Grand Canyon Antelopes baseball
| Grand Canyon Antelopes | |
|---|---|
 2024 Grand Canyon Antelopes baseball team | |
 | |
| Founded | 1953 |
| Overall record | 499–542–2 |
| University | Grand Canyon University |
| Head coach | Gregg Wallis (3rd season) |
| Conference | Western Athletic Conference |
| Location | Phoenix, Arizona |
| Home stadium | Brazell Field at GCU Ballpark (Capacity: 4,000) |
| Nickname | Lopes |
| Colors | Purple, black, and white[1] |
| NCAA Tournament appearances | |
| 2021, 2022, 2024 | |
| Conference tournament champions | |
| 2021 | |
| Regular season conference champions | |
| 2015, 2017, 2018, 2021, 2023, 2024 | |
| Conference division champions | |
| 1998, 2022 | |
The Grand Canyon Antelopes baseball team represents Grand Canyon University, which is located in Phoenix, Arizona. The Antelopes, also known as the Lopes, are an NCAA Division I college baseball program competing in the Western Athletic Conference. They were in Division I from 1991 to 1998, the final four seasons in the WAC, and returned in 2014 with the WAC.
GCU plays all home games on campus at Brazell Field at GCU Ballpark. Over its 16 discontinuous seasons in the WAC, GCU has won six regular-season titles including five of the last six completed seasons.
In 2024, GCU was recognized as the No. 52 ranked college baseball program in the nation by D1Baseball.[2]
Since the program's inception in 1953, 16 Lopes have gone on to play Major League Baseball, highlighted by 1993 AL Rookie of the Year and 2002 World Series champion Tim Salmon and 2023 sixth overall pick Jacob Wilson.
History
[edit]Founding
[edit]Dr. Dave Brazell founded Grand Canyon's baseball program and it began play in 1953.[3] The team lost its first game to Phoenix College on March 23, 1953. The team won its first game against Eastern Arizona College on March 27, 1954.[4]
NAIA Championships
[edit]The Lopes won four NAIA National Championships in the 1980s: 1980, 1981, 1982, and 1986.[5]
Andy Stankiewicz (2012-22)
[edit]GCU hired Andy Stankiewicz on April 25, 2011.[6]
Stankiewicz led the program in its final two seasons at the Division II level, the duration of the four-year transition period to the Division I level, and to the school's first two NCAA Division I tournament appearances.
In his first season, Stankiewicz inherited a team with a losing record and went 27-23 in his first season. In his second season in 2013, Stankiewicz led the Lopes to the D-II College World Series for the first time.[citation needed]
The Lopes found immediate success in 2014, their first back at the D-I level. GCU finished second in the WAC standings.[7]
GCU won its first outright WAC regular-season championship in 2015.[8] The Lopes won the 2017, 2018, 2021 and 2022 WAC regular-season titles under Stankiewicz.[9]
Stankiewicz led GCU to its first WAC Tournament Championship in 2021 and first trip to the NCAA tournament.[10]
Despite entering the 2022 WAC Tournament as the No. 1 seed, Grand Canyon went 2-2 to get eliminated from the tournament. Carried by a strong regular-season campaign and a No. 50 RPI, the Lopes earned their first at-large selection into the NCAA tournament.[11]
Stankiewicz was announced as USC's head coach on July 3, 2022, ending an 11-year run leading the program.[12]
Gregg Wallis (since 2023)
[edit]A nine-year assistant coach under Stankiewicz, Wallis had departed GCU following the 2022 season to take an assistant coach position on Bill Mosiello's staff at Ohio State.[13] GCU brought Wallis back to be its head coach, making the official announcement on July 8, 2022.[14]
Wallis continued GCU's streak of WAC regular-season success by winning championships in 2023 and 2024. GCU did not win the WAC Tournament in either season.
