1. SDSU Softball builds on the success of recent seasons
The San Diego State softball team concluded its remarkable season with a record of 31-20 (15-7 Mountain West), crowning itself the 2024 regular season champion.
The Scarlet and Black entered the 2024 Mountain West Softball Championship as the No. 1 seed, facing No. 5 seed Boise State and No. 3 seed University of Nevada to advance to the championship game. In the final, the Aztecs faced the Broncos, which SDSU won 6-3 to secure its second consecutive Mountain West Tournament title.
Mac Barbara was named the tournament MVP after scoring five hits, three home runs, six RBIs and four runs. In addition to winning titles, Barbara was named Mountain West Softball Co-Player Of The Year for the second time in three years.
Allie Light, Dee Dee Hernandez and Barbara were all named to the All-Mountain West First Team. In addition, Cali Decker was named to the All-Mountain West Second Team. The Aztecs owe their success to their third-year head coach, Stacey Nuveman Deniz, who was named Mountain West Softball Coach of the Year.
2. Aztecs take part in the Summer Olympics in Paris
Three Aztecs participated in the qualifying rounds for the Paris Games. Former SDSU track star Shanieka Ricketts will represent Jamaica at the Games. Triple jump Event.
Ricketts shot 47-7 (14.50m) at the JAAA Puma National Championship to secure her spot in Paris and her sixth national championship title in the event. This will be Ricketts’ third appearance at the Olympic Games, having previously competed in the 2016 and 2021 Games in Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo.
Junior Xiamara Young also competed in the triple jump qualifying competition and placed fifth. Although she missed qualifying, Young posted her personal best jump of 44-4 (13.51 meters).
Junior Meredith Smithbaker competed in the 50-meter freestyle qualifying event, placing second in her heat and scoring 43 points in the heats. Despite failing to qualify, Smithbaker posted a personal best time of 25.65 seconds, beating her previous record by 0.03 seconds.
SDSU alumnus Xander Schauffele has been named one of four U.S. players who will compete in the 72-hole stroke play at Le Golf National. Schauffele recently won the 2024 Open Championship and last month Schauffele also won the PGA Championship. Schauffele will play for the United States and compete in men’s golf.
3. Swim & Dive returns to a familiar place
The San Diego State swimming and diving team finished its 2024 regular season with an undefeated record of 15-0 (2-0 Mountain West), extending its regular season winning streak to 65. The Aztecs secured their third consecutive Mountain West title at the championship meet in Houston, the program’s eighth title since 2010-2011.
At the meet, the Scarlet and Black divers won 11 meet titles, while junior Valentina Lopez Arevalo earned Mountain West Diver of the Meet honors.
Seniors Alex Roberts and Christiana Williams advanced to the NCAA Championships in Athens, Georgia. However, both swimmers failed to make it to the final round on Saturday, with Roberts falling 0.14 seconds short.
In Georgia, Roberts set a Mountain West record in the 200-meter backstroke with a time of 1:52.76, which surpassed her previous record set at the 2023 MW Championships with a time of 1:52.89.
4. Men’s golf takes third consecutive win and takes part in regional championships
The SDSU men’s golf team won its third consecutive Mountain West title, defeating New Mexico on par 72. With this third consecutive win, the Aztecs become only the third team in Mountain West history to win three consecutive golf titles.
With this conference championship, men’s golf has won a total of six MW titles, surpassing UNLV for the second-highest ranking in league history.
Junior Justin Hastings and sophomore Tyler Kowack were both named to the 2023-2024 All-Mountain West team, giving Hastings his second consecutive honor and Kowack his first.
The Scarlet and Black finished sixth out of 13 teams at the NCAA West Lafayette Regional, missing the NCAA Championship by ten points and ending their season.
Hastings and Kowack were selected to the PING All-West Region team, marking Hastings’ second consecutive nomination and Kowack’s first.
5. The Los Angeles Clippers are moving their G-League team to Oceanside
The Los Angeles Clippers announced back in March that they would be moving their G-League team to Oceanside, California. Beginning with the 2024-2025 season, the Ontario Clippers will now be known as the San Diego Clippers. The Clippers organization returns to San Diego after 40 years. The NBA Clippers called San Diego home from 1978 to 1984 before making the controversial move to Los Angeles.
Gillian Zucker, president of business operations for the Los Angeles Clippers, spoke at the unveiling earlier this year.
“We are proud to reintroduce the San Diego Clippers to this passionate sports market,” Zucker said. “Our G League team is a critical part of our business and basketball operations and we are very excited about the move.”
The G League Clippers will play at the brand new Frontwave Arena in Oceanside. The arena is still under construction but is expected to be completed before the start of the season. The arena has a capacity of 7,500 spectators and will also host concerts, soccer games and other community events.
