Alumni Report: Poway High grad Newman turns in solid year for Arizona

By Hank Cavagnaro

Poway High graduate Kevin Newman turned in a memorable first year at the University of Arizona this past season.

College Baseball Newspaper selected the Wildcats’ starting shortstop to the Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American team. Newman was also the only positional freshman selected to the Pac-12 All-Conference team.

“I was really excited about both (selections)” Newman said. “But I feel the Pac-12 honors meant more just because the prestige of the conference”

Newman gained the accolades by starting all 55 games and batting .336, which ranked 11th in the Pac-12. He also drove in 42 runs, which was the eighth most in the conference.

Newman’s bat wasn’t the only thing that made the season incredible. He showed off his smooth fielding ability, recording 163 assists and helping turn 45 double plays while making just six errors.

Newman helped lead the young Wildcats to a 34-21 record this season. He was a quarterfinalist for the Brooks Wallace Shortstop of the Year award, which means he was one of the top 25 shortstops in Division I baseball.

He was one of just two freshmen (LSU’s Alex Bregman) to make it in the top 25.

Newman believes the future is bright for the Wildcats, as they will bring back six freshmen with some sort of experience as a starter.

Even with this year being a major success for Newman, he is still looking to get better.

“I’m never satisfied with where I’m at and I will always continue to improve,” he said. “I keep shagging ground balls and will do whatever I can to improve.”

Newman gave a lot of praise to his teammates and coaches, especially manager Andy Lopez, who he says helped him improve a lot this season.

Newman had big shoes to fill, taking over for Alex Mejia, who was the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year and led the Wildcats to a College World Series title.

Newman proved to be up to the challenge and then some.