The Cuesta Baseball team won the 2022 Western State Conference title, the program's 19th, and was well represented on the loop's all-conference teams with 14 players among those recognized. The Cougars placed eleven players on the first two teams, including WSC Player of the Year Zach Tallerman, along with 2022 WSC Coach of the Year honors for Coach Bob Miller. The Cougars nabbed the seeded #7 in the 2022 CCCAA Regional Playoff but were eliminated by #10-seed El Camino in the First Round. The Cougars, who have missed the post-season only four times since 1990, were 25-17 on the season.
Third Baseman Zach Tallerman was tabbed the 2022 Western State Conference Player of the Year. Tallerman enjoyed a monster season at the plate. He was 4th in the State with 61 RBI and led the Cougars in Doubles (18), Triples (4) and Home Runs (9). He was also clutch in the post-season with two runs scored and five driven in during the playoffs. In the Cougars' two post-season losses he went 4-for-8, including a pair of Doubles and a Triple. Tallerman ranks 9th all time at Cuesta for both Doubles and Runs Batted In, as well as 10th for Triples for a season.
Returning Freshman Right-hander Ben Broughton was named to the 2022 All-Western State Conference First Team and, like Tallerman, is an all-State candidate. This season, he emerged as the Cougars' Ace. He was 8-1 with a 2.62 earned run average during the regular season. Broughton also authored a pair of shutouts, including Cuesta Baseball's first recorded no-hitter.
Third-year Freshman Nico Martinez finally got out from under the pandemic and capped a solid season with a place on the 2022 All-Western State Conference First Team. Martinez was 4-3 over seven starts and 13 appearances on the season, including a 4-0 mark against the WSC.
Catcher Dalton Cram emerged as the Cougars' primary receiver and the intense Backstop was selected to the 2022 All-WSC First Team. Cram was behind the plate for 39 of Cuesta's 42 games, while batting .267 and adding 13 extra-base hits.
Cuesta landed seven players on the WSC-circuit's Second Team. Reliever Josh Souza, another returner from the 2020 campaign, became the Cougars' de-facto closer. The Southpaw struckout 24 batters in 19.2 innings over 14 appearances, while leading the team with three saves. First Baseman Holden Cumiskey anchored the right-side of the infield and the middle of the Cougars' order. He was the only left-handed hitting starter in the line-up and piled up the hits for a .307 average. He was also second on the team with both 16 extra-base hits and 48 RBI. Budding Superstar Shortstop Ryan Fenn saw his season cut short due to injury with just eight games left in the season. Fenn led the team with a .359 batting average and still ended the season third on the team for both Runs (34) and RBI (29). Designated Hitter Kirk Woolf battled his was back through both the pandemic and injury to fill a spot in the middle of the order. Woolf batted .358 and posted a 1.000 OPS. The Cougars entire outfield was also selected to the all-WSC Second Team- Rightfielder Mattias Sessing, Centerfielder Kayne Ross, and Leftfielder Ethan Royal. Sessing batted .275 was third on the team in runs scored. Ross developed into one of the best ballchasers in the league, his glove was the place that flyballs went to die. He also led the Cougars with 13 stolen bases, while batting .278. Royal batted .314 and was steady across the board and among the team leaders in almost every offensive category.
Southpaws Dane Truer and Justin Vose followed Broughton and Martinez in the Cougars' rotation and were joined by Second Baseman Diego Murillo as all three were accorded all-WSC Honorable Mention. Truer made ten starts on the season and was 3-1 with a 5.44 ERA. Truer made seven of his first eight starts and earned all his victories on the road. Vose battled inconsistency early in the season, before settling down and dominate down the stretch. He ended the season 2-0 with a 3.14 ERA. Murillo did all the little things for the Cougars, including dropping a school record 15 Sacrifice Hits and moving across the infield to play Shortstop when Fenn went down. Murillo also batted .311 and was second on the team with 39 runs scored.
Coach Bob Miller earned his sixth Western State Conference Coach of the Year award since taking the helm in 2003 and led the Cougars to their 16th post-season of his tenure. Cuesta ends the season 25-17 overall and with the ninth Western State Conference title season under Coach Bob Miller. Miller ended his 20th season at Cuesta tied for the most career wins (460) and conference titles (9) in program history. Miller is tied for third, across all sports, for the most wins at Cuesta College.
2022 Western State Conference Baseball Awards
Zach Tallerman- Player of the Year
Ben Broughton- First Team
Nico Martinez- First Team
Dalton Cram- First Team
Josh Souza- Second Team
Holden Cumiskey- Second Team
Ryan Fenn- Second Team
Mattias Sessing- Second Team
Kayne Ross- Second Team
Ethan Royal- Second Team
Kirk Woolf- Second Team
Dane Truer- Honorable Mention
Justin Vose- Honorable Mention
Diego Murillo- Honorable Mention
Bob Miller- Coach of the Year
