SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Senior Gunner Gouldsmith and sophomore JP Smith were each named to the All-Western Athletic Conference second team, while Gouldsmith and junior Tyler White earned spots on the league's inaugural all-defensive team, as the conference office announced its postseason honor roll as selected by the head coaches on Monday afternoon.
For Smith, it marks the sophomore's second All-WAC honor of his career after he was named to the all-league first team in 2023, while Gouldsmith earned his first career All-WAC award. Meanwhile, Gouldsmith and White were two of the 10 players from around the conference named to the league's defensive squad.
Entering postseason play with a team-high .324 average and a career-high 78 hits, Gouldsmith is riding a 10-game hitting streak heading into this week's tournament while batting .476 (20-for-42) with seven runs scored and 12 RBI during his most recent run. The Reno, Nev., native has hit safely in 22 of his last 24 games — and has reached base safely in each of his last 14 — having gone without a hit in a game only eight times while starting all 56 games this year.
Gouldsmith leads the team with 20 multi-hit games on the season, including a trio of three-hit games, a pair of four-hit contests, and a 5-for-5 effort against Stephen F. Austin on May 11 that ranks tied for third on the school's single-game list. He also has nine multi-RBI contests on the year, a total that ranks third on the team.
The senior shined even brighter in conference play, batting .354 in 30 WAC contests with 19 runs scored, five doubles, and three home runs, while driving in 18 runs. He slugged .480 in league play while posting a .420 on-base percentage.
Smith comes into the tournament equally as hot, collecting hits in nine of his last 10 games while batting .325 (13-for-40) in that span. Providing the pop at the plate for the Hornets, Smith slugged 20 home runs (good for second in the WAC) to his season stat line to go along with a team-high 44 RBI, standing second on both the school single-season and career lists as his 34 career home runs rank just one shy of the career mark.
The Sacramento native slugged a team-high .583 on the season (good for eighth in the WAC), while also ranking tied for eighth in the league in runs scored (45) and 12th in RBI (44). His 15 multi-hit games rank tied for second on the team — which also includes a team-high six multi-home run games — while his 14 multi-RBI outings lead Sacramento State heading into tournament play.
White, who enters the tournament batting .280 with 31 runs scored, six doubles, a pair of home runs and 24 RBI, has been perfect as Sacramento State's centerfielder, having not committed an error in 113 chances. Gouldsmith, meanwhile, has been an integral part of the Hornets' up-the-middle defense, having a hand in 31 of the team's 43 double plays turned.
The Hornets open WAC Tournament play on Tuesday (May 21) at 4 p.m., taking on No. 5-seeded Tarleton State in an elimination game. The winner advances to face No. 4 California Baptist as the double-elimination portion of the tournament begins on Wednesday (May 22), also at 4 p.m.
All games of the tournament will be streamed live via the ESPN+ platform. Links to follow along for every Sacramento State contest will be posted on the baseball schedule page at HornetSports.com when they become available. Information on the tournament, including brackets, results, and links to follow along, are also available at WACSports.com (https://wacsports.com/tournaments/?id=15).
2024 ALL-WESTERN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE BASEBALL HONORS
WAC Player of the Year: Tyler Wilson, Sr., OF, Grand Canyon
WAC Pitcher of the Year: Brett Lanman, Fr., LHP, Abilene Christian
WAC Freshman of the Year: Brett Lanman, LHP, Abilene Christian
WAC Defensive Player of the Year: Josh Paino, Jr., SS, California Baptist
WAC Coach of the Year: Gregg Wallis, Grand Canyon
All-WAC First Team
SP – Brett Lanman, LHP, Abilene Christian
SP – Isaac Lyon, So., RHP, Grand Canyon
RP – Grant Garza, Sr., RHP, Tarleton State
C – Burke Camper, Sr., Utah Valley
1B – Gino D'Alessio, Grad, Abilene Christian
2B – Daniel Dickinson, So., Utah Valley
SS – Josh Paino, Jr., California Baptist
3B – Mitchel Simon, Sr., California Baptist
OF – Miller Ladusau, Sr., Abilene Christian
OF – Nicholas Dumesnil, So., California Baptist
OF – Tyler Wilson, Sr., Grand Canyon
DH – Beau Ankeney, Jr., Grand Canyon
All-WAC Second Team
SP – Lukas Pirko, Fr., RHP, California Baptist
SP – Zach Tjelmeland, Sr., RHP, UTRGV
RP – Nathan Hemmerling, Grad, RHP, California Baptist
C – Steven Lancia, Jr., UTRGV
1B – JP Smith, So., Sacramento State
2B – Cole Miears, Sr., Tarleton State
SS – Gunner Gouldsmith, Sr., Sacramento State
3B – Derek Gellos, Sr., Seattle U
OF – Cade Verdusco, Sr., Grand Canyon
OF – Hunter Katschke, Jr., Utah Tech
OF – Tyson Pointer, Sr., UT Arlington
DH – Luke Iverson, So., Utah Valley
WAC All-Defensive First Team
SS – Josh Paino, Jr., California Baptist
3B – Mitchel Simon, Sr., California Baptist
SS – Emilio Barreras, So., Grand Canyon
OF – Eddy Pelc, R-Sr., Grand Canyon
OF – Cade Verdusco, Sr., Grand Canyon
WAC All-Defensive Second Team
1B – Gino D'Alessio, Grad, Abilene Christian
C – Alton Gyselman, Fr., Grand Canyon
SS – Gunner Gouldsmith, Sr., Sacramento State
OF – Tyler White, Jr., Sacramento State
SS – Kade York, Sr., UTRGV
