2024 UC Irvine Anteaters baseball team

2024 UC Irvine Anteaters baseball
Dodger Stadium College Baseball Classic champions
Corvallis Regional, 2–2
Conference	Big West Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 25
D1Baseball.com	No. 23
Record	45–14 (22–8 Big West)
Head coach	Ben Orloff (6th season)
Assistant coaches	Ryan Johnston (2nd season) Erich Pfohl (1st season) CJ Yogi (1st season)
Hitting coach	J.T. Bloodworth (5th season)
Pitching coach	Daniel Bibona (11th season)
MVP	Myles Smith
Home stadium	Cicerone Field
Seasons ← 2023 2025  →

2024 Big West Conference baseball standings

v t e	Conf.									Overall
Team	W		L		T		PCT			W		L		T		PCT
No. 13 UC Santa Barbara  ‍†‍‍y	26	–	4	–	0		.867			42	–	12	–	0		.778
No. 21 UC Irvine  ‍‍‍y	22	–	8	–	0		.733			43	–	12	–	0		.782
Hawai'i  ‍‍‍	20	–	10	–	0		.667			37	–	16	–	0		.698
Cal Poly  ‍‍‍	20	–	10	–	0		.667			35	–	22	–	0		.614
UC San Diego*  ‍‍‍	17	–	13	–	0		.567			30	–	23	–	0		.566
Cal State Northridge  ‍‍‍	16	–	14	–	0		.533			30	–	24	–	0		.556
UC Davis  ‍‍‍	13	–	17	–	0		.433			29	–	27	–	0		.518
Long Beach State  ‍‍‍	10	–	20	–	0		.333			25	–	29	–	1		.464
Cal State Bakersfield  ‍‍‍	8	–	22	–	0		.267			15	–	38	–	0		.283
Cal State Fullerton  ‍‍‍	7	–	23	–	0		.233			16	–	38	–	0		.296
UC Riverside  ‍‍‍	6	–	24	–	0		.200			16	–	36	–	0		.308
* Ineligible for the 2024 NCAA tournament due to transition from Division II
† – Conference champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of May 25, 2024 [1] Rankings from D1Baseball

The 2024 UC Irvine Anteaters baseball team represented the University of California, Irvine during the 2024 NCAA Division I baseball season. The Anteaters played their home games at Cicerone Field as a member of the Big West Conference. They were led by head coach Ben Orloff, in his sixth season as manager.

Previous season

Further information: 2023 UC Irvine Anteaters baseball team

UC Irvine came off a 38–17 (19–11) season. The Anteaters finished fourth in the Big West Conference, but did not receive an at-large berth to the 2023 NCAA Division I baseball tournament.

Preseason

Preseason Big West awards and honors

Preseason All-Big West Team
Player	No.	Position	Class
Dub Gleed	4	3B	Junior
Caden Kendle	5	OF	Senior
Anthony Martinez	55	1B	Sophomore

Coaches poll

The coaches poll was released on February 9, 2024. UC Irvine was picked to finish second in the conference and received two first-place votes. ^[2]

Coaches' Poll

Pos.	Team	Points
1	UCSB	99 (9)
2	UC Irvine	89 (2)
3	UC San Diego	78
4	Hawaii	70
5	CSUN	65
6	Cal State Fullerton	59
7	Cal Poly	46
8	Long Beach State	42
9	UC Davis	25
10	Cal State Bakersfield	21
11	UC Riverside	11

Personnel

Starters

Lineup

Pos.	No.	Player.	Year
C	8	Thomas McCaffrey	Senior
1B	55	Anthony Martinez	Sophomore
2B	16	Will Bermudez	RS-Junior
3B	1	Jo Oyama	Senior
SS	2	Woody Hadeen	RS-Junior
LF	5	Caden Kendle	Senior
CF	11	Myles Smith	Junior
RF	26	Chase Call	Junior
DH	4	Dub Gleed	Junior

Weekend Pitching Rotation

Day	No.	Player.	Year
Friday	13	Nick Pinto	Graduate
Saturday	28	Trevor Hansen	Freshman
Sunday	27	Brandon Luu	Freshman

