UNLV LEADS ALL-MOUNTAIN WEST TEAM
Diaz voted defensive player of the year as league-high seven Rebels voted all-conference
Samantha Diaz was voted the Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year and a team-record seven Rebels were selected to the All-Mountain West Team announced today by the conference.
The honors were selected in a vote by the conference’s coaches.
Senior pitcher Jenny Bressler, freshman designated player Ariana Martinez and senior second baseman April Visser were named to the 15-member all-conference first team. Diaz, senior outfielder Denise Armendariz, freshman outfielder Sofia Morales and senior first baseman Mia Trejo were selected to the second team.
Diaz proved to be the top middle infielder in the league, capturing a .973 fielding percentage during conference play. The senior shortstop ranked fourth in total assists while committing only two errors.
Diaz repeated as the defensive player of the year after winning the award in 2019.
For Trejo, it was a record fifth-career all-conference selection. It was Bressler’s fourth and Armendariz’s second time earning all-conference recognition.
Bressler was the lone pitcher in the Mountain West to deliver a sub-1.00 ERA season, cracking the benchmark at .097. Her 13 league wins, 11 complete games, seven shutouts and six saves all lead the league.
Martinez had a phenomenal first year as the Rebels’ designated player, ranking third with a .414 batting average, third in home runs and ninth in slugging percentage,
Visser ranked second with 21 runs scored, third with 15 walks, fourth in on-base percentage, fifth with a .393 batting average, seventh in RBIs and slugging percentage.
Armendariz was 10th in RBIs during conference play and among its leaders in batting average, home runs and slugging percentage.
Morales holds the highest season batting average of any Mountain West player as a freshman. In conference game, she ranks seventh in runs scored, fifth in hits and slugging percentage and eighth in batting average.
Trejo proved again to be the league’s top first baseman, counting an errorless conference season at the corner. She ranked third in RBIs, sixth in hits, seventh in on-base percentage, eighth in total bases and walks, and ninth in slugging percentage.
UNLV plays its final regular-season series at Fresno State, starting the first of three games Thursday at 6 p.m. PT.
