"I was pretty excited, I thought I had a pretty good year this year, it exceeded a lot of my expectations," said the 2001 graduate of Baldwin from Wailuku.

He is leading the Titans into the NCAA regional tournament, which begins today. The Big West champions (36-20) play Big Ten champion Minnesota (38-21) at 4 p.m. Hawai'i time.

"I don't really mind the pressure, I just go out and have fun," he said.

Suzuki, the Big West Player of the Year, led the league with a .438 batting average and 74 RBIs. He leads the team in runs (62), hits (88) and home runs (13).

"He's had an unbelievable year, the numbers across the board are indicative of what he means to the team," Cal State Fullerton coach George Horton said.

"We actually got off to a slow start as a team and when he took off about a third through the season, he made it contagious for the rest of the team," said Horton, the 2003 Baseball America coach of the year. "He was either at the beginning or end of a lot of our rallies."

Suzuki was also selected to the Sports Weekly All-America second team last week.

"To me, being an All-American, is an All-American," Suzuki said of the second-team selection. "It makes me feel a little bit better, it gives me the confidence to know I can do whatever it takes to win."

Also selected to the 17-man first team were Rice pitchers Wade Townsend and Phillip Humber.