MADISON GRAD STILL MENDING
Just hours ahead of the first pitch of the 2020 college baseball season, righthander Kevin Abel — the hero of Oregon State’s 2018 College World Series championship — was removed from the roster.
The former Madison High standout was sensational as a freshman, finishing 8-1 with a 2.88 ERA in 811⁄3 innings.
Baseball America named him National Freshman of the Year after he won four World Series games, including a two-hit shutout against Arkansas.
Abel made three starts last season and was 2-0 with a 3.86 ERA and 25 strikeouts in 162⁄3 innings.
But after facing West Virginia in early March he was shut down and had seasonending Tommy John reconstructive elbow surgery in April.
Players bounce back from Tommy John surgery at different paces with recovery time anywhere from nine months on the optimistic side to 16 on the back end.
The hope was Abel would be ready for the 2020 season, but that doesn’t appear to be the case.
Abel, who was listed No. 15 on Baseball America’s Top 50 College Prospects, is eligible for the 2020 MLB Draft, and is listed as the No. 6 pro prospect in the Pac-12 by Baseball America.
He also has the option to return to Oregon State for the 2021 season.
Pac-12 connections
Arizona State shortstop Alika Williams (Rancho Bernardo) was named a preseason All-american by Baseball America. He’s the No. 4 pro prospect in the Pac-12 and was No. 21 on Baseball America’s Top 50 College Prospects. He went 1for-10 in the season’s first five games, but scored two runs, drove in two and drew seven walks.
• Nick Nastrini (Cathedral Catholic) allowed one run over five innings with five strikeouts in UCLA’S opening series against UC Riverside. Left-hander Nick Scheidler (La Costa Canyon) also plays for the Bruins.
• USC shortstop Ben Ramirez (Eastlake) is rated among the top pro prospects in the Pac-12. He opened the season going 5-for-14 with a pair of homers and five RBIS in a three-game series with Western Michigan. USC right-hander Kyle Hurt (Torrey Pines) allowed one run over three innings in a start against Western Michigan. He allowed one hit, walked three and struck out six. Outfielder Trevor Halsema (Madison) and catcher Taylor Johnson (Poway) are also on the USC roster.
• Second baseman Jacob Blas (San Marcos) and DH Dayton Dooney (Poway) are starting for Arizona. Blas is hitting .389 with three RBIS after four games. Dooney is hitting .286 with a homer and six RBIS. Freshman outfielder Mac Bingham (Torrey Pines) went 1-for-7 in the first four games while pitchers Zach Sherman (Ramona), Preston Price (Cathedral Catholic) and Blake Peyton (El Capitan) all saw action in the opening weekend.
• First baseman Alfonso Rivas (La Jolla Country Day) was traded by the Oakland A’s to the Chicago Cubs. Rivas played at Arizona.
More baseball
Freshman Spencer Jones (La Costa Canyon) was the starting DH for Vanderbilt. In three games, he was 2-for-9 with two RBIS. He also walked twice and was hit by a pitch three times.
• Ole Miss freshman right-hander Derek Diamond (Ramona) started Sunday’s game against Louisville. He worked 52⁄3 innings, allowing three runs in a 7-6 win.
• Third baseman Murphy Stehly (Santa Fe Christian/ Orange Coast College) started the first four games for Texas, hitting .250 with a homer.
• San Diego State third baseman/closer Casey Schmitt (Eastlake) was named a preseason Allamerican by Baseball America.
Men’s basketball
Ethan Esposito (Torrey Pines/san Diego City) is averaging 9.5 points and 5.0 rebounds at Sacramento State. He scored 22 in a game against Portland State. Jordan Cooke-harper (Poway/ Southwestern College) is averaging 1.1 points and 1.5 rebounds at Sacramento State.
• Khyber Kabellis (Escondido) has started 26 games for 14-13 UC Riverside. A graduate transfer from Pacific, the point guard is averaging 6.0 points and leads the team with 79 assists and 24 steals.
• After missing 11 games with an injury, Alex Cho (La Jolla Country Day) is back playing for NCAA Division III MIT. In 12 games, the sophomore is averaging 16.3 points and 3.7 rebounds. Plus he has 37 assists. He scored a careerhigh 33 against Eastern Nazarene before he was hurt. He scored 30 against Lasell.
• Harvard guard Reed Farley (La Jolla) returned to the floor last week after missing nearly two years with injuries.
Women’s basketball
Tristen Ryan, who played at Vista from 1998-2002, was inducted into the Concordiairvine Hall of Fame. She was a three-time NAIA Scholar Athlete and was named an all-conference player after the 2004-05 season. She is No. 1 at Concordia in 3-pointers (327), games started (122) and minutes played (4,008). She’s fourth in points scored (1,581), seventh in blocked shots (77), ninth in rebounds (595) and ninth in assists (300).
Football
Vic So’oto (Carlsbad) was named defensive line coach at USC. So’oto played his college ball at BYU and played several seasons in the NFL. He was the defensive line coach at Virginia the last two seasons.
Golf
Trevor Norby (San Marcos) shot an even-par 216 at Shadowridge Golf Club as his Oklahoma Christian team finished second in the 16team Cal State San Marcos Fujikura Invitational. The senior was the top Division II player, shooting 68 in the second round over the 7,008yard course. Only Steve Sugimoto (208) and Zihao Jin (214) of San Diego State shot better.
The Alumni Report appears periodically during the college season. Readers are encouraged to submit information on former San Diego County prep athletes to john.maffei@sduniontribune.com.