Baseball

Aztec Baseball Earns Two MW Weekly Honors

The San Diego State baseball program collected two Mountain West weekly honors on Monday, as Carson Johnson was named Mountain West Pitcher of the Week, while Max Farrell was tabbed the league's Freshman of the Week.

Aztec Baseball Earns Two MW Weekly HonorsAztec Baseball Earns Two MW Weekly Honors
Megan Ellis

SAN DIEGO – The San Diego State baseball program collected two Mountain West weekly honors on Monday, as Carson Johnson (Chandler, Ariz.) was named Mountain West Pitcher of the Week, while Max Farrell (Carlsbad, Calif.) was tabbed the league's Freshman of the Week. The announcement was made by the MW office in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Both competitors played key roles in the Aztecs’ weekend sweep of LIU, Feb. 13-15, helping the Scarlet and Black start a season at 3-0 for the first-time since 2018.

A native of Chandler, Arizona, Johnson made his first collegiate start a memorable one, striking out a career-high 11 batters in seven-plus innings of SDSU’s 6-5 walk-off victory over the Sharks last Sunday. The Aztec right-hander was working on a no-hitter deep into the contest until surrendering a one-out single in the top of the seventh.

Johnson exited the game after facing the first two batters in the eighth, allowing just one earned run on two hits and two walks for the day but did not factor in the decision.

Johnson, who transferred from Arizona, where he played for Aztec head coach Kevin Vance in 2025, retired 16 batters in row after issuing a leadoff walk in the second, as the Scarlet and Black built a 5-0 advantage in that span. Earlier, the SDSU redshirt sophomore set the tone for the afternoon by striking out five of the first eight batters he faced.

Johnson was part of a dominating Aztec pitching staff that combined for 46 strikeouts on the weekend, the team's highest total since posting 47 in a three-game series vs. USF in 2019.

Meanwhile, Farrell started all three games at first base in his collegiate debut, posting a slash line of .455/.600/.818 with four RBIs, six runs scored and two stolen bases. The Aztec rookie hit safely in all three contests, compiling a team-high .600 on-base percentage, while smacking two doubles and one triple. He also hit .667 with runners on base (4-6) and batted .600 with runners in scoring position (3-5).

In Friday’s 12-11 nail-biter, Farrell went 1-for-4 with an RBI and run scored. He walked and scored in SDSU’s six-run outburst in the fourth inning and later added his first career RBI with a single in the fifth, putting the Aztecs up 7-4.

Farrell enjoyed a monster game in the second contest of the series on Saturday, going 3-for-4 with three RBIs and four runs scored. The San Marcos High alumnus displayed his aggressive baserunning with a two-run triple in the second inning of that game that helped give the Aztecs an early 5-1 advantage. He also delivered an RBI single in the fifth that extended SDSU's lead to 10-2.

In Sunday’s series finale, Farrell went 1-for-3 with a run scored, as the Scarlet and Black prevailed in walk-off fashion, 6-5. The SDSU infielder ripped a one-out double and scored in the Aztecs' crucial four-run surge in the sixth.

Not to be outdone, Farrell posted a clean 1.000 fielding percentage for the series, securing all 19 chances without an error while assisting on two double plays.

Earlier this month, Farrell was named Mountain West Preseason Freshman of the Year by Perfect Game in the website’s annual conference preview listings.

San Diego State returns to the diamond for its first road game of the season when it battles UC Irvine on Tuesday, Feb. 17. First pitch from Anteater Ballpark is slated for 6 p.m. PT.