Five Oregon State Baseball Players Named to ABCA All-Region Teams

Last night, a single-season Oregon State record 5 baseball players were honored on the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) All-Region teams. 

Honorees were selected by coaches from 43 NCAA Division I schools with ABCA membership; their list includes all former, current, and future baseball members of the Pac-12.

Outfielder Gavin Turley, Sunday starter pitcher Ethan Kleinschmit, and catcher Wilson Weber were all named to the  ABCA West Region First Team. Shortstop Aiva Arquette and Saturday starter pitcher Dax Whitney were named to the ABCA West Region Second Team.

Turley, a junior outfielder, leads the Beavers with 19 home runs after belting 4 so far this postseason. His .346 batting average is another team high, and he eclipsed Travis Bazzana’s all-time Oregon State home run record with (45, now 52 and counting) after an April 19th bomb against Cal State Northridge. Turley has now been voted all-region in back to back seasons.

Kleinschmit, a sophomore transfer starting pitcher from nearby Linn-Benton Community College, enters the upcoming College World Series with an 8-4 record, 3.54 earned run average, and an opposing batting average of just .195. 2 years ago, Kleinschmit led Kennedy HS in humble Mt Angel to the Oregon small school class (1A/2A/3A) baseball championship, going 16-0 with a 0.56 earned run average. He then spent a year learning under Oregon State alum Andy Peterson at Linn-Benton CC.

Weber, a senior catcher, has grown into an extension of coach Mitch Canham. The Beavers’ starting catcher enters the Men's College World Series with a .333 batting average over 60 games, which includes 57 starts. The Gresham native (a Sam Barlow HS alum) also wowed with his defensive acumen. Last month Weber was nominated as a semifinalist for the Buster Posey Award, given annually to the best catcher in college baseball.

Arquette, a junior transfer shortstop from the University of Washington, has arguably been Oregon State’s best player this season. Arquette leads the Beavers with a .354 batting average while hitting 18 home runs, which are second only to Turley's 19. His defensive prowess drew semifinalist honors for the Golden Spikes Award, given annually to the best overall player in college baseball, and he has been named a Second Team All-American by Perfect Game. 

Whitney, a true freshman starting pitcher from Idaho, has exceeded every expectation for a 19 year old rookie. In the past two weeks, Whitney has dominated under pressure: his 12 strikeouts in 6 innings staved off TCU in a Corvallis Regional elimination game, and then his 10 strikeouts in 4 ⅔ innings kept Florida State in check, helping the Beavers come back to win Game 1 of the Corvallis Super Regional. Whitney was named a Freshman All-American by the National College Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) earlier this week, and is expected to start Friday against Louisville in the Beavers’ CWS opener.

The Beavers’ 3 first team all-region selections Turley, Kleinschmit, and Weber are all eligible for the ABCA All-American vote, and those results will be announced later this week.