(Phoenix, AZ) The postseason award season is in full effect for the 2024 NCAA Baseball campaign and Sun Devil Baseball is already well-represented, highlighted by sophomore outfielder Kien Vu earning All-America honors today while redshirt freshman utility player Brandon Compton was named a Freshman All-American.
Vu becomes the 133rd All-American in Arizona State’s illustrious history, earning Third Team honors as an outfielder from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers’ Association. The sophomore finished the season with the highest batting average in the Pac-12 at .413 – good for fifth nationally with only two players participating in the College World Series within striking distance of surpassing him.
Since ASU’s first All-American in program history – Sterling Slaughter in 1963 – there have been just eight seasons where the Sun Devils have not produced an All-American. Vu is the fourth under head coach Willie Bloomquist, joining Joe Lampe and Nate Baez (2022) and Luke Keaschall (2023).
The NCBWA named Compton as a First Team Freshman All-American as a designated hitter as well, marking him the 37th Freshman All-American in program history. Compton was named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year several weeks ago. He is the third Freshman All-American under Willie Bloomquist, joining Jacob Tobias and Ryan Camposfrom 2022.
Vu, Compton and junior catcher Ryan Campos were also named First Team selections on the ABCA/Rawlings Division I West Region Team, marking the trio eligible for All-America honors from that organization as well.
Kien Vu
NCBWA All-American – Third Team (Outfielder)
ABCA West Region – First Team (Outfielder)
Pac-12 First Team – Outfielder
Becomes the 133rd All-American in Sun Devil Baseball history
There weren’t many players in the country swung a better bat over final two months of the season than Vu
In the month of April, Vu posted a .439 average to lead the Sun Devils, boasting a gaudy .848 slugging percentage that was 100 points higher than any of his teammates. He had seven homers, four doubles and a triple while driving in 26 runs – 12 more than any other Sun Devil for the month. His efforts garnered him finalist consideration for the NCBWA Hitter of the Month
Overall on the season, Vu posted a .413 average over 47 games and 35 starts – the highest average in the conference following to conclusion of the Pac-12 NCAA season
The average is currently fifth in the country heading into the final week of NCAA postseason action. He was second in the country in batting average on balls in play at .511
His .793 slugging percentage (14 homers, 11 doubles, two triples) was easily tops on the team while he also led the squad with 12 stolen bases on 13 chances. He reached base at a .497 clip on the year.
The .793 slugging percentage is 19th nationally and second in the Pac-12 and his .497 OBP is second in the league and 29th in the country.
His 56 RBIs were second on the squad and eighth in the Pac-12 despite having over 20 fewer at-bats than the team’s eight AB leaders and nearly 64 fewer AB’s than the next closest player in front of him in the conference
He led the Pac-12 in league-only games with a .418 average and .916 slugging percentage and his 31 RBIs in Pac-12 games were fifth in the league.
Brandon Compton
NCBWA Freshman All-American – First Team (Designated Hitter)
ABCA West Region – First Team (Designated Hitter)
Pac-12 Freshman of the Year
Pac-12 First Team – Designated Hitter
Becomes the 37th Freshman All-American in program history after becoming the fourth Sun Devil to be named Pac-12 Freshman/Newcomer of the Year
Was recruited to ASU as a pitcher out of high school, but Tommy John surgery sidelined him his true frosh year, instead allowing him to focus on his bat – and focus he did.
Was named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year after he led Pac-12 freshmen in homers (14), doubles (16), average (.354), slugging (.661), OBP (.427) and RBIs (51). He was 11th overall in doubles, 10th in homers, seventh in average, fifth in slugging, 11th in OBP and 14th in RBI.
He is 35th among all players nationally in batting average on balls in play (.438)
His .354 batting average was 10th among all D1 freshmen and third among Power Five Freshmen and his 14 homers were eighth among all freshmen nationally
The youngster was third on the team with his .354 average this season. His .375 mark (24-of-64) with runners in scoring position was second on the team.