The Lopes advanced to the 2024 NCAA tournament after Tarleton State — ineligible for NCAA postseason as a transitioning school — went on to win the conference tournament.[15] GCU took advantage of its second life, winning its first D-I NCAA tournament game in program history by defeating Arizona 9-4 on May 31 in front of the largest crowd in Hi Corbett Field history.[16] The Lopes took it a step further, recovering from a June 1 loss to West Virginia by defeating Dallas Baptist to advance to the regional final.[17] GCU lost to West Virginia again to end the Lopes' most successful postseason run at the D-I level.[18]
Conference membership history
[edit]Grand Canyon's baseball program has a unique conference membership history that includes a brief stint from 1991–1998 where the program was Division I in baseball but the rest of the university's athletic department was Division II.
| Seasons | Classification | Conference |
|---|---|---|
| 1953–1960 | none | |
| 1961–1967 | NAIA | Independent (associate member) |
| 1968–1990 | NAIA | Independent (full member) |
| 1991–1994 | NCAA Division I | Independent |
| 1995–1998 | NCAA Division I | Western Athletic Conference |
| 1999–2004 | NCAA Division II | California Collegiate Athletic Association |
| 2005–2009 | NCAA Division II | Independent |
| 2010–2013 | NCAA Division II | Pacific West Conference |
| 2014–2025 | NCAA Division I | Western Athletic Conference |
| 2027–[a] | NCAA Division I | Mountain West Conference |
NAIA era
[edit]Grand Canyon's first athletic affiliation came in 1961 as an associate member of the NAIA. They became full members of the NAIA for the 1968 season, opening postseason participation opportunities.
Baseball's Division I jump
[edit]The school opted to move out of the NAIA and into the NCAA in the late 1980s, primarily due to the cost burden of traveling to postseason competition and increasingly stringent NAIA rules.[19] Most of the school's athletic programs landed at the NCAA Division II level, however, baseball opted to go Division I as an independent. The baseball program played its first four D-I years as an independent.
In June 1994, GCU accepted a baseball-only invite to the Western Athletic Conference in the form of a year-to-year affiliate membership agreement.[21] The Lopes began play in the conference in 1995 and spent four seasons in the conference. GCU's membership was not renewed following the 1998 season, and the university decided to reclassify the program to D-II.[22] Already knowing it would not be a D-I program the following season, the 1998 team won the program's first D-I regular-season conference title by going 16-14 in WAC play to win the North Division.[23][24]
Division II membership
[edit]When the WAC ended its affiliate membership arrangement, GCU opted to move to D-II rather than remaining a D-I team as an independent. The Lopes spent one year transitioning in 1999, officially classified as a D-I program but largely playing D-II schools. GCU officially joined the California Collegiate Athletic Association in 2000.
GCU announced an intent to return to NAIA in May 2003.[25] This hit a snag in April 2004, after the school's dire financial situation led the institution to turn to a for-profit model. NAIA bylaws did not allow such institutions, and GCU was forced to remain in the NCAA despite already withdrawing from the CCAA.[26] The program was forced to be a D-II independent while the university searched for financial stability and a conference home.
GCU's athletic department moved to the Pacific West Conference beginning in the 2006-07 academic year, however the conference did not sponsor baseball as an official sport until 2010.[27][28]
Return to D-I
[edit]With exploding enrollment and financial stability, GCU announced an all-sport jump to D-I athletics in November 2012.[29] The baseball team would return to the WAC beginning in the 2014 season.
