5 SRJC baseball players headed to Division I schools

Five members of the Santa Rosa Junior College baseball team will continue their careers with Division I programs. The Bear Cubs, who finished second in the state tournament last month a year after winning it all, also grabbed five All-Big 8 Conference first-team nods.

Garrett Hill, who prepped at Analy High, is headed to San Diego State after being named Big 8 Co-pitcher of the Year. Analy teammate and freshman pitcher for the Bear Cubs Ryan Calderon also earned first-team honors.

Montgomery grad Josh Lenney, who was a force at the plate during the Bear Cubs’ postseason run, will play at Sacramento State next year. Lenney, a pitcher and infielder, was named to the All-Big 8 first team.

Justin Bruihl, a Casa Grande grad who pitched for the Bear Cubs, will play for Cal next season.

Jared Noonan, a pitcher who prepped at Montgomery, is signed to play at UC Riverside in the fall. Noonan was a second-team All-Big 8 pick and earned Academic All-America honors.

Freshman Cole Brodnansky, two-time All-Empire Player of the Year from Clear Lake High, was named to the Big 8 first team as designated hitter.

Sophomores Jeff Bart and Ben Sanderson, who prepped at Rancho Cotate and Petaluma respectively, were named to the Big 8 second team. Ryder Kuhns, a sophomore infielder from Kailua, Hawaii, was named to the All-America, All-state, All-Norcal and All-Big 8 squads. He is slated to play at Cal State Northridge next year.

Matt Kimura, a shortstop from Honolulu, was named Big 8 Defensive MVP, while Trevor Mallet, a sophomore catcher from Torrance, was named to the All-Big 8 team.

You can reach staff columnist Kerry Benefield at 526-8671 or kerry.benefield@pressdemocrat.com, on Twitter @benefield and on Instagram at kerry.benefield.