COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – As the Mountain West celebrates its 25th season of baseball in 2024, the conference office announced its 25th Season Baseball Team on Wednesday. The team is composed of the top baseball student-athletes who competed at member institutions during their tenure.
Four former Diamond 'Dogs earned spots on the team with Aaron Judge (2011-13), Jordan Luplow (2012-14), Taylor Ward (2013-15) and Ryan Jensen (2017-19).
As a Bulldog, Judge was named a Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American in 2011, as well as WAC Freshman of the Year as the starting center fielder. In 2012, Judge won the TD Ameritrade College Baseball Home Run Derby where he launched 16 home runs throughout three rounds. Judge owned a .345 average with a total of 18 home runs and 109 RBI in 169 games in a Bulldog uniform until he was drafted in 2013.
Clovis native Jordan Luplow spent three seasons in a Bulldog uniform, earning Mountain West Player of the Year in 2014. In addition, he was named ABCA Second-Team All-American, Baseball America Second-Team All-American, Perfect Game Second-Team All-American and Louisville Slugger Third-Team All-American. He was also a finalist for the Gregg Olson Award, recognizing college baseball's breakout player of the year, and a semifinalist for the Golden Spikes Award, recognizing amateur baseball's top player.
Taylor Ward, current Los Angeles Angel and former Bulldog, was a first-round pick in the 2015 draft by the Halos after accumulating a career .288 average with the Diamond 'Dogs. Ward wrapped up his junior season at Fresno State in May with a Mountain West All-Tournament Team selection, a four-game span where he went 8-for-16 (.500) from the plate with nine RBIs and two runs scored. Ward recorded a hit in all four games and posted three hits in two of the four games in Reno, Nev. He registered a .304 batting average in his third year at Fresno State and led the team in several offensive categories, which included RBIs (42), walks (35) and total bases (104), while also tying the team-lead in home runs (7) and stolen bases (7). Ward boasted a slugging percentage of .486 and a .413 on-base percentage. He earned first-team All-Mountain West selection on May 20 after being a second-team selection in 2014.
Ryan Jensen is the only Diamond 'Dog pitcher named to the MW 25th Season Baseball Team. His career 4.44 ERA in over 200 innings on the mound earned him Second-Team All-American Honors from Collegiate Baseball News and the ABCA. In his last year as a Bulldog, he was the MW Championship MVP and MW Pitcher of the Year. His 12-1 record gave him the most wins in the Mountain West in 2019. The Chicago Cubs drafted Jensen with the 27th overall pick in 2019.