SMCC Baseball Announces Four-Year Transfers
PHOENIX ---
Fresh off a 2023 campaign that saw it post a 43-15 record and return to postseason competition, the South Mountain Community College baseball team announced its four-year transfers headed off to continue their intercollegiate baseball careers in the upcoming fall.
Landen Argabright -- Hawai'i Pacific University
Argabright spent one year at SMCC, appeared in 18 games, and batted .282 with 11 hits, two doubles, six RBIs, and 13 walks in the 2023 season. He had a season-high two hits in games against Western Nebraska CC and Phoenix College and hit doubles against Phoenix College and Mesa CC. Argabright also posted a .992 fielding percentage in 123 chances and caught five runners trying to steal a base.
Hawai'i Pacific is an NCAA Division II program in Honolulu. The Sharks compete in the Pacific West Conference and went 20-27 in 2023.
Jacob Beltran -- Utah Valley University
Beltran earned 2023 Second Team All-ACCAC honors after finishing 7-2 with 76 strikeouts and a 1.85 ERA in 78 innings for SMCC. He made started 15 games and made 14 appearances on the mound and posted victories over Salt Lake CC, Pima CC, Southern Nevada, Eastern Arizona, Phoenix College, Glendale CC and Arizona Western. He fanned a season-high 10 batters over six innings of scoreless baseball in a home win over Eastern Arizona on Sophomore Day. Beltran finished 13-2 with two saves, 110 strikeouts and a 2.24 ERA in 112.1 innings over two years at SMCC.
Utah Valley University is an NCAA Division I program in Orem, Utah. The Wolverines compete in the Western Athletic Conference and finished 34-24 in 2023.
Michael Diaz -- Grand Canyon University
Diaz spent one year at SMCC after transferring from Santa Clara University. He batted .232 with 20 runs, 13 hits, four doubles, a home run, eight RBIs and four stolen bases in 31 games in 2023. He had a season-high three hits in a win over Western Nebraska CC and two RBIs twice.
Grand Canyon University is an NCAA Division I program in Phoenix that competes in the Western Athletic Conference. The Antelopes finished 37-21 overall in the 2023 season.
Josaiah Estrella -- Eastern New Mexico University
Estrella spent two years at SMCC, and he appeared in 13 games and finished 2-0 with 18 strikeouts and a 4.05 ERA in 20 innings of work in 2023. He posted wins over Yavapai College and Western Nebraska CC and had a season-high five strikeouts in 3.2 innings in a home win over Yavapai College. In 2022, Estrella finished with nine strikeouts and three walks in 9.1 innings.
The Eastern New Mexico Greyhounds are an NCAA Division II that competes in the Lone Star Conference. They finished 23-28 in the 2023 season.
Raul Garayzar -- University of Arizona
Garayzar spent two seasons at SMCC and finished 6-3 with 68 strikeouts and a 3.15 ERA in 68.2 innings in 2023. He recorded wins over Southern Nevada, Central Arizona, Western Nebraska CC, Mesa CC, Gateway CC and Scottsdale CC in 2023 and finished with a season-high eight strikeouts in an April 18 road game at Central Arizona. Garayzar went 10-7 with a save, 121 strikeouts, and a 3.99 ERA in 124 innings over two years at SMCC.
The University of Arizona Wildcats are an NCAA Division I program in Tucson that competes in the Pac-12 Conference. The Wildcats went 33-26 in 2023 and competed in the Fayetteville Regional in the 2023 NCAA Tournament.
Jared Glinski -- Longwood University
Glinski spent one year at SMCC, batting .313 with 30 hits, 17 runs, seven doubles, three triples, three home runs, 21 RBIs and 21 walks in 36 contests in 2023. He had a season-high three hits on two occasions, drove in a season-high three RBIs in a win over Gateway CC, and homered against Western Nebraska CC, Mesa CC, and Pima CC.
The Longwood University Lancers are an NCAA Division I program in Farmville, Va. that competes in the Big South Conference. They finished 23-31 in 2023.
Core Jackson -- University of Utah
Jackson spent one year at SMCC after transferring from the University of Nebraska. Primarily a middle infielder, Jackson earned Second Team All-ACCAC honors in 2023 after batting .321 with 45 runs, 63 hits, 16 doubles, three triples, four home runs, 33 RBIs and 10 stolen bases in 53 games. He had a season-high four hits twice, scored a season-high three runs twice, and homered against Phoenix College, Mesa CC, Western Nebraska CC, and Paradise Valley CC.
