TOIGO CLAIMS SHARE OF MW PLAYER OF THE YEAR
UNLV baseball places four student-athletes on All-Mountain West teams.
UNLV Baseball utility player Dean Toigo took home a share of the Mountain West’s Tony Gwynn Player of the Year, while three other Rebels – Carson Lane (First Team), Cole Koniarsky (Second Team) and LJ Mercurius (Second Team) – were named to the 2025 MW All-Conference Teams, the league announced on Tuesday.
Toigo is the fifth Rebel in MW history to claim Player of the Year honors, joining Fernando Valenzuela (2003), Eric Nielsen (2004), Xavier Scruggs (2008) and Bryson Stott (2019). The Yorba Linda, California native was named to the All-MW First Team after hitting .395 in 30 conference games and led the league in hits (51). Additionally, he was tops on the team in home runs (10), RBI (39), total bases (89), OPS (1.140) and at-bats (129) as well as slugging percentage (.690), with the help of 18 extra-base hits and 10 walks. He split time at first base and outfield for the Hustlin’ Rebels in MW play, having played 18 games at first base and 13 in the outfield.
Lane earned All-MW First Team honors after posting the second-most wins in MW action (5) and the third-most strikeouts in conference play (61). The Huntington Beach, California native registered a 4.45 ERA in 56.2 innings after allowing 28 earned runs (30 total). Additionally, Lane posted the fourth best opponent batting average at .230. Lane’s signature game in conference action was when he helped throw UNLV’s first no-hitter since 2003 where he went eight innings striking out nine Fresno State batters on three walks en route to winning MW Pitcher of the Week and College Baseball Foundation (CBF) National Pitcher of the Week accolades.
Koniarsky ranks sixth in the conference with a .385 batting average and was fifth overall in on-base percentage (.468), while also tied for fourth in doubles (13). The Chino Hills, California native also contributed 23 runs, 45 hits, three home runs, 67 total bases and 18 walks. He also recorded a .573 slugging percentage and an OPS of 1.041. Not only did his bat continue to stay hot throughout the season, he was dominant in right field with a .968 fielding percentage, playing in 22 MW games in the outfield.
Mercurius earned All-MW Second Team honors after registering a 3.29 ERA in 38.1 innings after allowing 14 earned runs (17 total). His 3.29 ERA ranks third in the MW, while his .222 opponent batting average also sits third. He allowed the second fewest hits (30) and runs (17) among starting pitchers and led pitchers in all games played with the lowest ERA (3.57). The right-hander hasn’t given up more than five hits in his eight starts. Mercurius’ best outing of the season came in a 3-0 home win against in-state rival UNR where he became the first Rebel pitcher to record a complete-game nine-inning shutout since Kenny Oakley in 2015. Mercurius posted a career-high 12 strikeouts where he allowed just three hits and no walks.
QUOTABLE: “All four of those guys deserved what they got. Dean was just incredible all year. Carson had some great performances on Friday nights. LJ was still recognized even after missing three weeks and Cole was a consistently good hitter all year. They all earned the respect of the other coaches in the league. The coaches take this very seriously and do it right, so it’s a great honor to receive.”
-Head Coach Stan Stolte
REBEL NOTES:
– Toigo is the second Rebel to share Tony Gwynn Player of the Year honors, as Stott (2019) was also a co-awarded winner.
– This is the first all-conference recognition for the Rebel quartet and the most honorees since the 2022 Hustlin’ Rebels were awarded with six recipients.
2025 MOUNTAIN WEST HONORS
TONY GWYNN CO-PLAYERS OF THE YEAR
Murf Gray, Jr., INF, Fresno State
Dean Toigo, Sr., INF/OF, UNLV
PITCHER OF THE YEAR
Aidan Cremarosa, Jr., Fresno State
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Sean Yamaguchi, INF, Nevada
COACH OF THE YEAR
Jake McKinley, Nevada
FIRST TEAM
Positions Players
Murf Gray, Jr., INF, Fresno State
Justin Stransky, Sr., C, Fresno State
Jayce Dobie, Jr., INF, Nevada
Jake Harvey, Jr., C, Nevada
Josh McAlister, Sr., INF, New Mexico
Ethan Ott, Sr., INF, New Mexico
Khalil Walker, Sr., OF, New Mexico
Dean Toigo, Sr., INF/OF, UNLV
Logan Johnstone, Jr., OF, Washington State
Pitchers
Jack Anker, Jr., Fresno State
Aidan Cremarosa, Jr., Fresno State
Alessandro Castro, So., Nevada
Carson Lane, So., UNLV
SECOND TEAM
Positions Players
Zach Peters, Sr., OF, Air Force
Billy Ham, Jr., DH, Nevada
Sean Yamaguchi, Fr., INF, Nevada
Will Asby, Sr., OF, New Mexico
Jordy Oriach, Jr., OF/DH, New Mexico
Nevan Noonan, Jr., INF, San Diego State
Rocco Caballero, Jr., INF, San José State
Cole Koniarsky, Sr., OF, UNLV
Will Cresswell, Sr., C, Washington State
Pitchers
Daxton Purser, Sr., New Mexico
Marko Sipila, Jr., San Diego State
Tyler Albanese, So., San José State
LJ Mercurius, So., UNLV