Tuesday, January 23, 2024
by Thomas Lal

PORTLAND, Ore. –  The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association has named three GNAC teams and three of the conference’s players among the best in the west ahead of the upcoming 2024 season.

Both defending GNAC champion Western Oregon and GNAC Championships runner-up Northwest Nazarene feature in the top 10 of the 2024 NCBWA West Region Preseason Poll. The Wolves check in at No. 6 with 50 points after amassing a 30-15 record last season (20-9 GNAC) while the Nighthawks come into the season at No. 9 with 16 points after compiling a 24-29 overall record (17-15 GNAC).

Montana State Billings also appears in the poll among teams receiving votes after a 21-27 (12-18 GNAC) campaign a year ago. At the top, Cal State San Bernardino leads the way with 101 points and seven of the 11 total first-place votes after making a run to the national semifinals in 2023 that included a matchup with Western Oregon in the regional rounds.  

Along with the preseason team rankings, three players from the conference have been named to the 2024 NCBWA NCAA DII Preseason West Region Team. Montana State Billings’ senior outfielder Payton Flynn was the lone position player from the GNAC named to the team after a season where he was arguably the best power batter in the league. The Kennewick, Wash., native led the conference in home runs (14), RBIs (46), total bases (123) and slugging percentage (.728) in 2023 as the catalyst of the Yellowjackets’ high-scoring offense. Among members of the preseason team, Flynn leads the field in slugging and ranks second in home runs.

Western Oregon picked up two preseason all-region nods on the mound in junior Dylan Chalmers and senior Ryan Shipley. Chalmers, a right-hander from Missoula, Mont., picked up preseason honors on the heels of a 2023 campaign where he posted a 7-1 record to go with a 3.13 ERA as one of the best starting pitchers in the conference. Chalmers held opponents to a GNAC-leading .245 batting average while eating up the innings for WOU, averaging 5.28 per game to tie for fourth in the conference. His 58 hits allowed last season are the least of any starting pitcher on the preseason all-region team.

Shipley is the only reliever named to the team after a season where he was one of the best closers in the business. The right-hander from Ravensdale, Wash., compiled a 3-1 record to go along with five saves to tie for second in the GNAC. A strong closer with a knack for missing bats, Shipley racked up 23 strikeouts last season while allowing just eight runs on 16 hits and held opponents to just a .160 batting average in 29 innings of work.