Knights Earn Season-Ending Conference Honors.

Alum Mitch Haniger of Cal Poly Named Big West Player of the Year

With the close of the NCAA DI regular season, conferences released their honors this past week. Mitch Haniger of Cal Poly (pictured making a diving catch for the Knights in 2010) was named the Big West Conference Player of the Year.

Haniger hit .346 and led the Big West in homers with 13 and RBIs with 64.

Mitch patrolled center field for Corvallis following his freshman season, and hit .299 with 5 triples, 11 stolen bases, 3 home runs and 18 RBIs in WCL play earning Haniger first-team All-WCL honors.

The junior from Santa Clara, California is likely to go high in the 2012 MLB draft to be held June 4-6.

Joining Haniger on the All-Big West first team was his college teammate and ex-Knight third baseman Jimmy Allen. Jimmy starred on last summer's championship club.

2011 Corvallis Knights MVP David Armendariz of Cal Poly was named second-team All-Big West as was future Knights' frosh first baseman Greg Mahle of UC Santa Barbara. Ex-Knights' hurler Eddie Orozco of UC Riverside was an honorable mention selection.

Two former Knights were named to the Pac-12's All-Conference Team. Senior first baseman Taylor Ard of Washington State earned his second All-Pac-12 honor joining Oregon sophomore closer Jimmie Sherfy on this year's all-conference squad.

Ard led the WCL in batting average (.387) and RBI (30) in 2009 for the Knights and Sherfy was a key contributor on last season's Knights' title team.

The West Coast Conference named former Knights' ace Kyle Kraus of University of Portland to its all-conference team. The senior pitcher set a Portland Pilots career record for wins this spring notching number 27 in his final start this past weekend.

Kraus earned first-team All-WCL honors in 2009 and 2010 pitching for Corvallis.