SAN MATEO, Calif. – BYU third baseman Austin Deming was named the West Coast Conference Player of the Week on Monday for his performance last week in leading BYU to four-straight road wins. The Cougars defeated Cal State Fullerton 10-5 in a midweek game before sweeping Pepperdine in a three-game WCC series (4-2, 6-3, 4-2) on the weekend.
Deming went 8-of-16 at the plate and had at least one hit in all four games. His three-hit, two-run, two RBI-game against Fullerton was the difference in the BYU 10-5 win. In game three at Pepperdine, Deming broke a 1-1 tie in the eighth inning with a two RBI single down the left field line to give BYU the lead and eventually the win. In four games he hit .500, had four RBI, scored three times, had a home run, a double and led the Cougars with an on-base percentage of .566 and a slugging percentage of .750.
The junior from Santa Clara, Utah, is currently leading BYU in batting average (.312) and runs scored (31) and is second in several others statistical categories including hits (48), doubles (12), home runs (5), total bases (77), slugging percentage (.500) and on base percentage (.394). In WCC games, Deming is in the top 10 in the league in batting average (3rd), OPS (6th), slugging percentage (7th) and on base percentage (9th).
The WCC Player of the Week award is the first for Deming. He joins five other Cougars who have received WCC honors in 2022. Three that have been named player of the week—Cole Gambill (Feb. 28), Ozzie Pratt (April 11) and Mason Strong (April 18), and two others who were honored as pitcher of the week in Janzen Keisel (Feb. 21) and Bryce Robison (April 11).
BYU returns home this week for four games at Miller Park. The Cougars take on Dixie State on Tuesday, May 10 at 5 p.m. MDT, before welcoming Pacific to Provo for a three-game WCC series on Thursday, Friday, Saturday.