Ex-Knight Danny Bibona of UCI Named Big West Pitcher of the Year.

Knight Alums Jared Prince and Matt Way of Washington State Earn All-Pac-10 Honors

Southpaw Daniel Bibona of the #1 ranked UC Irvine Anteaters was named Big West Pitcher of the Year. Danny led the conference in strikeouts with 94 and finished the regular season 11-1 with a 2.65 ERA over 14 starts and 98 1/3 innings pitched.

Collegiate Baseball Newspaper announced today that Bibona was named to its All-America team.

The junior from Lake Forest, California pitched for the 2007 Corvallis Knights following his freshman year at UCI.

He came to the Knights unheralded, but with great potential.

Danny worked hard that summer on his change-up with Corvallis pitching coach Trent Baysinger (former Husky pitching star and ex-pro).

"When I got to summer ball we worked on my change every day, and one day it just clicked," said Bibona. To hear more from Danny, click here to listen to Bibona tell the Blue and Gold Report in a May 13, 2008 interview how he turned things around in the summer of 2007.

Daniel went 2-2 with a 2.29 ERA and earned All-WCCBL honorable mention in his one season in Corvallis.

Bibona's Anteaters are hosting arguably the toughest Regional this weekend as UCI was paired with NCAA defending champion Fresno State, Virginia and San Diego State.

Danny's 2007 summer teammate senior lefty Matt Way of Washington State was named All-Pac-10 (as announced by Commissioner Tom Hansen on Wednesday, May 27).

Ex-Knight Jared Prince (pictured) of Washington State was also named All-Pac-10. The senior outfielder from Poulsbo, Washington hit .407 in conference play and led the Cougars to a second-place finish in the Pac-10 and their first Regional since 1990.

For the season, Prince is hitting .350 with 6 home runs and 36 RBI.

Jared played for the Knights in 2006 and hit .293 with 6 doubles and 13 RBI.

As a Knight, Matt Way was named first-team All-WCCBL and was voted the top prospect at the league's 2007 All-Star Game in Bellingham, Washington by MLB scouts. The Sitka, Alaska native went 5-1 with a 2.59 ERA in his one summer in Corvallis.

This past spring, Way went 8-4 and posted a 2.49 ERA while striking out 114 batters over 14 starts and 101 1/3 innings pitched. Way's 114 strikeouts were second in the Pac-10 and 11th in the nation.