Gauchos Ager, Darby headed to Knights in 2022

Monday, February 28, Corvallis, Ore. – Two freshmen from the University of California-Santa Barbara will join the Corvallis Knights for the 2022 season, head coach Brooke Knight announced Monday.

The newest Knights are right-handed pitcher Matt Ager (left), a 6-foot-5, 212 pounder from Foothill High School in Pleasanton, Calif., and Zander Darby (right), a 6-3, 197-pound left-side infielder from Palo Alto High School in Palo Alto, Calif. Their head coach is former Knights pitcher/pitching coach Andrew Checketts.

A prospective economics major who hopes to become a financial advisor, Ager has appeared in one game for the Gauchos in 2022 and is 0-0, 0.00, with two strikeouts in one inning pitched.

Foothill captured East Bay Athletic League and CIF championships his senior year, when he went 6-2 with a 1.16 ERA in 10 games. He had 76 strikeouts and only eight walks in 54.1 innings and allowed just one extra-base hit.

A two-year letterman who also played basketball at Foothill, Ager is a San Francisco Giants fan who enjoys mountain biking in his spare time. His other favorites are Interstellar (movie); Formula One (TV show) and Ready Player One (book).

Darby bats left and played shortstop at Palo Alto HS. He was team MVP as a senior, when he hit .444 in 26 games, with four homers and 26 RBIs. He played four years of varsity baseball and compiled a .392 average and .510 on-base percentage in 62 games, with five homers and 52 RBIs.

He was named PAHS Senior and Underclassmen Athlete of the Year, was a two-time all-league selection and won 2019 and 2021 league championships. Darby also played basketball and water polo.

Darby is hitting .250 in three games for the 2022 Gauchos, with one run. A prospective statistics or data science major, he is a Giants fan who also favors Happy Gilmore (movie), Narcos (TV) and To Kill a Mockingbird (book). In his spare time he likes playing spikeball and going to the beach.

The Knights begin the 2022 season on May 26 with their annual Science, Engineering & Art Day, presented by Paventy & Brown Orthodontics, at Goss Stadium against the NW Star Nighthawks. Their WCL opener is June 3 at Yakima Valley; their WCL home opener is June 17 vs. Yakima Valley.