27 of his 51 RBIs came with two outs, leading the team in the category and having five more than any other player.
Compton recorded three grand slams this season, tied for the second most in program history and just one shy of the ASU single season record.
His 1.089 OPS was third on the squad and fourth in the Pac-12 while his .307 ISO Slugging (Slugging Minus Average) was fifth the Pac-12.
Compton was easily ASU’s best hitter with two outs this season, recording a .438 average on 28-of-64 chances, leading the team in average and hits in the scenario.
He was responsible for the go-ahead grand slam in the series finale against Ohio State that proved to be the difference in the 10-8 ballgame. He also had a huge game-tying RBI single in the eighth inning of ASU’s eventual walk-off win over Oregon. He had the go-ahead two-run homer against Utah Valley as well.
Ryan Campos
ABCA West Region – First Team (Catcher)
Pac-12 First Team – Catcher
Ryan Campos was named to the ABCA/Rawlings All-West Region First Team Catcher, a Dick Howser Trophy Finalist and Buster Posey Award Semifinalist He was twice named the Pac-12 Player of the Week.
Campos entered the season as D1Baseball’s 10th-ranked catcher in the country and No. 95 collegiate prospect for the 2024 MLB Draft. He was named to the Preseason All-Pac-12 team, as voted on by the league’s coaches.
Campos has the 19th-best active career batting average (.369) – tops among the nation’s catchers and third among players with at least 500 career at-bats (559).
Campos has reached base in a ridiculous 137-of-147 (93.2%) career games with the Sun Devils overall. He had a 40-game reached base streak dating back to 2023 snapped at Oregon State earlier this year but, regardless, reached base in 57 of 58 games for ASU this season.
Campos paced the Pac-12 with 25 doubles this season – three more than any other player in the league and a tally good for seventh in the country. His 11 homers were 16th in the league as well.
Campos became the fourth player under Willie Bloomquist to have at least 20 doubles and 10 homers in a single season, joining Joe Lampe/Nate Baez (2022) and Luke Keaschall (2023). That tally is notable as ASU had just five players total accomplish the feat between 1998-2021.
His 55 RBIs this season were just two shy of the team lead and eighth in the Pac-12. His 21 two-out RBI were the third-most on the squad.
After an uncharacteristically low Sub-.300 average for the majority of the season, Campos rode a hot April where he bat .409 over 17 games and carried that through early May to bring his season total to .364 – good for third in the Pac-12. Campos bat .375 in Pac-12 games, a tally that is good for fifth in the league.
His 26 multi-hit games were five more than any Sun Devil this year.
Campos’ .461 OBP was second on the roster and fifth in the Pac-12 while his .610 slugging percentage was eighth in the league. He slugged .633 in Pac-12-only games, the fifth-best tally in the conference.
The junior solidified his spot as a leadoff batter in the second half of the season and posted a gaudy .573 on-base percentage when leading off an inning this season, reaching on 47-of-82 chances.
Campos had 40 walks on the season, good for fifth in the league.
In fact, despite having more strikeouts than he did all last season (25), Campos still had more walks and his 0.62 strikeout-to-walk ratio was second in the Pac-12. He struck out just 10 times in the last 39 games after having 15 in the first 19.
He easily led the team in productive outs, advancing runners with an out 35 times – 17 more than any of his teammates.
His 73 runs scored also paced the team and were good for second in the Pac-12 and 24th in the country.
His 19 runners caught stealing were second in the Pac-12 and his 42 defensive assists this season were for second among Pac-12 catchers. In Pac-12 games, however, his 15 runners caught stealing were three more than any other catcher and his 30 defensive assists were six more than any other backstop.
In the final regular season weekend of the season, Campos bat an absurd .857 (12-of-14) with nine runs scored and slugged 1.357 with three doubles and a homer
The junior had his first multi-homer game against Santa Clara in the finale, also posting a career-best five RBIs. He added another multi-homer game against Oregon.
Press Release courtesy of Sun Devil Athletics – Jeremy Hawkes
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