Canyons Baseball Honored with Seven All-Conference Awards

Graphic announcing “WSC South All-Conference Honorees – College of the Canyons Baseball” on a blue background with the Cougars logo. Player headshots and honors listed: Reid Farrell (WSC South 1st Team), Ricky Sturm (WSC South 1st Team), Joey Besemer (WSC South 2nd Team), Ben Strutt (WSC South 2nd Team), Liam Ostrom (WSC South Honorable Mention), Michael Hogen (WSC South Honorable Mention), and Travis Van Ness (WSC South Honorable Mention).
April 30, 2026

By Jesse Muñoz/COC Sports Information Director 

Seven members of the 2026 College of the Canyons baseball team earned All-Western State Conference (WSC), South Division awards with those recognitions coming in addition to a pair of Gold Glove selections.

Sophomore outfielder Reid Farrell and freshman pitcher Ricky Sturm were both All-WSC, South First-Team selections.

Farrell led the Cougars with a .369 batting average and tied for the team lead with 11 home runs. His 13 doubles were also a team high as were his 53 RBIs and 62 hits. His .455 on-base percentage was tops on the club among eligible candidates. The Valencia High School graduate slugged .643 to also lead the Cougars. His 45 runs and 108 total bases were both team bests.

Sturm finished the year with a 6-2 record along with five saves to go with a 4.76 ERA and 23 strikeouts. He tossed 64 and 1/3 innings with 22 appearances and four starts. The West Ranch High School alum won all four starts and pitched more than seven innings in each outing. He was named the California Community College Baseball Coaches Association (CCCBCA) SoCal Pitcher of the Week for the period running April 13-19.

Freshmen second baseman Joey Besemer and sophomore outfielder Ben Strutt were both Second-Team selections for the Cougars.

Besemer batted .316 with 24 RBIs and 28 runs scored across his 36 games. His 42 hits ranked fifth on the team with is 15 walks equating to a .400 on-base percentage. Included in Besemer's 10 extra-base hits were three home runs.

Strutt ranked third on the team in hits (48), batting average (.327), on-base percentage (.451) and runs (36). The lineup's primary center fielder and lead-off man, he drew a team-best 31 walks and led the club with 25 steals, which also ranked third in the conference. His walk total was tied for sixth in the WSC, South.

Defensively, Strutt finished with a .986 fielding percentage during conference play with 72 putouts coming 73 chances. He was named to the WSC, South Gold Glove team in addition to being named the conference's Gold Glove MVP.

Liam Ostrom, Michael Hogen and Travis Van Ness were all recognized with Honorable Mention selections.

Ostrom tied for the team lead with 11 home runs and ranked second in RBIs (41), walks (21), slugging percentage (.556), extra-base hits (18) and total bases (85). He scored 31 runs and batted .288 across 39 games.

Hogen finished the year with a .301 batting average and .491 slugging percentage with 36 RBIs. The Hart High School product was second on the squad in hits (49), home runs (7) and runs scored (42) while serving as the club's primary third baseman.

Van Ness earned Gold Glove team honors at first base after posting a team-best .993 fielding percentage in his 37 games. At the plate, Van Ness batted .313 with 25 RBIs and 36 runs scored, good for third on the team. The Saugus High School alum finished with 41 hits and a .423 on-base percentage. 

Canyons (18-22, 11-10) won four of its final five games down the stretch to finish in a three-way tie for third in the Western State Conference (WSC), South Division. Glendale (29-10-1, 18-3) won the conference title followed by Citrus College (20-10, 17-4) in second. Canyons, AVC and Bakersfield (20-20, 11-10) shared third place.

Stay up to date on all this season's action by following the College of the Canyons Athletic department on social media at @COCathletics on X, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.