Five Arizona Wildcats players have been selected to receive Pac-12 postseason honors, the Pac-12 conference announced on Wednesday. The announcement is highlighted by Austin Wells, who after putting together one of the best freshman campaigns in Arizona history has been named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year. He is the first Arizona player in program history to be honored as the conference’s Freshman of the Year.

Additionally, infielders Cameron Cannon and Nick Quintana were selected to represent the Wildcats on the Pac-12 All-Conference Team, while catcher/utility player Matthew Dyer and Wells were both tabbed with All-Conference Honorable Mention. Finally, outfielder Donta Williams was voted to the Pac-12 All-Defensive Team, while Quintana nabbed All-Defensive Honorable Mention inclusion.

With the announcement of these honors, the Wildcats have now had players named to the Pac-12 All-Conference Team 15 times in four seasons under the direction of head coach Jay Johnson.

Wells, who hails from Las Vegas, finished the year hitting .353 (78-for-221) with 73 runs scored, 15 doubles, seven triples, five home runs, 60 RBI, and more walks (46) than strikeouts (43). Below is a list of accomplishments that he achieved during the 2019 regular season.

· Played in and started all 56 games for the Wildcats, becoming the first Arizona freshman to start in every game since Kevin Newman (55 games) in 2013.

· Set Arizona freshman records with 73 runs scored and a .462 on-base percentage.

· Tied Arizona freshman record with 46 walks.

· Set Arizona freshman conference play records with 39 runs scored, six triples, 34 RBI, 23 walks, a .597 slugging percentage, and a .465 on-base percentage.

· Became the only Wildcat freshman (1976-current) to log at least 60 runs scored and 60 RBI in a single season.

· Led the team, the Pac-12, and all Division I freshmen with 73 runs scored. His 73 runs also placed sixth among all Division I players, regardless of class.

· Ranked among the top freshmen in the nation in triples (T-1st), walks (3rd, 46), RBI (4th, 60), on-base percentage (5th, .462), batting average (T-5th, .353), hits (6th, 78), and total bases (9th, 122).

· Finished the regular season ranked among the top 10 players in the Pac-12 in runs scored (1st, 73), triples (2nd, 7), RBI (T-3rd, 60), hits (4th, 78), walks (4th, 46), on-base percentage (7th, .462), batting average (8th, .353), and total bases (10th, 122).

· Hit a home run in his first collegiate at-bat, becoming the first Arizona player to do so since Jon Gaston accomplished the feat on February 3, 2006.

· Reached base safely in 28 straight games from February 23 – April 14, hitting .371 (39-for-105) with 33 runs scored, eight doubles, three triples, two home runs, 23 RBI, 22 walks, a .562 slugging percentage, and a .474 on-base percentage during that stretch.

· Named to Pac-12 All-Conference Honorable Mention squad.

Cannon, a native of Glendale, received the first All-Conference honors of his career. The middle infielder finished the regular season leading all Division I players in the nation with 29 doubles and paced the Wildcats with a .397 (92-for-232) batting average. While his 92 hits and 29 doubles both led the Pac-12, he also ranked among the circuit’s top 10 players in batting average (2nd), runs scored (2nd, 71), total bases (3rd, 151), slugging percentage (5th, .651), on-base percentage (5th, .478), and RBI (T-7th, 56). Cannon was one of two qualified Wildcat batters to notch more walks (35) than strikeouts (29) on the year along with his teammate Wells.

Quintana, from Las Vegas, earned the second All-Conference selection of his career after also earning the honors as a sophomore in 2018. The slugging third baseman posted the best numbers of his career in nearly every category as a junior in 2019 and finished the regular season leading the Pac-12 with 77 RBI, 15 clear of the player in second place. Quintana also completed the year ranked among the top 10 players in the conference in runs scored (3rd, 65), doubles (3rd, 18), total bases (4th, 139), walks (5th, 45), hits (6th, 76), home runs (T-6th, 15), slugging percentage (7th, .626), and on-base percentage (.462). After hitting 15 home runs this season, his career home run total of 35 now stands as the fourth most in program history.

Dyer, originally from Glendale, finished the year second on the team with a .393 (66-for-168) batting average while collecting 46 runs, 18 extra-base hits, and 28 RBI. His .393 batting average stood as the third-best mark in the Pac-12, while his .480 on-base percentage ranked fourth on the circuit. It was the first Pac-12 postseason honor of Dyer’s career.

Williams, who came to Arizona from Las Vegas, became the first Wildcat player to earn Pac-12 All-Defensive Team honors since Jared Oliva in 2017. The speedy outfielder posted a .993 fielding percentage that led all Arizona players with at least 100 chances. Williams made numerous diving, sliding, and run-saving catches in the outfield and even earned national acclaim for one, grabbing the No. 5 play of the day on SportsCenter for April 14.

Quintana, in addition to his All-Conference nod, was honored with inclusion on the Pac-12 All-Defensive Honorable Mention squad. Manning the hot corner and a slick glove, he posted a .921 fielding percentage in 126 chances.

The Wildcats finished the season with an overall record of 32-24 and a winning mark of 15-14 in Pac-12 conference play. Arizona swept Washington State in the final week of the year, capping off a 10-game win streak to close out the regular season.

Jay Johnson has led his teams to at least 30 wins in all four seasons with Arizona and in all six of his seasons as a Division I head coach. Since Johnson was hired by Arizona in 2016, only two other Pac-12 programs have logged 30+ wins every season: Oregon State and Stanford. He is the only active Pac-12 head coach to have logged 30+ wins in each of his first six seasons as a DI head coach.