St. Francis’ Nash Horton returns from injury, earns co-MVP honor

St. Francis High baseball talent Nash Horton made up for lost time.

Sidelined his sophom*ore season by a torn labrum, Horton returned with a vengeance and was named co-MVP of the Pacific Coast Athletic League’s top tier, the Gabilan Division, with Carmel sophom*ore Matt Maxon, a Stanford University commit, and Padres senior JJ Sanchez, who will play for Loyola Marymount University next season.

Horton helped the Sharks (22-5, 18-3) take second place behind Carmel (23-7, 19-2) and advance to the Central Coast Section Division II playoffs with the No. 2 seed. The Sharks were upset by eventual champion The King’s Academy in the first round of the playoffs, but finished the year ranked No. 17 in the section by maxpreps.com out of 103 schools, despite having one of the smallest enrollments.

“He played well on offense and defense and was well rounded,” Sharks coach Ken Nakagawa said. “He pitched, played first base, catcher, outfielder and did them all very well. Offensively, he was the biggest threat in our league.”

The 6-foot-1, 185-pound junior batted .489 (45 for 92) with 16 extra-base hits, stole 23 bases, scored 33 runs, and drove in 33.

St. Francis’ Nash Horton returns from injury, earns co-MVP honor | All-PCAL baseball (1)

Nakagawa was impressed with how Horton prepared himself after coming off the injury. The coach said that Horton is one of the school’s best basketball players, but elected not to play during the winter season to focus on baseball.

“He worked his tail off to get where he is and the (MVP award) is well deserved,” Nakagawa said.

Horton didn’t take the honor lightly.

“It means a lot, especially after the adversity I faced in not being able to help out, not being there for my teammates,” he said. “I guess you can call it ‘my revenge year,’ a year for me to prove to myself and solidify myself as one of the best in the Bay Area.”

Horton said he wrote down a set of goals dating from from his injury, spaced out every six months. He had multiple goals for his junior campaign: hit three home runs, bat .400, and win the MVP award.

“I achieved every goal I set for myself,” said Horton, noting that the injury was a blessing in disguise. “My dad said, ‘Only play if you love it.’ I love it so much. When I couldn’t play it was really hard for me. My family did so much for me. I look forward to, hopefully, more success. It really means the world.”

St. Francis’ Nash Horton returns from injury, earns co-MVP honor | All-PCAL baseball (2)

Horton, who competes for the Trosky National travel ball team, has more goals on the list. He’s already on dozens of college coaches’ radar, but he plans to gain further exposure by trying out for the prestigious Area Code Games in late June.

Horton was one of four St. Francis players named to the first team. He was joined by San Jose State University committed senior Pedro “Jr.” Ibarra,Cal State University East Bay committed senior Micah Cervantes, Menlo College committed senior Trey Silva, andjunior Javier Fonseca on the first team.

Cervantes, Ibarra, and Fonseca also batted .400 or higher. Cervantes hit .446 (41 for 92) with 10 extra-base hits, 13 stolen bases, 23 RBI, and 39 runs scored. Ibarra hit .432 (35 for 81) with 14 extra-base hits, 13 stolen bases, 32 RBI, and 23 runs scored. And Fonseca hit .423 (30 for 71) with five home runs among his 11 extra-base hits, 34 RBI, and 26 runs scored.

On the mound, Silva went 8-1 with a 2.59 ERA over 46 innings. Ibarra went 3-0 with with one save and a 1.56 ERA over 18 innings. Cervantes went 1-0 with a save and a 2.92 ERA over 12 innings.

Monte Vista Christian junior Carter Wright was named to the first team. He batted .453 (29 for 64) with nine extra-base hits, 17 RBI, and 13 runs scored for the Mustangs (3-23, 2-19).

Joining Carmel’s Maxon and Sanchez on the first team wereseniors Justin LeMaster and Zander Lunt.

Hollister senior Wyatt Barton, Monterey senior Nate Wedderburn, and Palma junior Johnny Carnazzo rounded out the first team.

Mission Division

Watsonville seniors Brody Legions and Aiden Rodriguez were second-team selections in the Mission Division, which was won by Soledad (21-7, 15-3).

Aztecs senior Andrew Nichols and Alisal senior Xavier Mendez were named co-MVPs. Greenfield senior Manny Gutierrez was named Pitcher of Year.

Cypress Division

Pajaro Valley’s Juan Moreno and Pablo Moreno were first-team selections in the Cypress Division, the third tier of the PCAL, which was won by Gonzales (15-7, 15-1).

The Spartans’ Joseph Acosta was named Pitcher of Year. Seaside senior Jayden Valero was named Offensive Player of the Year and teammate Gary Salmeri was named Defensive Player of the Year.

ALL-PCAL BASEBALL

GABILAN DIVISION

SPECIAL HONORS

Co-MVP: Nash Horton (St. Francis), Jr.; Matt Maxon (Carmel), So.; JJ Sanchez (Carmel), Sr.

FIRST TEAM

Nash Horton (St. Francis), Jr.

Micah Cervantes (St. Francis), Sr.

Javier Fonseca (St. Francis), Jr.

St. Francis’ Nash Horton returns from injury, earns co-MVP honor | All-PCAL baseball (2024)

Mission Division

Cypress Division

ALL-PCAL BASEBALL

References