Baseball | 5/13/2026 7:20:00 PM
TRAFFORD, Pa. (pacathletics.org) - The Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) recognized its All-Conference Baseball teams and annual award winners Wednesday night. The award winners and teams, determined through voting by the league's 12 head coaches, were first released during an announcement show by the PAC Sports Network.
Fresh off winning its 17th conference crown, Washington & Jefferson College gathered two of the four major awards. W&J senior infielder/outfielder Josh Dezenzo was voted the PAC Player of the Year while Presidents' junior right-hander Brandan Cruz was named the Pitcher of the Year. The final player award went to Allegheny College freshman utility Zach Miner, who was chosen as the conference's Newcomer of the Year.
The PAC Coach of the Year award was earned by third-year Bethany College head coach Michael Finlan.
Dezenzo is the fifth W&J winner of the PAC Player of the Year award in the last six years. He led the PAC with 23 doubles, which ranks third in the country, and a .532 on-base percentage and ranked in the top five in the league in seven other categories. That includes second in batting average (.423), slugging percentage (.796), OPS (1.328) and sacrifice flies (eight); fourth in home runs (eight); and fifth in hits (58) and runs scored (49). Dezenzo was also eighth in the circuit with 40 RBIs and 26 walks. Overall, he had two or more hits in 18 game this year and reached base in 39 of the 41 games he played.
This honor adds to a bevy of accolades this year for Dezenzo, who was a two-time PAC Hitter of the Week, two-time selection for D3baseball.com Team of the Week and the NCBWA Division III Hitter of the Week for April 8th. He had a hand in the Presidents securing the conference title last week, finishing with four hits, four RBIs and three runs scored in W&J's 4-0 run through the Tournament.
With Cruz winning Pitcher of the Year laurels, it marks the 11th time in the last 14 years a President has been recognized. He is stationed at or near the top of numerous categories in the PAC, most notably first for wins with a 10-0 record, first in ERA (0.93) and WHIP (0.71) and tops in batting average against at .140. Cruz's season also has him ranked among the nation's elite. His 10-0 record ties him for second in Division III in wins and he is one of just three pitchers nationally with at least 10 wins and zero losses. Cruz also leads all not only Division III, but all of NCAA baseball in ERA and WHIP.
Overall, Cruz surrendered just 33 hits and 10 runs (seven earned) in 68 innings of work with 51 strikeouts and only 15 walks. Cruz was so dominant through the year he only allowed multiple runs in one of his 10 starts and he had four starts in which he held the opponent scoreless. One of his two complete games was in W&J's PAC Tournament opener when he held Grove City to one run on three hits with eight strikeouts and zero walks in a 5-1 victory, which started the Presidents' march to the PAC title.
Also a First Team All-PAC selection, Miner was a major factor with the bat and on the hill in becoming the first Allegheny player to win the top newcomer award. At the plate, he was fourth on the team in hits (47) and RBIs (31) and fifth with a .343 batting average. Miner also clubbed 14 doubles to tie for fifth in the conference, scored 26 runs and finished with an OPS of .850.
On the mound, Miner finished with a 3-2 record and posted a 1.19 WHIP and 4.83 ERA in 50.1 innings pitched. His three wins came in conference victories over Bethany, Saint Vincent and Geneva, he limited teams to a .236 batting average against, fifth-lowest in the PAC, and Miner registered 36 strikeouts, as well as two complete games.
In collecting his first PAC Coach of the Year honor, Finlan skippered Bethany to a 26-17 overall record and a 14-8 PAC mark. It was the Bison's highest win total in Finlan's three years at the helm and the most for the program since going 27-16 in 2019. That was also the last time Bethany qualified for the PAC Tournament prior to this year. The Bison earned the No. 4 seed for this season's postseason and opened the Tournament with an 11-5 win over Allegheny before falling to eventual champion W&J and eventual runner-up Grove City.
Also announced Wednesday was this year's PAC Sportsmanship Team, with a link to the team above. The PAC's Sportsmanship Teams were established to recognize student-athletes who have distinguished themselves through demonstrated acts of sportsmanship and ethical behavior and are an ongoing effort to both recognize and encourage positive sportsmanship among all conference teams.
With the PAC Championship Tournament win, W&J also claimed the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championship. The Presidents will host an NCAA Regional this coming weekend at Ross Memorial Park, beginning Friday, May 15th when Bridgewater (Va.) takes on Scranton at 11 am. W&J's first game will follow at 2:30 pm against the University of Chicago. Check W&J's Regional Site Page for the complete schedule and links for tickets/streams/stats.