Roster

2024 UC Irvine Anteaters baseball team
Players	Coaches
# Pos. Name B/T Height Weight Year Home town 1 INF Jo Oyama L/R 5 ft 6 in(1.68 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Sr Okinawa, JPN 2 INF Woody Hadeen S/R 6 ft 2 in(1.88 m) 195 lb (88 kg) RS Jr Temecula, CA 4 INF Dub Gleed R/R 6 ft 1 in(1.85 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Jr Ladera Ranch, CA 5 OF Caden Kendle R/R 5 ft 11 in(1.8 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Sr Huntington Beach, CA 7 OF Jacob Stinson L/R 6 ft 1 in(1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Sr Pleasanton, CA 8 C Thomas McCaffrey R/R 5 ft 11 in(1.8 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Sr Santa Monica, CA 10 OF Luke Spillane R/R 6 ft 0 in(1.83 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Gr Trabuco Canyon, CA 11 OF Myles Smith L/R 6 ft 1 in(1.85 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Jr Torrance, CA 12 RHP David Utagawa R/R 6 ft 4 in(1.93 m) 230 lb (104 kg) RS Jr Phoenix, AZ 13 LHP Nick Pinto L/L 6 ft 0 in(1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Gr Coto de Caza, CA 14 RHP Danny Suarez R/R 6 ft 4 in(1.93 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Jr Trabuco Canyon, CA 15 RHP Finnegan Wall R/R 6 ft 2 in(1.88 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Jr Hesperia, CA 16 INF Will Bermudez S/R 5 ft 10 in(1.78 m) 175 lb (79 kg) RS Jr Whittier, CA 17 RHP Riley Kelly R/R 6 ft 5 in(1.96 m) 215 lb (98 kg) So Santa Ana, CA 18 RHP Ricky Tibbett R/R 6 ft 2 in(1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Gr Chula Vista, CA 20 RHP Tim Grack R/R 6 ft 1 in(1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr Fountain Valley, CA 21 INF Landon Gaz R/R 6 ft 2 in(1.88 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Fr Moorpark, CA 22 RHP Cameron Wheeler R/R 6 ft 1 in(1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Gr Chino Hills, CA 23 INF Frankie Carney L/R 5 ft 11 in(1.8 m) 180 lb (82 kg) RS Fr San Diego, CA 24 INF Auggie Gutierrez R/R 5 ft 11 in(1.8 m) 180 lb (82 kg) RS Fr Yorba Linda, CA 25 INF James Castagnola R/R 6 ft 1 in(1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) RS Fr San Diego, CA 26 OF Chase Call R/R 6 ft 2 in(1.88 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Jr Porter Ranch, CA 27 LHP Brandon Luu L/L 6 ft 2 in(1.88 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Fr Irvine, CA 28 RHP Trevor Hansen R/R 6 ft 2 in(1.88 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Fr Simi Valley, CA 30 OF Trevor Wilson R/R 6 ft 2 in(1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr Fresno, CA 31 RHP Dante Zamudio R/R 6 ft 1 in(1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Jr Los Angeles, CA 32 RHP David Vizcaino R/R 6 ft 3 in(1.91 m) 225 lb (102 kg) RS Jr Chino, CA 33 RHP Max Martin R/R 6 ft 5 in(1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) So Los Angeles, CA 34 C Abraham Garcia-Pacheco R/R 6 ft 0 in(1.83 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Sr Highland, CA 35 RHP Michael Pirrello R/R 6 ft 2 in(1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Sr Los Alamitos, CA 36 RHP Andrew Grove R/R 6 ft 4 in(1.93 m) 210 lb (95 kg) So Orange, CA 37 C Holt Williams R/R 6 ft 4 in(1.93 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Fr Camas, WA 38 INF Lucas Scott R/R 6 ft 0 in(1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Fr Long Beach, CA 39 RHP David Butler R/R 6 ft 2 in(1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Jr Riverside, CA 40 C Blake Penso R/R 6 ft 3 in(1.91 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Jr Huntington Beach, CA 41 RHP Elliot Joslin R/R 6 ft 6 in(1.98 m) 225 lb (102 kg) So Los Angeles, CA 42 LHP Ryder Brooks L/L 6 ft 2 in(1.88 m) 195 lb (88 kg) RS Fr Fountain Valley, CA 43 LHP Ricky Ojeda L/L 5 ft 11 in(1.8 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Fr Valencia, CA 44 LHP Nick Rincover L/L 6 ft 2 in(1.88 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Gr West Hills, CA 55 INF Anthony Martinez L/R 6 ft 3 in(1.91 m) 230 lb (104 kg) So Fairfield, CA	Head coach Ben Orloff Assistant coach(es) Daniel Bibona J.T. Bloodworth Ryan Johnston Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: May 19, 2024

