LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The New Mexico State baseball squad wrapped up another historic season in 2018 that saw the team finish 40-22 with a 17-7 mark in Western Athletic Conference play. The Aggies won their first ever WAC Tournament title and advanced to the NCAA Regionals for the first time since 2012.
 
At season's end, NM State was ranked in the top-25 nationally in multiple categories. The Aggies led the NCAA in hit by pitch (119), were third in the country in triples (25), fourth in on-base percentage (.409), fifth in batting average (.310), sixth in runs (493) and scoring (8.0), ninth in hits (656), 10^th in slugging percentage (.478) and 21^st in doubles (123).
 
Several NM State players also cracked the top-25 with impressive seasons at the plate and on the mound. Jonathan Groff was fifth in the nation in victories (11), while Kyle Bradish was seventh in strikeouts (140) and Brock Whittlesey was 24th in saves (12). At the dish, Tristen Carranza was ninth in hit by pitch (21) and Mason Fishback was 23^rd in that category (19). Then slugger Caleb Henderson ranked 25^th in the country in runs batted in (65).
 
The Aggies also ranked first in the WAC in numerous categories at the end of the year. Along with the aforementioned batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, doubles, triples, hits, hit by pitch and runs scored, NM State led the conference in six other categories. The Crimson & White finished in first in RBI (450), home runs (60), total bases (1,009), strikeouts (537), wins (40) and fielding percentage (.977).
 
The impressive statistics saw NM State and its players set multiple single-season program records. Bradish set a new record for strikeouts (140) that had stood since 1991 when Albert Montoya had 107. Whittlesey snapped a record held by three Aggie closers as he set the new single-season mark in saves (12) and Groff topped five former Aggies setting a new record in wins (11). At the plate, Tristen Carranza was disciplined and got plunked so many times he set a new record for hit by pitch (21).
 
As a team, the Aggies broke the record from 2009 for strikeouts in a season (537), set a new single-season record for hit by pitch (119) and broke a record set last year for fielding percentage (.977).
 
All the records and accomplishments led the Aggie players to rack up numerous postseason awards when the season was all said and done. At the end of the regular season, Groff was named WAC Pitcher of the Year and Nick Gonzales was WAC Freshman of the Year, which were both program firsts. The Aggies also led the conference with six All-WAC First-Team honorees including Mason Fishback, Caleb Henderson, Nick Gonzales, Joey Ortiz, Jonathan Groff and Kyle Bradish. Marcus Still also earned a second-team nod.
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Then after winning the WAC Tournament the Aggies saw Bradish, Groff, Still and Whittlesey named to the All-Tournament team and Carranza earned WAC Tournament MVP honors.
 
Three Aggies also combined for five All-American awards with Bradish being named a Perfect Game/Rawlings Third-Team All-American, while Groff was a Collegiate Baseball Second-Team All-American. Gonzales earned three Freshman All-American nods from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association, Perfect Game/Rawlings and Collegiate Baseball. Groff and Bradish were also named to the Midwest ABCA/Rawlings All-Region Second Team.
 
A record-breaking season and illustrious career for the Crimson & White saw New Mexico State ace Kyle Bradish get selected in the fourth round, pick 121 by the Los Angeles Angels. The early selection marked the highest drafted Aggie in NM State baseball's history.
 
This is now the third year in a row an Aggie has been taken in the first six rounds. The junior joined former teammates Marcel Renteria drafted in the sixth round by the New York Mets in 2017 and Daniel Johnson taken during the fifth round by the Washington Nationals in 2016. Six NM State players have now been drafted in the first 10 rounds of the MLB Draft in school history.
 
Along with leading the team to a historic 2018 season, the team's skipper went on to make history in his own right. NM State went on to sweep Battle of I-25 rival New Mexico in a three-game season series for the first time in program history. One of the wins also marked a historic milestone in head coach Brian Green's career when the Aggies took down the Lobos, 9-1, on the road on April 10. The victory marked the 100th win of Green's career as head coach of NM State. The skipper joined Elliot Avent and Gary Ward as the only coaches in school history to record 100 wins in just four seasons.