USD's Ricketts, SAAC Honored by the West Coast Conference

University of San Diego cross country and track runner, Shea Ricketts, earned the 2018 West Coast Conference Female Sportsmanship Award and the Toreros claimed the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) Community Service Award, as announced June 8 by the conference.

Ricketts was selected based on her dedication to being a strong representative of the WCC, USD, her team and herself. She showcased value-based leadership and character, exemplified through her acts of sportsmanship.

Ricketts persevered through adversity that began four weeks before her freshman year when she was injured after being hit by a car. She was unable to compete that year but focused on rehabilitation and training and made her collegiate debut during her sophomore season. She set a personal record in the 5,000-meter race in the final meet of the season.

Due to her injury, Ricketts was unable to compete during her junior and senior seasons but continued to assist the coaching staff and her teammates during practices and races, providing motivation and support. Her dedication to the USD program has helped cultivate an environment of positivity and inspiration.

“Her continued optimism and actions toward making the team a priority were so encouraging to for us all,” said USD Track and Cross-Country Head Coach Will Guarino. “If you look at her history and her physical limitations, she still did not give up. Shea made it a point to make team first and has been at every major race to help contribute to motivating others to reach their potential.”

USD also earned a department award, claiming the WCC’s SAAC Community Service Award. The award is given each year to the institution that records the highest average of community service hours per student-athlete.

All 17 Toreros teams participated in community service projects during the 2018-19 academic year. USD student-athletes completed 5,628 hours of community service — a conference-best average of 13.69 hours per athlete. The Toreros service was felt throughout the area as student-athletes volunteered with over 40 different organizations in San Diego County.

Baseball

Head baseball coach Rich Hill announced that Brock Ungricht and Matt Florer have been hired as full-time assistant coaches. Both assistant coaches will play key roles with recruiting along with all aspects of the program. Ungricht will be USD's hitting coach while Florer will be the Toreros' pitching coach.

"Brock Ungricht is a steal for us," Hill said. “He has an excellent coaching pedigree from San Diego State, University of Arizona and Stanford. Combined with his scouting experience with the St. Louis Cardinals organization (last year), this makes him the perfect guy in today's D1 arena. Brock is very polished at a young age and will bring energy and knowledge to Fowler Park daily!" 

Matt Florer joins the Toreros from Loyola Marymount University where he just completed his fourth season with the Lions, and second as the team's pitching coach.

"Matt is a rising star among national pitching coaches," Hill said. "His ability to communicate is exceptional. His passion for his players to excel is at the forefront of his thought process. He has a great reputation as a development specialist. I couldn't be happier to have him on our staff."

Two Toreros Earn Freshman All-America Status

Catcher Adam Kerner and first baseman Shane McGuire have been named Freshmen All-Americans by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper.

"Being an All-American is a big deal," said USD’s Rich Hill. "I'm super excited for both Adam and Shane. They both did a great job of buying in and working hard! They add to our long list of freshmen All-Americans in a big way."

Kerner turned in an outstanding rookie season with 44 starts in 47 appearances for the San Diego Toreros, appearing at catcher in 33 contests. He was named to the 2018 All-WCC Second Team and to the 2018 All-WCC Freshman Team. For the season, he batted .338 (50-148) with 31 runs, a team-best 15 doubles, two home runs, and 23 RBI. He was even better in WCC play with a team-best .382 batting average (26-68) with 16 runs, five doubles, and 14 RBI.

McGuire joined Kerner on the 2018 All-WCC Second Team and All-WCC Freshman squad. In WCC games he ranked third on the team in hitting at .341 (31-91) with 13 runs, six doubles, one triple and one home run. He started 46 of 53 games (34 appearances at first base) and batted .287 (50-174) with 23 runs, eight doubles, one triple and one home run.

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