LA JOLLA, Calif.—UC San Diego baseball's
Steele Murdock earned Big West Pitcher of the Week after a record-setting performance at UC Santa Barbara.
It is the first conference weekly award for Murdock and second for the Tritons this season.
J.C. Allen was named Big West Field Player of the Week earlier this season (March 16). UC San Diego has had 17 Tritons recognized with weekly honors since joining the Big West in 2021.
Murdock set the Tritons' all-time single game record with 17 strikeouts in 8.0 innings against UC Santa Barbara on Friday, surpassing the previous record of 13. At the time, it was the most strikeouts in a single game for a pitcher in NCAA Division I this season.
The righthander allowed just four base runners, throwing 76 of his 106 pitches for strikes with no walks. He gave up three hits and just one run for the Friday night road win. Murdock (Herriman, Utah) retired 10 of the final 11 batters he faced via strikeout, including striking out the side in the sixth and eighth innings.
Murdock faced three batters over the minimum in his eight innings of work, recording all but one of his 17 K's via swinging strikeout.
The Tritons will travel across town to face San Diego State on Tuesday at 6 p.m. before returning to Triton Ballpark to host Cal Poly for a weekend series beginning Friday at 6 p.m.
Previous Big West Weekly Honors
Steele Murdock, Pitcher of the Week (April 13, 2026)
J.C. Allen, Field Player of the Week (March 16, 2026)
Colton Lomanto, Field Player of the Week (April 21, 2025)
Matthew Dalquist, Pitcher of the Week (March 10, 2025)
Spencer Seid, Pitcher of the Week (March 3, 2025)
Anthony Eyanson, Pitcher of the Week (May 20, 2024)
Nick Costello, Field Player of the Week (April 15, 2024)
Brock Kleszcz, Field Player of the Week (April 8, 2024)
Ryan Forcucci, Pitcher of the Week (Feb. 19, 2024)
Izaak Martinez, Pitcher of the Week (May 22, 2023)
Crew Robinson, Field Player of the Week (May 22, 2023)
Izaak Martinez, Pitcher of the Week (May 1, 2023)
Brandon Larson, Field Player of the Week (May 1, 2023)
Michael Fuhrman, Field Player of the Week (March 20, 2023)
Zack Ernisse, Pitcher of the Week (April 25, 2022)
Matthew Dalquist, Pitcher of the Week (March 7, 2022)
Cameron Leonard, Pitcher of the Week (March 15, 2021)
About UC San Diego Athletics
After two decades as one of the most successful programs in NCAA Division II, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program began a new era in 2020 as a member of The Big West in NCAA Division I. The 23-sport Tritons earned 30 team and nearly 150 individual national championships during its time in Divisions II and III and helped guide 1,400 scholar-athletes to All-America honors. A total of 84 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 38 have earned prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships. UC San Diego scholar-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world's preeminent institutions, graduating at an average rate of 91 percent, one of the highest rates among institutions at all divisions.
