Wagner and Walker are Chosen First Team All-Northwest Conference in Baseball
By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications, (503) 370-6110
SALEM, Ore. -- Willamette University baseball players Layton Wagner (Grad., RHP, Boise, ID/Timberline HS) and Clint Walker (Grad., CF, Rocklin, CA/Rocklin HS) have been named First Team All-Northwest Conference in voting by the NWC head coaches for the 2024 season. Wagner was selected as a starting pitcher and Walker was chosen in the outfield. Three Willamette players were chosen Second Team All-NWC and five Bearcats received Honorable Mention.
Second Team All-NWC selections from Willamette were Tassos Foster (Sr., 2B, Novato, CA/Novato HS), Jeff Hoffman (Sr., 3B, Salida, CA/Joseph A. Gregori HS) and Logan Haslam (Sr., RHP, San Ramon, CA/California HS). Haslam was chosen as a relief pitcher. Receiving Honorable Mention All-NWC recognition were Carter Stoltz (Fy., C, Davis, CA/Davis HS), Luke Piazza (Jr., 1B, Simi Valley, CA/Royal HS/UC Davis), Drew Baskin (Jr., SS, Arroyo Grande, CA/Arroyo Grande HS), starting pitcher Steven Verespey (So., RHP, San Ramon, CA/California HS), and relief pitcher Brady Joyner (Sr., RHP, Las Vegas, NV/Shadow Ridge HS).
A total of 58 athletes were chosen for the 2024 All-NWC Baseball Team. Sixteen players were named to the First Team, with 15 players on the Second Team, and 27 athletes earning Honorable Mention.
Willamette is 28-13 on the season after winning the NWC Baseball Tournament this past weekend. The Bearcats were second in the NWC in the regular season with a 15-9 record. Willamette received the NWC's automatic bid into the NCAA Baseball Championship and will play at Pomona-Pitzer Colleges in a best-of-five regional series this weekend in Claremont, California.
The Bearcats own a .302 team batting average this season with 82 doubles, six triples, and 45 home runs. WU is averaging 8.0 runs per game. The pitching staff has achieved a 3.70 team earned run average with 349 strikeouts in 360 innings.
First Team All-Northwest Conference
Layton Wagner (Grad., RHP) became a four-time All-NWC selection and was named First Team All-NWC as a starting pitcher for the second time. He also received First Team All-NWC recognition in 2021. He was Honorable Mention All-NWC as a pitcher in 2023 and as a utility player in 2022. Wagner is 9-3 this year with a 3.12 earned run average and 78 strikeouts in 78 innings. He registered a complete-game and tied his career high with 11 strikeouts in a 5-1 win over Whitworth University in the first round of this year's NWC Tournament.
During his career, Wagner has struck out a school record 270 batters and owns a 21-11 record in 256 1/3 innings. He has a 4.07 career ERA with 9.48 strikeouts per nine innings. He was 7-1 with a career-low 2.79 ERA in 2021. He struck out a career-high 90 batters in 2023. He was named Third Team All-Region by the ABCA and by D3baseball.com in 2021.
Wagner has significant statistics as a fielder and a batter. He holds a .288 career batting average with 468 at bats, 135 hits, 29 doubles, nine homers, 85 runs, and 82 RBIs. He has 52 putouts and 86 assists on defense.
Clint Walker (Grad., CF) was chosen First Team All-NWC for the first time. This spring, Walker has contributed a .323 batting average with 42 hits. He has scored 31 runs and contributed 29 RBIs, while hitting 11 doubles, two triples, and three homers. He is 10 of 12 on stolen bases.
He has played in 84 games during his career with a .279 batting average. He has accumulated 13 doubles, three triples, and five homers. He has scored 60 runs and provided 50 RBIs. He has been successful on 21 of 25 stolen base attempts in his career.
Second Team All-Northwest Conference
Tassos Foster (Sr., 2B) was named Second Team All-NWC after providing key hits throughout the spring. He is batting .358 and leads WU with 14 doubles, 34 walks, and 50 runs. He has achieved 27 RBIs. He is hitting .422 since March 30, and was a combined 5 of 9 in WU's last two games at the NWC Tournament.
In his career, Foster has batted .338 with 63 runs and 40 RBIs. He has hit three home runs, including two this season. He has walked a total of 45 times over the past four years, and owns a .464 career on-base percentage. On defense, he has provided the Bearcats with 98 career putouts and 122 assists, while helping turn 31 double plays. He started Willamette's triple play on defense against Whitman on May 6, 2024.
