Duke and head coach Chris Pollard agreed to a contact extension through the 2025 season. Pollard led the Blue Devils to a record of 45-18 in 2018 and took Duke to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in the past three seasons. The Blue Devils won the Athens Regional and advanced to their first Super Regional in program history. Pollard is 198-146 in six seasons at Duke.
The University of Kansas will represent the United States in the World University Baseball Championship in Chiayi, Taiwan from July 6-15. The Jayhawks will compete in pool play against Japan, Russia and Hong Kong in Group B. Group A consists of Taiwan, Korea, Czech Republic and Australia.
Andrew Vaughn of Cal won the Golden Spikes Award. The sophomore first baseman started all 54 games for the Golden Bears and hit .402 with 23 home runs, 63 RBI and a slugging percentage of .819.
Joey Bart of Georgia Tech won the 2018 Johnny Bench Award, presented to the nation’s most outstanding collegiate catcher. An All-American selection, Bart was ACC Player of the Year, ACC Defensive Player of the Year and All-ACC First Team. He hit .359 with 16 home runs and 55 runs. Bart had a fielding percentage of .992. He threw out 12 of 33 potential base stealers and registered three pickoffs.
Former Southern Miss pitcher Nick Sandlin was named the Michael L. Slive Male Athlete of the Year for 2017-18 in Conference USA. Sandlin was a semifinalist for the Golden Spikes Award and the Dick Howser Award. The Conference USA Pitcher of the Year, Sandlin went 10-0 in 15 starts with 144 strikeouts and 18 walks in 102.1 innings.
Cord “Buck” Taylor has been added to the staff at Kansas State at pitching game coordinator. For the past 14 years, Taylor was head coach at Palomar Community College. He posted a record of 434-181 (.706) with the Comets and sent 21 pitchers to professional baseball.
During 2017-18, the Pac-12 won 12 NCAA championships. That led the nation for the 13th consecutive year. With Oregon State’s baseball title, six different institutions won at least one championship.
Nomar Garciaparra of Georgia Tech and Terry Francona of Arizona were inducted into the Omaha College Baseball Hall of Fame.
The Big 12 announced that game duration lessened by 13 minutes with a visible pitch clock used during 2018 conference contests. In 2017, the average length of a league game was 3:17. It dropped to 3:04 in 2018.
The University of North Carolina and Mike Fox have agreed on a contract extension. The 2018 ACC Coach of the Year completed his 20th season as head coach at his alma mater. UNC was the No. 6 national seed in the 2018 NCAA Tournament and Fox took the Tar Heels to the College World Series for the seventh time in the past 13 seasons. His current contract was scheduled to expire on June 30.
Keith Guttin has had two years added to his contract at Missouri State, keeping him in Springfield through the 2022 season. The Bears were 40-17 this past season, winning their second straight MVC regular-season title and earning their third NCAA Regional appearance in the past four years. MSU is 170-70 over the past four seasons, the most successful four-year span in program history. Guttin has a record of 1,259-776 (.619) in 36 seasons as head coach of the Bears. He has been a conference coach of the year 13 times, including each of the past two seasons in the MVC. Guttin is a member of the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame.
Illinois has signed Josh Harris to a letter of intent. The left-hander pitched at Kankakee Community College this past season after spending more than four years in the Marine Corps. He will have three years of eligibility with the Illini. Harris appeared in 19 games for Kankakee, going 2-1 with eight saves and a 3.72 ERA. He struck out 34 and walked four in 19.1 innings. Following boot camp and infantry training, Harris was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 5th Marines in California. He was with the unit for nearly four years and was deployed overseas twice. A native of Beecher, Ill., Harris plans to major in communications or sociology and pursue a career in law enforcement.
Pete Hughes has added Austin Wates to his staff at Kansas State. Wates will primarily work the hitters, outfielders and base runners. Wates played for Hughes at Virginia Tech from 2007-10 and has been an area scout in South Texas for the Seattle Mariners for the past two seasons.
The Atlantic Sun Conference announced that Stetson will host the 2019 conference championship at Melching Field and FGCU will host the 2020 tournament at Swanson Stadium. Liberty and North Alabama will join the conference for the 2018-19 season.
Austin Peay first baseman Parker Phillips will participate in the ninth annual College Home Run Derby on Saturday, June 30 at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha. Phillips had 19 home runs in 2018, tying a program record.
Clemson shortstop Logan Davidson will also compete in the College Home Run Derby. He belted 15 home runs this past season and 27 over the past two years.
Oregon State senior outfielder Jack Anderson was named the 2018 Baseball Scholar-Athlete of the Year in the Pac-12. He recently graduated with a degree in kinesiology and a minor in business. Anderson earned a GPA of 3.71. He plans to attend Regis University in Denver and work toward a graduate degree in physical therapy. Anderson appeared in 58 of OSU’s first 64 games with 43 starts, batting .281 with nine doubles, 36 runs and 15 RBI. He drew 21 walks and was plunked five times, registering an on-base percentage of .382.