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University of California, Santa Barbara

2023 Baseball

Jeff Liang

5 Christian Kirtley

  • Height 6-0
  • Weight 195
  • Bats/Throws R/R
  • Year Redshirt Senior
  • Hometown Highland, Calif.
  • High School Redlands East Valley HS
  • Position OF/C

Biography

UC SANTA BARBARA

2023
Named National Player of the Week by Collegiate Baseball News on April 17 after hitting .389 with four home runs and a double over a five-game stretch … Played in 53 games during the 2023 season, starting 49 of them … Finished with a slash line of .253/.355/.510, tallying 14 home runs, eight doubles, 31 RBI, 26 walks, and a stolen base … His 14 long balls ranked second on the team and in The Big West, with his 31 RBI the fifth-most on the team … Hit two home runs in the first of two games against San Jose State (April 10), including a walk-off solo shot … Had a second multi-homer game four days later against UC Irvine (April 14), going 3-for-4 at the dish with another pair of solo home runs … Had a four-hit game at Cal Poly in the first half of the non-conference doubleheader on March 12, going 4-for-5 with a home run and three RBI.

2022
All-Big West First Team selection … Big West Academic All-Conference honoree … Recorded the longest on-base streak in UC Santa Barbara history, reaching base safely in 45 consecutive games … Finished fourth in The Big West with 11 home runs, sixth in RBI with 45, and seventh in on-base plus slugging percent (OPS) at .942 … Appeared in all but one game, totaling 213 at-bats and a slash line of .300/.412/.526 … Finished a double shy of the cycle against Loyola Marymount (February 22), hitting a home run, triple, and two singles, driving in a total of three runs and adding a stolen base in the game … With two outs in the bottom of the ninth at UC Davis, on March 25, Kirtley scaled the left field wall to rob a game-tying two-run home run, and secure the win for UC Santa Barbara … Went 3-for-4 against USC on April 26 with a home run, two RBI, and a stolen base.

2021
Played in 58 of the Gauchos’ 63 games, reaching base safely in 48 of them … Recorded a flawless 1.000 fielding percentage on the season … Hit .274/.376/.437 on the year with five home runs and 33 RBI … Recorded his first career multi-home run game in the 8-5 win over Long Beach State (April 25), tallying four RBI on the day … Went 3-for-3 with a double and three RBI in the 5-4 win over Hawai’i on April 3.

2020
Started all 15 games in UC Santa Barbara’s shortened season, posting a slash line of .255/.364/.473 … Led the team with six doubles, adding two homers for a team-high eight total extra-base hits … His 10 hits and 12 runs scored both ranked third on the team … Hit his first career home run on February 25 against Loyola Marymount … Posted a season-high three hits, including a double in the win over No. 1 UCLA on March 3, scoring a run and recording an RBI … Walked six times and had four hits, including a pair of doubles and a home run, in a three-game sweep of Illinois-Chicago from February 28 – March 1.

2019
Appeared in 30 games for the Gauchos in his freshman season, hitting .244/.349/.300 in 90 at-bats … Tallied five doubles and 16 RBI, with six multi-hit games and three multi-RBI games … Recorded his first career hit and RBI as part of a 2-for-5, two-RBI night against Loyola Marymount on February 16 … Capped off a three-hit day against Tulane (March 9) by scoring the winning run in an 8-7 victory … Played largely at second and third base, recording 25 putouts and 34 assists.


HIGH SCHOOL
Played shortstop for four years at Redlands East Valley High School under coach James Cordes … Honors include all-league selection … Won the league in 2016 and 2018 and reached postseason all four years … As a freshman, he hit .270, as a sophomore, .315, as a junior .270, and as a senior .300 … Made honor roll all four years.


PERSONAL
Born on January 7, 2000 to Greg and Maddie Kirtley in Highland … Has an older brother Zach … Majoring in Communication at UC Santa Barbara.

Statistics

Season Statistics

Season Statistics

No statistics available for this season.

Career Statistics

There are no statistics available for this player.

Historical Player Information

  • 2

    2019Freshman

    INF
    6'0" 185 lbs
    2
  • 2

    2020Sophomore

    INF
    6'0" 185 lbs
    2
  • 5

    2021Sophomore

    UT
    6'0" 195 lbs
    5
  • 5

    2022Redshirt Senior

    UT
    6'0" 195 lbs
    5
  • 5

    2023Redshirt Senior

    OF/C
    6'0" 195 lbs
    5