SDSU Aztecs prove to be at the top of their game by winning major accolades and securing MLB draft picks. Soon enough, the basketball teams will face off opponents in the MWC.
Track & Field ends the year at Outdoor Champs with medals and honors.
What a year it has been for senior pole vaulter Bonnie Draxler. Back in March, the senior finished with a silver medal in the NCAA Indoor Championships. This time in the Outdoor Championships, she would do the same.
Last Thursday, Draxler would continue her run of making the podium for the field event by placing second. She cleared a height of 14-09.50 (4.51m) and finished as the NCAA runner-up.
In addition to Bonnie Draxler, the SDSU 4×400 meter team raced for a chance at gold. The team would come up short with a time of 3:33.64, which was good for 11th best.
The 4x400m relay team consisted of sophomore Sakura Robinson, senior Lise-Anne Barrow, sophomore Jalyn Harris, and freshman Nyjari McNeil.
As a result of this young team, the future is bright for SDSU Track and Field, especially in the 4x400m.
Over the weekend, history was made when all five athletes earned All-American honors, according to the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) on Sunday.
Draxler was named to the first team and the 4x400m relay team was selected to the second team.
This was not Draxler’s first go-around as an All-American.
In four years as an Aztec, she became a four-time All-American, which includes becoming a two-time first-team All-American (2019 Indoor and Outdoor Championships), a second-team All American at the 2018 Indoor Championships, and was an honorable mention in the 2017 outdoor season.
4 Aztecs drafted into MLB
The month of June marks a new beginning for baseball players to start their professional career.
Every Major League Baseball Draft is composed of 40 rounds and this year, 1,217 players were selected; however, not all will decide to play pro ball. One reason is due to the college the person has already committed to.
In the 2019 Major League Baseball Draft, four players from San Diego State were selected.
RHP Logan Boyer – 11th round, Los Angeles Dodgers
OF Julian Escobedo – 17th round, Cleveland Indians
RHP Adrian Mardueno – 20th round, St. Louis Cardinals
SS Angelo Armenta – 38th round, Tampa Bay Rays
With these four players getting drafted, the SDSU Baseball Program now has 219 MLB draft picks and 21 since 2014.
From the Mountain West, only Fresno had a higher number of draft picks from their program, recording eight.
MWC unveils conference opponents and schedule
On June 6, the Mountain West Conference released the 2019-20 conference schedule for both men’s and women’s hoops, but unlike years past, there are some things that will change and some things that will stay the same.
In the past, Conference games started a week before New Year’s Day. This year, it starts almost a month before the new year. What will stay the same are the number of opponents a team will face.
The Mountain West will stick to its normal 18-game conference schedule, but conference play begins as early as December 4.
The Aztecs’ conference opener is set for Dec. 4 against Colorado State in Fort Collins, Colo. and their first home game is Sunday, Dec. 8 against San Jose State.
The two early conference games is because the 2020 MWC Tournament is a week before and there is a convention the usual week the tournament would be held, according to a tweet from the Mountain West Wire (@MWCwire).
After the conference games, the Mountain West takes a break for teams to play non-conference opponents and face finals. Conference play resumes New Year’s Day with the Aztecs staying home to face Fresno State.
Conference play will last until Feb. 29 when the Aztecs head to a familiar spot to end the season: Reno, Nev. to face the Wolfpack for a third consecutive year.
The MW Tournament will have the same format, but will begin March 4 and will go until the seventh.
There are pros and cons to moving the Conference schedule up two weeks.
Pro: by moving the conference schedule up two weeks the team(s) that makes the NCAA Tournament have two weeks to get ready rather than four days (or two days if in the first round play-in game).
Con: The Aztecs always ride the fans’ jubilant energy (particularly from the students; The Show), especially for conference games. As a result of the change and most students going home for winter break, the Aztecs will have to get fired up some other way for three games at Viejas Arena until the 2020 spring semester classes begins on Jan. 22. However, what makes it a con are the three teams the Aztecs are facing: Jan. 1 vs. Fresno St., Jan. 11 vs. Boise St., and Jan. 18 vs. Nevada.
Here’s the schedule for Men’s and Women’s Basketball for SDSU:
| Date | Men’s Schedule | Women’s Schedule |
| Dec. 4 | @ Colorado State | Vs. Colorado State |
| Dec. 7 | Vs. San Jose State (Dec. 8) | @ San Jose State |
| Jan. 1 | Vs. Fresno State | @ Fresno State |
| Jan. 4 | @ Utah State | Vs. Utah State |
| Jan. 8 | @ Wyoming | Vs. Wyoming |
| Jan. 11 | Vs. Boise State | @ Boise State |
| Jan. 15 | @ Fresno State | Vs. Fresno State |
| Jan. 18 | Vs. Nevada | @ Nevada |
| Jan. 22 | Wyoming | @ Wyoming |
| Jan. 25 | @ UNLV | Vs. UNLV |
| Jan. 29 | @ New Mexico | Vs. New Mexico |
| Feb. 1 | Vs. Utah State | @ Utah State |
| Feb. 8 | @ Air Force | Vs. Air Force |
| Feb. 12 | Vs. New Mexico | @ New Mexico |
| Feb. 15 | @ Boise St. | Vs. Boise State |
| Feb. 22 | Vs. UNLV | @ UNLV |
| Feb. 26 | Vs. Colorado State | @ Colorado State |
| Feb. 29 | @ Nevada | Vs. Nevada |