Game log

2024 UC Irvine Anteaters Baseball Game Log (45–14)
Regular Season (43–12)
February (6–0) Date TV Opponent Rank Stadium Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall BWC February 16 ESPN+ North Dakota State* No. 25 Cicerone Field Irvine, California W 14–2 Pinto (1–0) Puetz (0–1) None 826 1–0 — February 17 ESPN+ North Dakota State* No. 25 Cicerone Field W 7–2 Luu (1–0) Knight (0–1) None 745 2–0 — February 18 ESPN+ North Dakota State* No. 25 Cicerone Field W 10–4 Brooks (1–0) Koenig (0–1) None 718 3–0 — February 20 KUCI San Diego* No. 25 Cicerone Field Canceled (inclement weather) 3–0 — February 23 ESPN+ at Tulane* No. 25 Turchin Stadium New Orleans, Louisiana W 5–4 Pinto (2–0) Saum (0–2) Tibbett (1) 1,692 4–0 — February 24 ESPN+ at Tulane* No. 25 Turchin Stadium W 11–4 Luu (2–0) Cehajić (0–1) Ojeda (1) 2,005 5–0 — February 25 ESPN+ at Tulane* No. 25 Turchin Stadium W 10–7 Hansen (1–0) Lombardi (0–1) None 1,692 6–0 —
March (16–3) Date TV Opponent Rank Stadium Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall BWC Dodger Stadium College Baseball Classic March 1 ESPN+ San Diego* No. 23 Cicerone Field W 3–1 Pinto (3–0) Randall (0–1) Tibbett (2) 856 7–0 — March 2 ESPN+ Michigan* No. 23 Cicerone Field W 12–4 Wheeler (1–0) Denner (1–2) Martin (1) 896 8–0 — March 3 MLBN vs. UCLA* No. 23 Dodger Stadium Los Angeles, California W 5–2 Ojeda (1–0) Rodriguez (0–1) Tibbett (3) 4,617 9–0 — March 5 ESPN+ Cal Baptist* No. 22 Cicerone Field W 13–4 Luu (3–0) Wilson (0–2) Tibbett (4) 738 10–0 — March 7 MWN at Fresno State* No. 22 Pete Beiden Field Fresno, California W 13–4 Brooks (2–0) Dixon (2–1) None 1,658 11–0 — March 8 [a] KUCI vs. Columbia* No. 22 Pete Beiden Field W 32–2 Pierrello (1–0) Sheets (0–2) None 1,239 12–0 — March 8 [a] MWN at Fresno State* No. 22 Pete Beiden Field L 1–13 Beal (1–2) Pinto (3–1) None 1,239 12–1 — March 9 KUCI vs. Columbia* No. 22 Pete Beiden Field W 25–7 Hansen (2–0) Edwards (0–1) None 1,438 13–1 — March 13 ESPN+ UConn* No. 19 Cicerone Field L 0–5 Schild (2–0) Vizcaino (0–1) None 622 13–2 — March 15 ESPN+ UC Davis No. 19 Cicerone Field W 1–0 Tibbett (1–0) Delaney (1–1) None 831 14–2 1–0 March 16 ESPN+ UC Davis No. 19 Cicerone Field W 6–1 Ojeda (2–0) Valdez (1–1) None 700 15–2 2–0 March 17 ESPN+ UC Davis No. 19 Cicerone Field L 10–1211 Woolridge (1–0) Wheeler (1–1) None 956 15–3 2–1 March 22 ESPN+ Cal State Bakersfield No. 24 Cicerone Field W 10–3 Pinto (4–1) Verdugo (0–3) None 846 16–3 3–1 March 23 ESPN+ Cal State Bakersfield No. 24 Cicerone Field W 12–4 Hansen (3–0) Gutierrez (0–2) None 586 17–3 4–1 March 24 ESPN+ Cal State Bakersfield No. 24 Cicerone Field W 3–212 Utagawa (1–0) Grosjean (1–3) None 591 18–3 5–1 March 26 ESPN+ at Loyola Marymount* No. 20 George C. Page Stadium Los Angeles, California W 10–911 Pierrello (2–0) Kershaw (1–1) Zamudio (1) 307 19–3 — March 28 ESPN+ at Hawaii No. 20 Les Murakami Stadium Honolulu, Hawaii W 6–3 Pinto (5–1) Giroux (3–1) Tibbett (5) 3,291 20–3 6–1 March 29 ESPN+ at Hawaii No. 20 Les Murakami Stadium W 12–8 Rincover (1–0) Abshier (1–2) Tibbett (6) 4,159 21–3 7–1 March 30 ESPN+ at Hawaii No. 20 Les Murakami Stadium W 12–5 Ojeda (3–0) Magdaleno (1–2) None 3,324 22–3 8–1
