USC Hosts UC Santa Barbara For Midweek Matchup

TUESDAY: The Trojans host UC Santa Barbara for a mid-week, non-conference matchup on Tuesday at 6 p.m.

BROADCAST INFO: Tuesday's game will be streamed live, with links available on the USCTrojans.com baseball schedule page.

FOLLOW: Fans can also follow all of this weekend's action through live stats on USCTrojans.com. Live, in-game updates will be available from @USC_Baseball on Twitter as well.

GET SOCIAL: Follow USC Baseball on social media to get updates on everything going on with the team this season. The Trojans can be found at @USC_Baseball on Twitter, @sctrojans on Instagram and USC Trojans Baseball on Facebook.

SERIES VS. UCSB: The Trojans are 89-47-1 all-time against the Gauchos since the teams first played back in 1921. The teams split their games last year, with USC winning 9-3 on the road and UCSB winning 8-5 at Dedeaux Field.

LAST WEEK: USC dropped two of three games to Arkansas last week, falling in the first two games before picking up a dramatic win in the finale thanks to a walk-off homer by CJ Stubbs in the bottom of the 10th inning.

OPENING WEEKEND: USC took two of three games at home from Omaha on opening weekend, winning the opener in dramatic fashion with a ninth-inning walk-off single from Brandon Perez. The Trojans then cruised to a dominant 11-0 win on Saturday in which John Beller tossed 7.0 scoreless innings, before dropping the finale 12-9.

THE ROSTER: The Trojans return 25 players from last year's roster and welcome a total of 11 newcomers heading into the season. The team has 3 seniors, 11 juniors (2 RS), 11 sophomores (1 RS) and 11 freshmen (1 RS). There are 17 pitchers (8 left, 9 right) and 19 position players.

THE SCHEDULE: USC plays its first 13 games at Dedeaux Field before facing UCLA at Dodger Stadium before finally hitting the road for the first time in the third week of March. The Trojans play 32 games at home and 24 games on the road this season. The 56 game slate features seven teams that made the NCAA Tournament last year and three that were in the College World Series, including both of the teams from the championship final, Arkansas and Oregon State.

STOPPER WATCH: Connor Lunn was named to the NCBWA Stopper of the Year (given to the top reliever in college baseball each year) watch list early this season. Lunn was the Trojans' closer all of 2018, leading the team with eight saves over the course of 30.1 innings pitched and 22 total relief appearances. The junior righty boasted a 2.97 ERA while striking out 32 batters and walking just nine last season.

RECRUITING CLASS: The Trojans welcomed the 14th ranked recruiting class in the nation according to Baseball America and the 16th ranked class according to Perfect Game. Perfect Game also had the USC class as the highest rated class on the West Coast. D1baseball.com had the Trojan class ranked No. 21.

SUMMER BALL: 14 Trojans spread our across the country to play summer ball this offseason, with four playing in the famed Cape Cod League (Blake Sabol, Kyle Hurt, Connor Lunn, Ben Ramirez). Four USC players earned All-Star or All-League honors in their respective leagues; Sabol (Chatham Anglers, Cape Cod League), John Thomas (Arroyo Seco Saints, California Collegiate League), Chris Clarke (Bethesda Big Train, Cal Ripken Collegiate League) and Brady Shockey (Palm Springs Power, Southern California Collegiate League). Sabol especially stood out as one of the top prospects in the Cape and even made an appearance in the league's home run derby. He was named to the Perfect Game Collegiate Summer All-American second team.

PROSPECT RANKINGS: In the latest D1Baseball prospect rankings for the next two draft classes, four Trojans were ranked. In the 2019 draft class (350 ranked), Kyle Hurt is the 53rd ranked prospect, Blake Sabol is 63rd and Chris Clarke is 324. In the 2020 class (150 ranked), Chandler Champlain is 64th.

IMPACT FRESHMAN: D1Baseball ranked the Top 100 impact freshmen in college baseball and three USC rookies were ranked. Chandler Champlain is ranked No. 11, Preston Hartsell No. 91 and Clay Owens No. 94.

ALL-PAC-12 RETURNERS: The Trojans bring back a pair of players in Lars Nootbaar and Brandon Perez who earned All-Pac-12 recognition in 2017. Nootbaar garnered his first All-Pac-12 recognition thanks to a .313 batting average, 34 RBI and 33 runs scored. Perez earned honorbal mention on the all-conference list after finishing second on the team with a .328 average in his freshman season.

DRAFTED: The Trojans had a trio of players selected in last year's MLB Draft. RHP Solomon Bates was taken in the eighth round (226 overall) by the San Francisco Giants, OF Lars Nootbaar was also selected in the eighth round by the St. Louis Cardinals (243 overall) and 1B Dillon Paulson was taken in the 13th round () by the Los Angeles Dodgers.

DODGER STADIUM CLASSIC: USC will once again play in the Dodger Stadium College Baseball Classic this year, facing UCLA on March 10 in Chavez Ravine. Leading up to the final at Dodger Stadium, the Trojans will host Oklahoma State on March 8 and Michigan on March 9. Michigan and Oklahoma State will play at Dodger Stadium prior to the Trojans and Bruins.

USC TO THE MLB: No other school can claim a larger number of alumni who have made it to the big leagues, with 111 Trojans having played in the MLB. The list includes three Trojans who have made it to the MLB Hall of Fame (Randy Johnson, Tom Seaver, Pat Gillick), nine Cy Young Awards (Johnson 5 times, Seaver 3 times, Barry Zito once), three Rookie of the Years (Seaver, Fred Lynn, Mark McGwire), one American League MVP (Lynn), one World Series MVP (Johnson), 29 World Series appearances and 67 All-Star Game appearances. In all, 330 Trojans have been selected in the MLB Draft.

CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY: The Trojans have an unparalleled history of championship success at the College World Series, winning 12 total national titles (1948, 1958, 1961, 1963, 1968, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1978, 1998). The 12 titles are double any other team in the country and were won in 21 CWS appearances by the Trojans. USC won five straight NCAA Championships from 1970-74, a feat no other program has accomplished.

2019 TROJANS AT A GLANCE...

STARTING PITCHING: Hurt moved into the Friday role by the end of last season for the Trojans and showed flashes of his ace potential throughout the year, including tossing 7.2 innings of a combined no-hitter for the Trojans against Utah. The right-handed Hurt led the team with 81.1 innings pitched and finished second on the squad with 64 strikeouts. Beller, a lefty, was one of USC's most effective pitchers out of the both the pen and in a starting role last year, finishing with a team-best (for pitchers with more than 10 innings) ERA of 2.72. He made a total of 14 relief appearances and three starts, going 3-1 over the course of 49.2 innings pitched. Champlain is a highly touted freshman righty out of Mission Viejo, Calif. (Santa Margarita Catholic HS), who was a 38th round pick of the Angels in last year's MLB Draft. After electing not to sign and instead heading to Troy, Champlain comes in looking to make an immediate impact for USC.

BULLPEN: After anchoring the bullpen as the closer last season for USC, Lunn comes in as the most proven arm out of the pen for the Trojans. The junior righty posted eight saves with a 2.92 ERA, 32 strikeouts and just nine walks as a sophomore last year, and was named to the NCBWA Stopper of the Year watch list heading into this season. Clarke served mainly as a starter for the Trojans last year, but showed great promise out of the pen in the latter half of the season, tossing five scoreless relief outings, including four of his last six appearances. Clarke posted 45 strikeouts to 18 walks in 57.2 innings pitched and had one save on the year. Longrie served as a starter for the Trojans last season and looks to fill both rolls this year for the team. The lefty made 14 appearances last year and threw 65.1 innings.

Lefties Manning and Gursky each pitched mainly out of the bullpen last year, but made a few spot starts as well. Gursky led the team with 23 appearances in 2018, making a pair of starts and throwing 34.2 innings. Manning had a total of 15 appearances on the year, with 28.2 innings pitched. Culpo adds a big right-handed arm to the mix after transferring from Orange Coast College. Sophomore lefty Esqueda made 16 relief appearances last year for the team and sophomore righty Lamb saw action in eight games, while the lefty Cornwell redshirted the 2018 season. Lambert, Schapira, Hubbs and Reed are all members of the Trojans' recruiting class which was ranked 14th in the nation by Baseball America.

CATCHER: Stubbs, who is the brother of former Trojan Johnny Bench Award winner and current Astros prospect Garrett Stubbs, sat out last season after Tommy John surgery, but looks to not have missed a beat behind the plate or with the bat after a strong offseason showing. Murphy, who is coming back from heart surgery in the offseason and is still working his way into shape, led the team with a .333 average last season and gives the Trojans a strong veteran tandem behind the plate. The freshman Lozano comes in with some impressive prep accolades after hitting .537 his senior year and earning All-State honors at St. Mary's High School in Stockton, Calif.

INFIELD: The senior Perez returns after a gold glove season at third base and looks to carry that magic over to second. Perez had a down year at the plate last year, hitting .237, but was an All Pac-12 honorable mention after hitting .328 as a sophomore in 2017. Bushor was second on the team last year, hitting .301 in his first season at USC after transferring from Georgetown. Perez posted a .987 fielding percentage with just two errors and Bushor had a .984 fielding percentage with three errors last year. Ramirez hit .265 with a pair of homers last year and is coming off a solid showing in the Cape Cod League this summer for the Chatham Anglers. Rosas is a 6-1 infielder from Mater Dei who was a Top-20 shortstop prospect coming out of high school according to Perfect Game.

Thomas and Pritchard made spot starts for the Trojans last year and saw time as both pinch-hitters and defensive replacements. Thomas drove in seven runs and Pritchard drove in five. West saw action in three games, getting a pair of pinch-hit at-bats in 2018. Owens comes to USC from Norco High School where he earned All-State honors as a senior.

OUTFIELD: Sabol looks to be a key bat for the Trojans near the top of the lineup after hitting .276 last year and having a breakout summer for the Chatham Anglers in the Cape Cod League. Sabol hit four homers, two triples and eight doubles, while driving in 24 runs last season. Acosta provides another powerful bat as well as the ability to track balls down in centerfield. The junior hit .263 with three homers and eight doubles, while driving in 26 runs last year. O'Guinn looks to build on a solid freshman season in which he hit .240 with five extra-base hits, but led the squad with a .394 on-base percentage.

Shockey returns for his junior season after seeing action in 23 games last year and making nine starts. He drove in six runs last year. Halsema is also a returner and is heading into his sophomore season after appearing in 13 games and making a trio of starts. He had a pair of extra-base hits last year. Hartsell comes to USC as a highly-touted member of the recruiting class after being named the fifth-best player in California and 11th-best outfielder nationally by Perfect Game.

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Players Mentioned

Solomon Bates

John Beller

Chandler Champlain

Chris Clarke

Preston Hartsell

Kyle Hurt

Connor Lunn

Lars Nootbaar

Clay Owens

Dillon Paulson

Brandon Perez

Ben Ramirez

Blake Sabol

Brady Shockey

CJ Stubbs

John Thomas