseball. He was also tabbed as the No. 6 shortstop in the country in D1Baseball's preseason positional power rankings.
Another 2022 Freshman All-American and 2023 Preseason All-American, Tredwell is set to enter the weekend rotation this year after dominating as UCLA's closer a season ago. The Coto de Caza, Calif. native went 4-1 with a 2.11 ERA and .195 batting average against in his debut season, posting 62 strikeouts against just six walks. Tredwell spent last summer with the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team in Cary, N.C.
UCLA officially opens the 2023 season next Friday, Feb. 17, at 5:00 p.m. with the first of a three-game series against Omaha. Single-game and season tickets are available now, and can be purchased HERE.
Stay tuned to @UCLABaseball on Twitter for all team updates.