April (11–5) Date TV Opponent Rank Stadium Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall BWC April 5 ESPN+ No. 23 UCSB No. 16 Cicerone Field W 9–3 Pinto (6–1) Gallagher (2–1) None 772 23–3 9–1 April 6 ESPN+ No. 23 UCSB No. 16 Cicerone Field L 4–5 Gutierrez (5–0) Hansen (3–1) Flora (4) 1,327 23–4 9–2 April 7 ESPN+ No. 23 UCSB No. 16 Cicerone Field W 11–4 Luu (4–0) Ager (2–3) None 1,036 24–4 10–2 April 9 P12N at USC* No. 12 George C. Page Stadium [b] L 5–12 Johnson (3–0) Grack (0–1) None 374 24–5 — April 12 ESPN+ at UC San Diego No. 12 Triton Ballpark La Jolla, California L 4–15 Eyanson (5–1) Pinto (6–2) None 500 24–6 10–3 April 13 ESPN+ at UC San Diego No. 12 Triton Ballpark W 16–3 Hansen (4–1) Ernisse (1–2) Martin (2) 426 25–6 11–3 April 14 ESPN+ at UC San Diego No. 12 Triton Ballpark L 9–10 I. Martinez (3–1) Tibbett (1–1) None 524 25–7 11–4 April 17 ESPN+ USC* No. 15 Cicerone Field L 4–12 Ebner (2–0) Brooks (2–1) None 955 25–8 — April 19 ESPN+ San Diego State* No. 15 Cicerone Field W 4–3 Pinto (7–2) Riordan (3–4) Tibbett (7) 920 26–8 — April 20 MWN at San Diego State* No. 15 Tony Gwynn Stadium San Diego, California W 9–8 Utagawa (7–2) Miranda (1–1) Tibbett (8) 1,044 27–8 — April 21 ESPN+ San Diego State No. 15 Cicerone Field W 7–610 Tibbett (2–1) Canada (0–4) None 1,203 28–8 — April 23 P12N at UCLA* No. 12 Jackie Robinson Stadium Los Angeles, California W 9–7 Martin (1–0) Ruff (2–4) Utagawa (1) 680 29–8 — April 26 KUCI at UC Riverside No. 12 Ballpark at RSC Riverside, California W 15–1 Pinto (8–2) Capacete (0–6) None 269 30–8 12–4 April 27 KUCI at UC Riverside No. 12 Ballpark at RSC W 15–7 Hansen (5–1) Flores (0–6) None 276 31–8 13–4 April 28 KUCI at UC Riverside No. 12 Ballpark at RSC W 12–3 Luu (5–0) Andrunas (1–1) None 227 32–8 14–4 April 30 ESPN+ at San Diego* No. 9 Fowler Park San Diego, California W 8–4 Grack (1–1) Kysar (1–1) None 473 33–8 —
May (10–4) Date TV Opponent Rank Stadium Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall BWC May 3 ESPN+ Cal Poly No. 9 Cicerone Field L 5–10 Wright (7–2) Ojeda (3–1) None 874 33–9 14–5 May 4 ESPN+ Cal Poly No. 9 Cicerone Field W 4–3 (10) Tibbett (3–1) Baum (2–4) None 904 34–9 15–5 May 5 ESPN+ Cal Poly No. 9 Cicerone Field L 2–11 Volmerding (1–0) Luu (5–1) None 1,036 34–10 15–6 May 7 ESPN+ UCLA* No. 16 Cicerone Field W 9–6 Ojeda (4–1) Stump (0–5) None 1,990 35–10 — May 10 ESPN+ at Long Beach State No. 16 Blair Field Long Beach, California W 18–3 Pinto (9–2) Geiss (3–3) None 2,403 36–10 16–6 May 11 ESPN+ at Long Beach State No. 16 Blair Field W 11–2 Hansen (5–1) Larson (2–1) None 2,110 37–10 17–6 May 12 ESPN+ at Long Beach State No. 16 Blair Field W 7–1 Grack (2–1) Montgomery (3–3) None 1,522 38–10 18–6 May 14 ESPN+ Loyola Marymount* No. 13 Cicerone Field W 7–2 Kelly (1–0) Caycedo (0–2) None 731 39–10 — May 17 ESPN+ at Cal State Fullerton No. 13 Goodwin Field Fullerton, California W 10–6 (12) Tibbett (4–1) Jones (0–2) None 1,062 40–10 19–6 May 18 ESPN+ at Cal State Fullerton No. 13 Goodwin Field L 2–9 Rodriguez (3–7) Hansen (5–2) None 1,018 40–11 19–7 May 19 ESPN+ at Cal State Fullerton No. 13 Goodwin Field W 18–4 Kelly (2–0) Wright (1–6) None 851 41–11 20–7 May 23 ESPN+ CSUN No. 13 Cicerone Field W 5–2 Ojeda (5–1) Pallares (0–3) Tibbett (9) 976 42–11 21–7 May 24 ESPN+ CSUN No. 13 Cicerone Field L 9–14 Halamicek (6–3) Hansen (6–3) None 843 42–12 21–8 May 25 ESPN+ CSUN No. 13 Cicerone Field W 14–9 Kelly (3–0) Wentz (0–3) Tibbett (10) 1,156 43–12 22–8
Postseason (2-2)
NCAA Regionals (2-2) Date TV Opponent Rank Stadium Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall Postseason Record May 31 ESPN+ vs. Nicholls (3) No. 21 Goss Stadium Corvallis, Oregon 13-12 Utagawa (3-0) Desandro (6-5) None 3,893 44-12 1-0 June 1 ESPN+ vs. No. 7 Oregon State (1) No. 21 Goss Stadium L 3-5 Kmatz (7-2) Hansen (6–4) Holmes (13) 4,224 44–13 1-1 June 2 ESPN+ vs. Tulane (4) No. 21 Goss Stadium Corvallis, Oregon 17-7 Ojeda (6-1) Price (3-3) Vizcaino (1) 3,880 45-13 2-1 June 2 ESPN+ vs. No. 7 Oregon State (1) No. 21 Goss Stadium L 6-11 Hutcheson (4-2) Utagawa (3-1) None 4,134 45-14 2-2
Legend:       = Win       = Loss       = Canceled Bold =UC Irvine team member Rankings are based on the team's current ranking in the D1Baseball poll. [3]

