LONG BEACH --- Chris Paruleski and Fred Buckson picked up All-Pacific West Conference honors today, as announced by the league office.  Paruleski was named to the Second Team, and Buckson was placed on the Third Team, becoming the first two All-Conference players in program history in the PacWest.  You can read the full release here.
 
Paruleski came over from Saint Katherine University and thrived from the bump for the Blue and Gold in a career-best season.  Starting in all 12 of his appearances, the right-hander finished 69.1 innings of work in 2025, and his four complete games tied him for second in the conference.  His career-best 2.08 ERA not only led the Lions by a wide margin but also led the PacWest and helped VU to the third-best team ERA in the division.  His 27 runs allowed were top five in the league, and his 16 earned runs were the best mark in the PacWest.  He walked a league-best 11 batters during the season, struck out 41, and opponents hit .241 against him, a top five rate in the PacWest.  He went 8-2 in 2025, a personal career-best for wins and top three in the conference, and he helped Vanguard take down Point Loma, Jessup, Hawaii Pacific, and Westmont, all of whom finished above VU in the standings.  His best game for strikeouts came against Fresno Pacific on March 8, when he sent seven hitters back to the FPU dugout in a 5-3 VU win.  His lone shutout came against Jessup on April 5, when his gem silenced one of the hottest lineups in the PacWest at that point in the season.  His arm helped the seniors get one final win on the Dean Harvey Field to conclude the season, as he and the Lions outdueled Westmont 4-3 in game four of the series.
 
Buckson hit .337 in 2025 as part of his best offensive season in his three-year career at Vanguard.  He had career season-highs in hits (58), doubles (12), home runs (8), and runs (37), while leading VU in hits, BA, and stolen bases (14).  He ended the year just inside the top 10 in batting average in the PacWest, tied for 12th in doubles, and tied for fifth in stolen bases.  Buckson had 15 multi-hit games and twice had a season-high four hits in a game, going 4-for-6 in the third game of the Jessup series with three RBI and kicking off the Chaminade series on April 11 with a 4-for-5 game with two RBI.  He had a seven-game stretch that featured five home runs and had a 10-game hitting streak to end his campaign.  With 200 chances, Buckson had a .905 fielding percentage and helped turn 22 of Vanguard's 35 doubleplays, which had the squad fourth in the PacWest.

Over three years, Buckson snagged 156 hits in 509 at-bats for a career .306 batting average.  He concluded his time at VU with 31 doubles, two triples, 22 home runs, 106 RBI, and 44 stolen bases.  He is in the top 10 in VU history in hits, doubles, home runs, RBI, and stolen bases, with his 44 steals landing second in the record book.