EDINBURG, Texas (KTSM) – After by far his best season as a collegiate player – and arguably the biggest week of his life – UTRGV’s Brandon Pimentel was honored by the WAC and multiple national publications on Monday.
A graduate of Socorro High School, Pimentel was named to the All-WAC First Team for a second year in a row, after hitting .401 with 18 home runs and 69 RBI for the Vaqueros during the 2023 regular season. The first baseman was also named to the All-WAC Defensive Team.
It was part of a big day of awards for Pimentel, who had a massive week last week, leading the Vaqueros to a 3-1 record.
Pimentel hit .857 with five home runs and 15 RBI a week ago in four games for UTRGV. The ridiculous week led to a WAC Hitter of the Week award for the Socorro grad, his second such honor of the season.
That wasn’t it for Pimentel; his massive week also earned him National Player of the Week honors from two separate publications: D1Baseball and Collegiate Baseball. It’s the second time this year he’s received that honor from Collegiate Baseball.
Pimentel also became UTRGV’s all-time leading home run hitter last week, eclipsing the 30-home run mark for his career in a game vs. Stephen F. Austin. He’ll look to add to his total this week at the WAC Tournament.
Four New Mexico State baseball players were also honored by the WAC on Monday. Three Aggies – Keith Jones II, Kevin Jimenez, and Christian Perez – were named to the All-WAC Second Team while Nick Gore became just the second player in NM State history to earn a spot on the conference’s All-Defensive team.
Pimentel and the Vaqueros are the seven-seed in the WAC Tournament, which gets underway Tuesday in Mesa, Ariz. UTRGV will play six-seed UT-Arlington at 5 p.m. MT on Tuesday at Hohokam Stadium, as they look to punch a ticket to the NCAA Tournament.
NMSU won the WAC Tournament a year ago, but did not qualify for the event in 2023.