Schedule Notes

1. Part of a doubleheader.
2. Game will be played at George C. Page Stadium instead of USC's main field, Dedeaux Field, due to a scheduling conflict. USC will still be the designated home team.

Rankings

Main article: 2024 NCAA Division I baseball rankings

Ranking movements
Legend:██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Final
Coaches' [4]	RV	RV*	25	23	20	21	19	17	14	16	13	11	16	13	13	18	18*	25
Baseball America [5]	25	21	20	19	19	19	16	14	11	15	14	12	18	17	17	20	20*	25
NCBWA† [6]	—	RV	25	22	22	20	19	17	14	18	15	11	16	13	13	17	19	21
D1Baseball [7]	—	—	—	23	22	24	20	16	12	17	12	9	16	15	14	21	21*	23
Perfect Game [8]	—	—	—	22	22	23	20	19	14	18	16	10	17	12	13	13*	—	—

† NCBWA ranks 35 teams in their preseason poll, but only ranks 30 teams weekly during the season.
* A new poll was not released for this week, so for comparison purposes, the previous week's ranking is inserted in this week's slot.

References

1. "Big West Conference". D1Baseball.com. Retrieved February 25, 2024.
2. "UC Santa Barbara Picked to Win The Big West in 2024 Baseball Preseason Coaches' Poll". bigwest.org. February 9, 2024. Retrieved March 17, 2024.
3. "2024 Baseball Schedule". vcuathletics.com. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
4. "Baseball Coaches Poll". USA Today . Gannett . Retrieved March 2, 2024.
5. Flaherty, Peter; Cahill, Teddy (February 26, 2024). "College Baseball Top 25 Rankings". Baseball America . Retrieved March 2, 2024.
6. "NCBWA Division I Poll". National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association . Dallas . Retrieved March 2, 2024.
7. "D1Baseball.com Top 25". d1baseball.com. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
8. "NCAA Division I - Top 25 Rankings". Perfect Game USA. February 26, 2024. Retrieved March 2, 2024.

External links

• UCI Baseball