Collegiate Baseball Newspaper All-American Teams
TUCSON, Ariz. — The University of New Mexico baseball team’s Carl Stajduhar and Luis Gonzalez were selected as pre-season All-Americans when Collegiate Baseball Newspaper released their Pre-Season 2017 NCAA Division I All-American Teams on Monday.
Stajduhar, a junior, was selected as the first-team third baseman by CBN after hitting .331 last season with a team-high 18 home runs and 66 RBI to go along with 17 doubles and 51 runs. Stajduhar was named a Louisville Slugger All-American as well as the Mountain West Player of the Year in 2016 – two of many accolades for the Fort Collins, Colorado, native. He’s currently on a 108-game consecutive starts streak as well for the Lobos, tied for the eighth longest in program history.
Gonzalez, a junior, was named the third-team utility player (played center field and pitched for UNM last season) by CBN after leading the Lobos with a .381 average, 21 doubles, five triples, 63 runs and 18 stolen bases to go along with six home runs and 48 RBI. Gonzalez, who was Second Team All-Mountain West last season, was also 3-1 on the mound with a 5.51 ERA in nine appearances (six starts). The Tucson, Arizona, native’s 96 hits last season was tied for 10th in single-season Lobo history.
Stajduhar and Gonzalez are two of the four Mountain West players to make the list with Stajduhar being the only player to be selected to the first team. Air Force outfielder Tyler Jones (.360 Avg, 19 HR, 64 RBI) was named to the second team and Fresno State’s Ricky Tyler Thomas (9-4, 2.16 ERA, 108 SO) was named to the third team.
While the Lobos open their season Feb. 17 at home against Binghamton, they will have a different type of opening Dec. 28 as they open the $2.3-million R.D. and Joan Dale Hubbard Clubhouse (down the right field line of Santa Ana Star Field) with a ceremony open to the public set for 3 p.m. There will be a press conference and the public can tour the facility afterward.
Follow the UNM baseball team on Twitter (@UNMLoboBaseball), Instagram (@unmlobobaseball) and Facebook (/UNMLobosBaseball) for updates and information on your Lobos!