Six Trojans named to All-Pac-12 Conference Baseball Team

The offseason means trophy season, and for the USC Trojans baseball team that adage rang true as Thursday, three Trojans headlined the All-Pac-12 first team, while six took home honorable mention honors.

Seniors David Oppenheim and AJ Ramirez, as well as junior Jeremy Martinez were the USC representatives on the first team, while sophomores Frankie Rios, Timmy Robinson, juniors Corey Dempster, Joe Navilhon, and seniors Brooks Kriskie, and Marc Huberman won the honorable mention honors.

David Oppenheim had a tremendous season as he became the first Trojan since 1995 to win the Pac-12 batting title. In addition, he won First-Team All-Pac-12 honors winning them for the first time in his career. He would finish the ’15 campaign batting .387 with four home runs and 25 RBIs, becoming a consistent weapon in the Trojan lineup.

Jeremy Martinez is no stranger to trophy season as he was a semifinalist for the Johnny Bench Award in 2016. Starting all 56 games, he batted .376 with six home runs and 42 RBIs. His average was second on the team and his 42 runs batted in was good for third on the team. He also showed his prowess as a defensive catcher, throwing out 24-of-54 base stealers.

AJ Ramirez had a career year in 2016, earning All-Pac-12 team honors for the first time. Batting .301, he showed that he possessed the talent to be a power threat. His nine home runs and 44 RBIs were second-best on the team.

Corey Dempster did a little bit of everything for the Trojans in 2015. Batting .290 and hitting six home runs in 49 games, he also drove in 24 runs and burned the base paths with 10 stolen bases on the year.

The duo of Brooks Kriske and Marc Huberman put together solid seasons of relief. They both had 26 appearances on the year, with Kriske notching six saves and Huberman three. Huberman was a machine on the mound striking out 45 batters through 41.2 innings while tallying a team-low 1.94 ERA. He gave opponents fits as they hit .188 against him.

For his part, Kriske had the second-lowest ERA on the team, sporting a 2.55 ERA in 35.1 innings of work. He too threw the ball with consistency, whiffing 42 batters while walking 15.

Timmy Robinson had a fine season in ’15, batting .282, while bopping eight home runs, and stroking 46 RBIs, the most on the team. For his efforts, he was an All-Pac-12 honorable mention selection.

A redshirt sophomore, Frankie Rios did not suffer a sophomore slump, and in fact the only thing he "suffered" was a tremendous season. In 55 games, he batted .323 with two home runs and 20 RBIs. He also showcased his speed a bit throughout the course of the season, raking three triples, a team-best.

A redshirt junior, Joe Navilhon began the season in the bullpen before taking on the role of a starting pitcher. He performed well, going 5-5 with a 3.58 ERA, a team low. He pitched 82.2 innings, whiffing 71 batters in 20 appearances, with 11 of those in the starting role.

The Trojans as a team went 28-28 and missed out on qualifying for the College World Series.