PAC Award Winners
Player of the Year: Washington & Jefferson College senior infielder/outfielder Josh Dezenzo
Pitcher of the Year: Washington & Jefferson College junior right-hander Brendan Cruz
Newcomer of the Year: Allegheny College freshman utility Zach Miner
Coach of the Year: Bethany College head coach Michael Finlan
| All-PAC First Team |
| Position |
Name |
Class |
School |
Hometown/High School |
| C |
Calvin Cackowski |
Sr. |
Thiel |
Wickliffe, Ohio/Wickliffe |
| 1B |
Colin Marinpetro |
Sr. |
Grove City |
Imperial, Pa./West Allegheny |
| 2B |
Eddie Rueda |
Jr. |
Chatham |
Miami, Fla./iMater Charter |
| SS |
Tom Rook |
So. |
Westminster |
Clarence Center, N.Y./Clarence |
| 3B |
Cooper Baxter |
Sr. |
Chatham |
Butler, Pa./Butler |
| OF |
Josh Dezenzo |
Sr. |
W&J |
Alliance, Ohio/Marlington |
| OF |
Ryan Cochran |
So. |
Allegheny |
Pittsburgh, Pa./Deer Lakes |
| OF |
David Chandler |
Jr. |
Grove City |
Leesburg, Va./St. John's |
| DH |
Kirk Bearjar |
Sr. |
Geneva |
Summerhill, Pa./Forest Hills |
| UTIL |
Luke Alvarez |
Sr. |
W&J |
Elizabeth, Pa./Elizabeth Forward |
| UTIL |
Zach Miner |
Fr. |
Allegheny |
Venetia, Pa./Peters Township |
| P |
Brendan Cruz |
Jr. |
W&J |
Carnegie, Pa./Chartiers Valley |
| P |
Matt Bamford |
Sr. |
Chatham |
Belle Vernon, Pa./Belle Vernon |
| P |
Ty Carrier |
So. |
Westminster |
New Bethlehem, Pa./Redbank Valley |
| P |
Payton Zupko |
Sr. |
Bethany |
Mineral Ridge, Ohio/Mineral Ridge |
| All-PAC Second Team |
| Position |
Name |
Class |
School |
Hometown/High School |
| C |
Braden Zeigler |
Jr. |
Westminster |
New Castle, Pa./Shenango |
| 1B |
Noah Phillson |
So. |
Allegheny |
Greenville, Pa./Greenville |
| 2B |
Jaden Nestor-Fox |
Sr. |
Bethany |
Vermilion, Ohio/Vermilion |
| 2B |
Teddy Platt |
Jr. |
W&J |
Venetia, Pa./Peters Township |
| SS |
Keegan Carr |
So. |
W&J |
Irwin, Pa. Norwin |
| SS |
Nicholas Peffer |
Sr. |
Franciscan |
Dawsonville, Ga./Homeschooled |
| 3B |
Gian DeGenova |
Jr. |
Bethany |
Wheeling, W.Va./Wheeling Park |
| OF |
Angelo DeLeonardis |
Sr. |
Chatham |
Saxonburg, Pa./Knoch |
| OF |
Andrew Miko |
Jr. |
W&J |
Portage, Pa./Portage |
| OF |
Isiah Petty |
So. |
Saint Vincent |
McKeesport, Pa./Serra Catholic |
| UTIL |
Marco Gonzalez |
So. |
Bethany |
Oviedo, Fla./Oviedo |
| P |
Jacob Harrelson |
Fr. |
Westminster |
Canal Fulton, Ohio/Green |
| P |
Anthony Pass |
Sr. |
W&J |
Clinton, Pa./West Allegheny |
| P |
Cody Horvath |
Sr. |
Hiram |
North Ridgeville, Ohio/Brookside |
| P |
Ben Shields |
Jr. |
Allegheny |
Charleroi, Pa./Charleroi |
| Honorable Mention All-PAC |
| Position |
Name |
Class |
School |
Hometown/High School |
| 1B |
Matteo Lindia |
Jr. |
Franciscan |
Calgary, Alberta-Canada/Notre Dame |
| 1B |
Jack Anderson |
Jr. |
W&J |
Pittsburgh, Pa./Plum |
| 2B |
Nick Banez |
Sr. |
Allegheny |
Edmonds, Wash./Meadowdale |
| SS |
Connor Kunkle |
Fr. |
Allegheny |
Moon Township, Pa./Moon |
| 3B |
Nick Remish |
Fr. |
Grove City |
Norristown, Pa./Methacton |
| 3B |
Nick Smith |
Jr. |
Thiel |
Steubenville, Ohio/Steubenville |
| 3B |
Seth Rosenfeld |
Fr. |
W&J |
Ellicott City, Md./Long Reach |
| OF |
Niko Heidt |
So. |
Bethany |
San Diego, Calif./Monte Vista |
| OF |
Caleb Backos |
Jr. |
Grove City |
Troy, Mich./Bloomfield Christian |
| OF |
Josiah Bodie |
So. |
Franciscan |
Pawleys Island, S.C./Waccamaw |
| OF |
Michael Alspaugh |
Fr. |
Allegheny |
Venetia, Pa./Peters Township |
| OF |
Eli Boring |
Fr. |
Waynesburg |
Latrobe, Pa./Greater Latrobe |
| OF |
Devin Toothman |
Sr. |
Bethany |
East Liverpool, Ohio/East Liverpool |
| OF |
Liam Irving |
So. |
Allegheny |
Olney, Md./Sherwood |
| UTIL |
Jason Triscila |
Jr. |
Geneva |
Coraopolis, Pa./Montour |
| P |
Cason Bennett |
Sr. |
Chatham |
Vandalia, Ohio/Vandalia Butler |
| P |
Gianni Cantini |
Jr. |
Chatham |
Monongahela, Pa./Ringgold |
| P |
Nicolas Chernitsky |
Jr. |
Hiram |
Elyria, Ohio/Elyria |
| P |
Josh Reed |
Sr. |
Westminster |
Beaver Falls, Pa./Blackhawk |
| P |
Kaden Peebles |
Jr. |
Geneva |
Houston, Texas/Clear Brook |
| P |
Tyson Djakovich |
Jr. |
Westminster |
Hermitage, Pa./Hickory |
| P |
Nolan Hurd |
Jr. |
Saint Vincent |
Homestead, Pa./Steel Valley |