Jeff Hoffman (Sr., 3B) was named Second Team All-NWC for the second time. This year, Hoffman has topped the Bearcats with a .375 batting average and 12 home runs. He ranks first on the team with 42 RBIs and has scored 37 runs. He owns a .699 slugging percentage. In conference games, he led the NWC with a .393 batting average. He also earned Second Team honors in 2021, when he was named NWC Freshman of the Year after leading the conference with a career-high 14 home runs and batting .339.
In 2021, Hoffman was chosen Second Team All-Region by the ABCA and was named Third Team All-Region by D3baseball.com. Hoffman has played in 151 games with 147 starts. He ranks second all-time at Willamette with 43 career homers. He also has earned 180 hits, scored 141 runs, and contributed 135 RBIs in his career. Hoffman has a .321 career batting average and a .620 career slugging percentage.
Logan Haslam (Sr., RHP) was selected Second Team All-NWC as a relief pitcher in 2024 after being named Honorable Mention All-NWC in 2023. Haslam has appeared in 14 games this spring, mostly in relief, and is 1-0 with two saves and a 2.48 ERA. He has registered 29 strikeouts in 32 2/3 innings. On May 6, he started and threw four scoreless and hitless innings in a 9-2 win for the Bearcats over Whitman. He also started against Whitman in the NWC Tournament and went 5 1/3 innings in a game won by Willamette, 6-3.
In 2023, he was 3-1 with a save, a 4.06 ERA, and 31 strikeouts. Haslam owns a career 5.40 ERA with 74 strikeouts in 80 innings. He has seen action in 46 games.
Honorable Mention All-Northwest Conference
Carter Stoltz was chosen Honorable Mention All-NWC for his strong work on defense behind the plate and for his contributions on offense. He missed several games due to injury and the need to rotate players at the catcher position, but still competed in 30 games with 23 starts. He threw out six base-stealers and accumulated 186 putouts and 15 assists with a .990 fielding percentage.
On offense, Stoltz batted .244 with 16 runs and 13 RBIs. He was credited with three sacrifice flies and one sacrifice bunt.
Luke Piazza (Jr., 1B) earned Honorable Mention All-NWC as a key player for the Bearcats this year after transferring from the University of California at Davis this year. Piazza is hitting .355 at Willamette, including .404 since April 6. For the season, he has recorded 39 hits and 28 RBIs, while pounding nine doubles and five home runs.
At first base, Piazza has registered 194 putouts, and 13 assists. He has participated in 14 doubles plays and was part of Willamette's triple play on defense against Whitman on May 6. He earned a season-high 12 putouts in the first game at Pacific University on April 6.
Drew Baskin (Jr., SS) received Honorable Mention All-NWC recognition after a solid season in the middle infield. He has a .255 batting average with 38 runs and 27 RBIs. His efforts have led to 19 extra-base hits on 12 doubles, two triples, and five home runs. He has earned four sacrifice flies and two sacrifice bunts. On defense, his work at shortstop has led to 54 putouts, 78 assists, and 14 double plays.
Over the past two seasons, Baskin has batted .263 with 18 doubles, five triples, and nine homers. His three-year career totals include 70 runs and 51 RBis on offense, plus 115 putouts, 157 assists, and 29 double plays on defense.
Steven Verespey (So., RHP), the NWC Rookie of the Year in 2023, was named Honorable Mention All-NWC for the second consecutive season in 2024. He started 12 games this spring and supplied Willamette with a 5-3 record, a 4.48 ERA, and 46 strikeouts in 62 1/3 innings. During the 2023 season, he was 5-4 with one save. He had a 3.33 ERA and struck out 37 batters in 54 innings.
Verespey has achieved a 10-7 career record with a 3.95 career ERA. In 25 appearances with 21 starts, he has struck out 83 batters while throwing 116 1/3 innings.
Brady Joyner (Sr., RHP) was named Honorable Mention All-NWC as a relief pitcher for the third time after also being selected for Honorable Mention in 2021 and 2022. Joyner was chosen First Team All-NWC in 2023. This year, he leads the Bearcats with a 1.99 ERA and six saves in 22 2/3 innings. He has earned 32 strikeouts. In 2023, he tied for fifth in NCAA Division III with a school record-tying 10 saves with 34 strikeouts in 27 2/3 innings.
Joyner earned Second Team All-Region honors in 2021. He received Third Team All-Region honors from the ABCA in 2021 and 2023. Joyner's 25 career saves are the most in Willamette history. He broke the previous record of 23 saves, set by Mike Corey from 1994-98. Joyner holds a 3.11 career ERA and is 10-7 on the mound. He has produced 135 strikeouts in 107 innings for 11.36 strikeouts per nine innings.