SBLive's All-San Diego Section high school baseball team: Grant MacArthur is 2022 Player of the Year

With the spring 2022 California high school baseball season in the books, it’s time to hand out some awards.

After covering dozens of games and talking to coaches from all over the San Diego Section this spring, here is SBLive's 2022 All-San Diego Section high school baseball team. The Section-wide team features 26 players - 18 position players and eight pitchers. The team was selected by SBLive reporter Bodie DeSilva.

PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Grant MacArthur - Granite Hills senior 3B

MacArthur had a breakout junior season, batting .393 with seven home runs. He finished the season off by winning the San Diego All-Star Home Run Derby at Petco Park last June. Picking right back up this spring, the Hawaii-signee hit .440 with nine home runs and nine doubles. He led the section in walks with 38 and struck out only nine times, finishing the season with an on-base percentage of .639.

PITCHER OF THE YEAR

Sam Garewal - Canyon Crest senior LHP

Garewal was untouchable to start the season, shutting out the likes of La Costa Canyon, Torrey Pines and Point Loma in his first 28 innings of the season while striking out 56 batters during that time. The Northwestern-signee finished the season with a 1.31 ERA, striking out 130 batters in 69.1 innings. His final high school start was a one-hit shutout over Montgomery in the San Diego Section Division 2 championship game in which he struck out 11 batters.

ALL-SAN DIEGO SECTION TEAM

PITCHERS

Cody Delvecchio – Mission Hills – Senior

Delvecchio began his season with a 13-strikeout performance against Chaparral and didn’t slow down. The UCLA-signee finished the year with a 1.12 ERA and 131 strikeouts in 75 innings.

Chris DiPrima – Del Norte – Junior

DiPrima could have made the all-section team as a shortstop or a pitcher. He finished with a 9-2 record on the mound, striking out 80 batters in 65 innings to go with a 1.62 ERA. At the plate he hit .430 with 14 doubles and a home run.

Vaughn Major – Christian – Junior

Another top two-way candidate, Major had a 1.97 ERA in 12 appearances for the Patriots, finishing with 94 strikeouts in 71 innings. The UC Santa Barbara commit also hit .360 with 14 stole bases.

Tyler Bremner – Scripps Ranch – Senior 

Pitching in front of pro scouts throughout the season, Bremner delivered with 87 strikeouts in 54.1 innings and a 0.90 ERA. He's signed with UC Santa Barbara but may hear his name called in July's Major League Baseball Draft.

Talin Gardini – Patrick Henry – Sophomore

Gardini threw just under 20 innings for the Patriots as a freshman and took a big step forward this season. He finished with a 1.39 ERA in 60.1 innings and struck out 96 batters.

Adrian Herrera – Montgomery – Senior

Runs were nearly impossible to come by against Herrera this season. In 73 innings, he allowed five earned runs, finishing with a 0.48 ERA. He struck out a season high 13 batters in a playoff game against Mission Hills

Peyton Rodgers – Torrey Pines – Sophomore

Pitching both as a starter and a reliever for the Falcons this year, Rodgers struck out 45 batters in 41 innings and had an ERA of 0.85. The San Diego State commit tossed a complete game shutout against Rancho Bernardo in the Falcons run to the Southern California Division 2 regional championship.

CATCHERS

Jake Bold – La Jolla Country Day – Senior

Bold posted a second straight season of big numbers for the Torreys. He hit .386 with nine doubles and was among the section leaders with nine home runs. The Princeton-signee was patient at the plate, drawing 19 walks, good for a .495 on-base percentage.

Jacob Campagna – Francis Parker – Junior

Campagna was part of a loaded lineup for the Lancers that had a breakout season. In 33 games, the University of San Francisco commit hit .391 with six home runs and 11 doubles. His 30 walks earned him an on-base percentage of .555.

Nico Libed – Eastlake – Junior 

Libed raised his average over 100 points this season, finishing the year with a .354 average and .488 on-base percentage. The University of San Diego commit scored four runs and stole five bases in the Division 1 championship game win over Grossmont.

INFIELDERS

Ryan Rivera – San Marcos – Senior

Rivera picked right back up where he left off after a huge junior season. In 22 games before a season-ending knee injury, he hit .527 with 12 home runs, eight doubles and five triples.

Johnny Luetzow – La Jolla Country Day – Senior

Luetzow raised his average from .308 a year ago to .443 this season. The Santa Clara-signee had 12 doubles, four home runs and was third in the section with 34 stolen bases. In 13 relief appearances, he struck out 18 batters and had an ERA of 0.54.

Jackson Waller – Mission Hills – Senior

Waller raised his average over 200 points this season, finishing at .495. He committed to Nevada early in the season before closing out his high school career with 13 doubles, four triples and two home runs.

Nico Newhan – Maranatha Christian – Junior

Newhan had a hit in 31 of 33 games this season and became the tenth player in San Diego Section history to get 60 or more hits in a season. He was tied for the section lead with 12 home runs and also had 16 doubles and 12 stolen bases.

Kevin Takeuchi – Rancho Bernardo – Junior

Takeuchi hit over .350 for the second straight season and boosted his power numbers, finishing with seven home runs and 11 doubles. He also walked 20 times and stole seven bases.

Franklin Carney – St. Augustine – Senior

Carney led the Saints with 33 hits, finishing with a .402 average. The UC Irvine-signee had four doubles, three triple, three home runs and stole 18 bases.

Maddox Haley – Madison – Senior

Haley hit .409 this year in his fourth season. He had 14 doubles, two home runs and a triple. The San Diego State-signee also threw 47.1 innings for the Warhawks, finishing with 8-1 with 59 strikeouts and a 1.48 ERA. 

Gabe Camacho – La Costa Canyon – Junior 

Camacho heated up in the final month of the season, hitting seven home runs in May including a game-tying home run in the seventh inning of the Open Division championship game. He also tossed 47.2 innings for the Mavericks and had a stretch of ten straight appearances without an earned run in the second half of the season.

OUTFIELDERS

Jake Jackson – Madison – Junior

Jackson took a step forward in just about every category this season. The San Diego State commit finished the year with a .439 batting average, 14 doubles, 15 stolen bases and five home runs.

Cooper Whitton – Santa Fe Christian – Senior

Whitton hit .442 this season with nine home runs, seven doubles, two triples and was second in the section with 35 stolen bases. The Washington-signee also had a 1.92 ERA in 43.2 innings on the mound.

Jordan Mahan – Mar Vista – Senior

Mahan hit .392 with 11 doubles and ten home runs for the Mariners. He also served as their top reliever, striking out 47 batters.

Colby Kiesling - Sage Creek – Senior

Kiesling took a step forward this season, raising his batting average up to .384. He also had five doubles and eight home runs. He committed to Montana State-Billings late in the season.

Nick Cook – Poway – Senior

Cook continued his power numbers from a season ago, finishing with nine home runs this season. The Long Beach State commit also walked 17 times, giving him a .458 on-base percentage.

Ethan Wright – Santana – Senior 

Wright raised his average from .272 as a junior to .432 this past season. He had ten doubles, two home runs and 11 stolen bases, helping to lead the Sultans into the Open Division playoffs.