SAN DIEGO – San Diego State baseball teammates Wyatt Hendrie (Palmdale, Calif./Antelope Valley College) and Matt Rudick (San Diego, Calif./Scripps Ranch HS) received second-team ABCA/Rawlings All-West Region recognition, as announced Wednesday by the American Baseball Coaches Association.
With their awards, Hendrie and Rudick earn the first ABCA/Rawlings All-West Region honors of their respective careers and give the Aztecs 10 such selections since 2014.
The first- and second-team honorees are determined by a vote of ABCA members from each of the eight regions, with the process guided by the ABCA NCAA Division I All-America committee. The All-West Region teams include student-athletes from California, Oregon, Arizona, Nevada, Utah and Hawai'i.
Hendrie enjoyed a banner season for the Scarlet and Black in 2021, earning first-team All-Mountain West honors for the first time in his career after becoming one of 16 semifinalists for Buster Posey National Collegiate Catcher of the Year Award.
Hendrie, who received MW Player of the Week distinction on three occasions as well this season, batted .379 with a team-best nine homers and 57 RBIs to go with 53 runs scored and eight stolen bases. The SDSU redshirt sophomore led the conference in RBIs and ranked among the league's top 10 in numerous categories, including runs scored (3rd), stolen bases (T-6th), on-base percentage (7th - .464), hits (T-7th - 64), slugging percentage (8th - .633) and home runs (T-9th).
In addition, Hendrie tied for the team's third-longest hitting streak of the season, finishing the year with a 12-game stretch to raise his batting average from .331 to .379. He also tied for the No. 3 spot with multiple hits in 21 contests.
A three-time All-Mountain West pick, Rudick compiled a team-high .410 batting average during the 2021 campaign, which ranked fourth in the league. The SDSU center fielder also topped the MW with 61 runs scored and 17 stolen bases and found himself among the conference leaders in triples (2nd - 4), hits (5th - 73), walks (T-5th - 26), on-base percentage (6th - .484), RBIs (T-10th - 41).
For the season, Rudick reached base in all 43 games he made a plate appearance and occupied the second spot on the squad with multiple hits in 23 contests. In addition, the Aztec redshirt junior was the toughest player in the nation to strike out, fanning just nine times in 178 at-bats while finishing third and ninth in the country, respectively, with an average of 1.39 runs and 1.66 hits per game during the regular season.
San Diego State finished the 2021 campaign with a 30-16 overall record and a second-place mark of 22-14 in Mountain West action. The Aztecs claimed series victories in 12 of 15 weeks and were the only conference team to play all 36 games on its original MW schedule.
SDSU ranked second in the nation during the regular season with a .335 team batting average and occupied the third spot with an average of 9.1 runs scored per game. In addition, the Aztecs ranked seventh with a collective .413 on-base percentage and 13th with 420 runs scored overall.
Aztec Duo Named to All-West Region Second Team