On May 10, 2024, GCU announced most of its sports would transition to the West Coast Conference in time for the 2026 baseball season.[30] On November 1, 2024, GCU announced it had accepted an invite from the Mountain West Conference to join no later than the 2027 baseball season.[31]
Brazell Field at GCU Ballpark
[edit]Brazell Field at GCU Ballpark is a baseball stadium on the Grand Canyon campus in Phoenix, Arizona that seats 4,000 people. While the field has remained in place since 1962, a new stadium was constructed around the playing surface.[32] It was opened on February 16, 2018 with a 2–1 loss to TCU.[33] A record attendance of 5,281 was set on February 16, 2024, an opening day win over Georgetown.[34]
Head coaches
[edit]In a program that has existed since 1953, Grand Canyon has had extreme continuity in its head coaching position. David Brazell founded the program and coached it for its first 28 years. Gil Stafford coached for 20 years including the program's first run at the Division I level. Alumnus and former Major leaguer Dave Stapleton coached the team for 10 years. Andy Stankiewicz took over for the 2012 season and led the program through its first nine seasons back at the Division I level beginning in 2014. His longtime assistant, Gregg Wallis, took over for Stankiewicz in the 2023 season.[35]
| Season | Coach | Years | Record | Pct. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991–1998 | Gil Stafford | 8 | 188–324–1 | .367 |
| 2014–2022 | Andy Stankiewicz | 9 | 274–197–1 | .582 |
| 2023–present | Gregg Wallis | 2 | 73-46 | .613 |
| Totals | 3 coaches | 19 seasons | 535–567–2 | .486 |
Year-by-year NCAA Division I results
[edit]Records taken from the 2020 GCU baseball media guide.[36]
| Season | Coach | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent (1991–1994) | |||||||||
| 1991 | Gil Stafford | 25–39 | |||||||
| 1992 | Gil Stafford | 25–37 | |||||||
| 1993 | Gil Stafford | 24–32 | |||||||
| 1994 | Gil Stafford | 29–33–1 | |||||||
| Western Athletic Conference (1995–1998) | |||||||||
| 1995 | Gil Stafford | 21–41 | 15–15 | 5th | |||||
| 1996 | Gil Stafford | 23–32 | 10–19 | 10th | |||||
| 1997 | Gil Stafford | 13–43 | 5–25 | 12th | |||||
| 1998 | Gil Stafford | 28–27 | 16–14 | 5th | WAC Tournament | ||||
| Western Athletic Conference (2014–present) | |||||||||
| 2014 | Andy Stankiewicz | 30–23 | 19–8 | 2nd | ineligible | ||||
| 2015 | Andy Stankiewicz | 32–22 | 19–7 | 1st | ineligible | ||||
| 2016 | Andy Stankiewicz | 25–28–1 | 13–14 | 5th | ineligible | ||||
| 2017 | Andy Stankiewicz | 29–25 | 20–4 | 1st | ineligible | ||||
| 2018 | Andy Stankiewicz | 33–24 | 19–5 | 1st | WAC tournament | ||||
| 2019 | Andy Stankiewicz | 36–24 | 18–9 | T-4th | WAC tournament | ||||
| 2020 | Andy Stankiewicz | 9–9 | Season cancelled on March 18 due to Coronavirus pandemic[37] | ||||||
| 2021 | Andy Stankiewicz | 39–21-1 | 29-7 | T-1st | NCAA tournament | ||||
| 2022 | Andy Stankiewicz | 41-21 | 25-5 | 1st | NCAA tournament | ||||
| 2023 | Gregg Wallis | 37-21 | 22-7 | 1st | WAC tournament | ||||
| 2024 | Gregg Wallis | 36-25 | 23-7 | 1st | NCAA Tournament | ||||
| Total: | 499–442–3 | ||||||||
|
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
| |||||||||
NCAA tournament history (Division I only)
[edit]| Year | Record | Pct | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 0–2 | .000 | Clinched berth by winning 2021 WAC baseball tournament
Eliminated by Oklahoma State in the Tucson Regional |
| 2022 | 0–2 | .000 | Earned at-large bid
Eliminated by Missouri State in the Stillwater Regional |
| 2024 | 2–2 | .500 | Clinched berth by winning 2024 WAC Regular-Season Championship
Eliminated by West Virginia in the Tucson Regional Final |
| Total | 2–6 | .250 | Total NCAA tournament Appearances: 3 |
Awards and honors (Division I only)
[edit]- Over their 11 discontinuous seasons in the Western Athletic Conference, 18 different Lopes have been named to the all-conference first-team.