The University of Utah Utes are an NCAA Division I program in Salt Lake City that competes in the Pac-12 Conference.
Jaxon Jelkin -- University of Houston
Jelkin spent one season at SMCC after transferring from the University of Nebraska. He finished 7-2 with 98 strikeouts and a 3.81 ERA in 75.2 innings of work. Jelkin posted wins over Salt Lake CC, Lamar CC, Yavapai College, Cochise College, Paradise Valley CC, Chandler-Gilbert CC, and Eastern Arizona and recorded a season-high 12 strikeouts in the five innings against Lamar CC. He also had three games with 10 K's.
The University of Houston Cougars are an NCAA Division I program that will move to the Big 12 Conference for the upcoming 2024 season. The Cougars went 36-23 in 2023.
The Los Angeles Dodgers selected Jelkin in the 14th round of the 2023 MLB Draft. However, Jelkin announced on his Twitter page that he would not be signing with the Dodgers and would attend UH for the 2023-24 season.
Kenneth Jimenez -- University of Houston
Jimenez spent one season at SMCC after transferring from Yavapai College. The team's primary catcher, Jimenez batted .374 with 52 hits, 12 runs, nine doubles, a triple, three home runs, 40 RBIs and 40 walks in 45 games for SMCC. Jimenez had a season-high three hits in five games and drove in a season-high four RBIs in a win at Southern Nevada. Jimenez homered against Salt Lake CC, Yavapai College, and Cochise College, and he caught 14 runners stealing during the season.
Matthew Martinez -- University of Arizona
Martinez spent two years at SMCC and earned 2023 Second Team All-ACCAC honors after a stellar 2023 season on the mound. He finished 6-4 with four saves, 55 strikeouts and a 2.91 ERA in 43.1 innings of work. He recorded wins over Eastern Arizona, Cochise College, Chandler-Gilbert CC, Phoenix College, Yavapai College and Pima CC, and posted saves against Salt Lake CC, El Paso CC, Mesa CC, and Eastern Arizona. Over his two years with the Cougars, Martinez compiled a 9-5 record with 100 strikeouts and a 3.18 ERA in 76.1 innings.
Carter Richey -- Lipscomb University
Richey spent two years at SMCC and earned 2022 Second Team All-ACCAC honors. In the recently completed 2023 season, Richey batted .303 with 36 runs, 59 hits, 12 doubles, a triple, 12 home runs, 47 RBIs, 40 walks and 10 stolen bases in 56 contests. He led SMCC in home runs and RBIs in 2023 and had a season-high four hits in a win over Gateway CC. Richey hit .309 with 65 runs, 115 hits, 26 doubles, 19 home runs, 89 RBIs and 19 stolen bases in 107 career games at SMCC.
Lipscomb University is an NCAA Division I program in Nashville, Tenn. that competes in the Atlantic Sun Conference. The Bison finished 36-26 overall in 2023, winning the ASUN Conference Tournament and participating in the Clemson Regional in the 2023 NCAA Tournament.
Connor Schneider -- McNeese State University
Schneider spent two years at SMCC and batted .289 with 67 runs and 103 hits in 105 games. An infielder from Papillion, Neb., Schneider hit .291 with 34 runs, 51 hits, six doubles, three triples, two home runs, 31 RBIs and seven stolen bases in the recently completed 2023 season. He scored a season-high three runs in a win at Yavapai College and had a season-high four hits in a win at Pima CC. Schneider also posted a .951 fielding percentage in 164 chances and was a part of 22 double plays.
The McNeese State University Cowboys are an NCAA Division I program in Lake Charles, La. that competes in the Southland Conference. They finished 35-23 overall in the 2023 season.
Jayden Smith -- Utah Valley University
Smith spent two years at SMCC, earning 2022 Second Team All-ACCAC and Second Team All-Region I Division I Team honors. In 2023, Smith batted .359 with 28 runs, 42 hits, eight doubles, three home runs, 18 RBIs, and 12 stolen bases. He homered against Eastern Arizona, Central Arizona and Yavapai College and had a season-high five hits in a win at Eastern Arizona. Over his two seasons at SMCC, Smith batted .371 with 70 runs, 109 hits, 14 doubles, four home runs, 46 RBIs and 27 stolen bases in 79 career games.
Jackson Thomas -- Utah Valley University
Thomas spent one year at SMCC after transferring from Yavapai College. He made eight appearances, including two starts, for SMCC in 2023 and was 1-0 with eight K's and a 5.56 ERA in 11.1 innings of work. He posted a win over Salt Lake CC with an inning of relief work.