SAN BRUNO, Calif. — The Santa Clara University baseball team collected four all-West Coast Conference awards Tuesday, highlighted by a first team honor for right-handed pitcher
Max Bayles – the second Broncos pitcher in three years to earn the accolade.
Bayles was joined on the awards list by fellow starting pitcher
Jace Gillmore and shortstop
Ben Cleary, who both garnered second team recognition, and catcher
Johnny Luetzow, who was named all-WCC honorable mention.
Bayles follows former Santa Clara righty Blake Hammond, who landed on the all-WCC first team in 2024 and was the first Bronco to be named first team since 2017. Broncos pitchers have now collected six all-conference awards in just the last three seasons (since 2024), including two first team, two second team, an honorable mention and an all-freshman team nod.
Three of those awards belong to Bayles, who has gradually climbed from the all-freshman team in 2024 to all-WCC second team a year ago to the first team on Monday. The junior enters this week's WCC Tournament ranked second in the conference with 102 strikeouts (22nd in the nation through Monday) and second with a 2.45 ERA (21st in the NCAA). He leads the WCC and is ranked No. 15 in the country with only 6.20 hits allowed per nine innings. Bayles was named WCC Pitcher of the Week on Feb. 16, March 9 and Monday, and was also named a semifinalist for the College Baseball Foundation's National Pitcher of the Year award. Bayles was placed on the WCC Preseason Team, named the WCC Preseason Pitcher of the Year by D1Baseball.com, selected to the Perfect Game WCC Preseason Team and ranked the No. 29 starting pitcher in the nation by D1Baseball.com through 12 weeks. Bayles earned WCC all-academic honorable mention accolades on Monday.
Cleary has been the Broncos' offensive leader all season long. He carries a .364/.456/.509 slash line and an eight-game hitting streak into this week's WCC Tournament. The junior has racked up 10 doubles, five home runs, 39 runs scored, 30 RBIs and eight stolen bases this season as Santa Clara's everyday shortstop. He leads the team with 19 multi-hit games and 10 multi-RBI performances. He put together seven multi-hit games in a row from May 3-15 and has reached base in all but four games he's started (42 of 46).
Gillmore has been Santa Clara's No. 2 weekend starter throughout the season, going 4-4 with a 3.84 ERA and 59 strikeouts. He has set a new career high in strikeouts twice this season, first with seven versus UNLV on Feb. 28, then with eight on the road at Seattle on May 9. He has recorded at least four strikeouts in nine starts and has allowed zero or one earned run in seven of his 14 starts. Gillmore was named WCC all-academic honorable mention on Monday.
Luetzow has served as a stalwart for the Broncos behind the dish, making 34 starts at catcher while slashing .336/.425/.508 across 38 games. He's totaled 43 hits, 25 RBIs, 10 doubles and four home runs, and has also thrown out seven would-be base stealers on defense. Luetzow reached base safely in 16 consecutive games from March 24 through April 19 and put together a seven-game hitting streak from April 2-12, going 11 for 23 (.478) against San Diego, Clemson and Saint Mary's. He has 11 multi-hit games, including six three-hit performances. Luetzow was named to the WCC all-academic first team on Monday.
Santa Clara begins play at the 2026 WCC Tournament at 2 p.m. Wednesday versus third-seeded San Francisco in Scottsdale, Ariz.