All-Americans
[edit]| Year | Position | Name | Selector |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | SS | Jacob Wilson | CB |
Freshman All-Americans
[edit]
| Year | Position | Name | Selector |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | SP | Pierson Ohl | CB |
| 2021 | 1B | Elijah Buries | CB |
| 2021 | 1B | Elijah Buries | PG |
| 2021 | 3B | Jacob Wilson | CB |
| 2021 | SP | Carter Young | CB |
| 2021 | SP | Carter Young | D1 |
| 2021 | SP | Carter Young | NCBWA |
| 2022 | SP | Daniel Avitia | CB |
| 2022 | SP | Daniel Avitia | PG |
Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year
[edit]| Year | Position | Name |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | OF | Garrison Schwartz |
| 2018 | OF | Quin Cotton |
| 2024 | OF | Tyler Wilson |
Western Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Year
[edit]| Year | Position | Name |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | SP | Pierson Ohl |
| 2022 | SP | Daniel Avitia |
Western Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year
[edit]| Year | Position | Name |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | SS | Jacob Wilson |
Western Athletic Conference Coach of the Year
[edit]| Year | Name |
|---|---|
| 2017 | Andy Stankiewicz |
| 2018 | Andy Stankiewicz |
| 2021 | Andy Stankiewicz |
| 2022 | Andy Stankiewicz |
| 2023 | Gregg Wallis |
| 2024 | Gregg Wallis |
Western Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year
[edit]| Year | Position | Name |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | OF | Garrison Schwartz |
| 2019 | SP | Pierson Ohl |
| 2022 | SP | Daniel Avitia |
Taken from the 2020 GCU baseball media guide.[36] Updated March 2, 2020.
Lopes in professional baseball
[edit]Draft history
[edit]As of 2023, Grand Canyon has had 106 of its players selected in the MLB draft. Thirty-one of those selections have occurred since 2015 when the program returned to Division I.[38]
On July 9, 2023, Jacob Wilson became the highest drafted player in program history when he went sixth overall to the Oakland Athletics.[39]
Major Leaguers
[edit]| = All-Star | = Baseball Hall of Famer |
| Athlete | Years in MLB | MLB Teams |
|---|---|---|
| Frank Snook | 1973 | San Diego Padres |
| Tom Tellmann | 1979–80, 1983–85 | San Diego Padres, Milwaukee Brewers, Oakland Athletics |
| Dave Stapleton | 1987–88 | Milwaukee Brewers |
| Brad Moore | 1988, 1990 | Philadelphia Phillies |
| Randy McCament | 1989–90 | San Francisco Giants |
| Kevin Wickander | 1989–90, 1992–93, 1995–96 | Cleveland Indians, Cincinnati Reds, Detroit Tigers, Milwaukee Brewers |
| John Patterson | 1992–95 | San Francisco Giants |
| Chad Curtis | 1992–01 | California Angels, Detroit Tigers, Los Angeles Dodgers, Cleveland Indians, New York Yankees, Texas Rangers |
| Tim Salmon | 1992–04, 2006 | California/Anaheim/Los Angeles Angels |
| Brett Merriman | 1993–94 | Minnesota Twins |
| Paul Swingle | 1993 | California Angels |
| Steve Phoenix | 1994–95 | Oakland Athletics |
| Cody Ransom | 2001–04, 2007–13 | San Francisco Giants, Houston Astros, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, Arizona Diamondbacks, Milwaukee Brewers, San Diego Padres, Chicago Cubs |
| Brian Broderick | 2011 | Washington Nationals |
| Jake Wong | 2023 | Cincinnati Reds |
| Jacob Wilson | 2024 | Oakland Athletics |
Taken from the 2024 GCU baseball media guide.[36] Updated May 22, 2024.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Grand Canyon University Athletic Brand Standards". September 20, 2018. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
- ^ Staff, D1Baseball (2024-09-27). "2024 Top 100 College Baseball Programs: 60-51 • D1Baseball". D1Baseball. Retrieved 2024-10-19.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Obert, Richard. "Grand Canyon University sports icon Dave Brazell dies". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved 2024-06-08.
- ^ "1954 Baseball Schedule". Grand Canyon University Athletics. Retrieved 2024-06-08.
- ^ "NAIA" (PDF). NAIA. Retrieved 2024-06-08.
- ^ "Grand Canyon names Andy Stankiewicz as new head baseball coach". thepacwest.com. 2011-04-25. Retrieved 2024-06-08.
- ^ "2014 Western Athletic Conference (WAC) - Standings - The Baseball Cube". TheBaseballCube.com. Retrieved 2024-06-08.
- ^ Obert, Jeff Metcalfe and Richard. "Grand Canyon baseball wins its first WAC regular season title". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved 2024-06-08.
- ^ "WAC Team Champions". wac.org. Retrieved 2024-06-08.
- ^ "Lopes Staying in Arizona for Tucson Regional". wacsports.com. Retrieved 2024-06-08.
