California Golden Bears Athletics

BERKELEY - With a few weeks still left in 2017, Cal baseball sophomore Andrew Vaughn has already started to gain recognition for the 2018 season yet to come as the reigning Pac-12 Freshman of the Year was named a Preseason All-American by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper.

A native of Santa Rosa, Calif., Vaughn earned a spot on the third team and joined Oregon State infielder Nick Madrigal and Stanford infielder Nico Hoerner as the lone Pac-12 position players named. Five conference pitchers also made the list.

Vaughn burst onto the scene in 2017 with a tremendous freshman campaign. Playing first base and also contributing out of the bullpen, he hit .349 and tied teammate Denis Karas for the conference lead in home runs with 12. Vaughn also led the Bears with 50 RBI and earned Freshman All-America honors from every major publication.

Cal's offensive leader turned his successful season into an equally impressive summer as he starred for the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team in international competition. He drove in the go-ahead run to help Team USA clinch a series win against Japan and was named series MVP after hitting .333 with two doubles and two RBI. 

Vaughn will be an important piece of the puzzle in head coach Mike Neu's first season at the helm and will be part of a veteran squad that returns six starting position players as well as every weekend starter from a 2017 club that finished fifth in the Pac-12. The Bears start spring practice on Jan. 26 and begin the season on Feb. 16 against Cincinnati at the University of San Diego.