- ^ Sports, Arizona (2022-05-30). "Arizona, GCU baseball make 2022 NCAA Tournament as at-large bids". Arizona Sports. Retrieved 2024-06-08.
- ^ "USC hires Grand Canyon's Andy Stankiewicz to rebuild Trojans' baseball program". Los Angeles Times. 2022-07-03. Retrieved 2024-06-08.
- ^ Fulks, Sonny (2022-07-20). "OSU Baseball: Mosiello, And A Process In The Works ...!". Press Pros Magazine. Retrieved 2024-06-08.
- ^ sports, azcentral. "Grand Canyon names longtime assistant Gregg Wallis head baseball coach". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved 2024-06-08.
- ^ Obert, Richard. "Why Grand Canyon got a second life in NCAA baseball postseason". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved 2024-06-08.
- ^ Lev, Michael (2024-06-01). "Arizona falls to GCU in NCAA Tournament opener in front of record crowd at Hi Corbett Field". Arizona Daily Star. Retrieved 2024-06-08.
- ^ "Grand Canyon 12-10 Dallas Baptist (Jun 2, 2024) Box Score". ESPN. Retrieved 2024-06-08.
- ^ Obert, Richard. "Grand Canyon's improbable NCAA baseball tournament run ends with loss to West Virginia". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved 2024-06-08.
- ^ a b c "NCAA conference timeline". Arizona Republic. 1989-07-09. p. 39. Retrieved 2024-05-26.
- ^ "GCU accepts invite to Mountain West Conference". Grand Canyon University Athletics. 2024-11-01. Retrieved 2024-11-17.
- ^ "Baseball WAC 1994". Arizona Republic. 1994-06-21. p. 35. Retrieved 2024-05-26.
- ^ "Baseball transition to D2". Arizona Republic. 1998-04-15. p. 20. Retrieved 2024-05-26.
- ^ "1998 Western Athletic Conference (WAC) - Standings - The Baseball Cube". TheBaseballCube.com. Retrieved 2024-05-26.
- ^ "Canyon defeats Air Force, clinches divisional crown". Grand Canyon University Athletics. 1998-05-03. Retrieved 2024-05-26.
- ^ "GCU returns to NAIA". Arizona Republic. 2003-05-02. p. 114. Retrieved 2024-05-26.
- ^ "GCU stays in NCAA". Arizona Republic. 2004-04-09. p. 150. Retrieved 2024-05-26.
- ^ "Pac West membership". Arizona Republic. 2006-03-31. p. 275. Retrieved 2024-05-26.
- ^ "PacWest History: Rebuilding Mode". thepacwest.com. 2022-08-04. Retrieved 2024-05-26.
- ^ Marotta, Vince (2012-11-27). "Grand Canyon accepts invitation to Division I WAC". Arizona Sports. Retrieved 2024-05-26.
- ^ "West Coast Conference Adds Grand Canyon University and Seattle University as Members". wccsports.com. 2024-05-10. Retrieved 2024-05-26.
- ^ "Grand Canyon flips from WCC, to join MWC by '26". ESPN.com. 2024-11-01. Retrieved 2024-11-17.
- ^ Minard, Meg (2024-04-27). "Brazell Field at GCU Ballpark – Grand Canyon Antelopes". Stadium Journey. Retrieved 2024-05-29.
- ^ "Baseball vs Grand Canyon on 2/16/2018 - Box Score". TCU Athletics. Retrieved 2024-05-29.
- ^ "Baseball vs Georgetown on 2/16/2024 - Box Score". Grand Canyon University Athletics. Retrieved 2024-05-29.
- ^ "Baseball Head Coaching Records (Year-by-Year)". Grand Canyon University Athletics. Retrieved 2024-05-23.
- ^ a b c "GCU Baseball Media Guide" (PDF). Retrieved March 2, 2020.
- ^ "WAC Announces Cancellation of All Sports for Remainder of Academic Year". Retrieved March 19, 2020.
- ^ "Baseball Lopes in the Pros". Grand Canyon University Athletics. Retrieved 2024-05-23.
- ^ "A's select Jacob Wilson, son of All-Star Jack, at No. 6". MLB.com. Retrieved 2024-05-23.