Stephen Strasburg joins fellow alum Kawhi Leonard to make SDSU only school with two postseason MVPs in same season.
Kawhi Leonard and Stephen Strasburg are Aztecs for life.
Both athletes went to San Diego State at the same time in 2009 and were first-round draft picks coming out of college.
Both won championship Most Valuable Player awards this year – with Leonard winning NBA Finals MVP in June and Strasburg winning World Series MVP on Oct. 30.
This is the first time in the history of professional sports that two players from the same university have been named championship series MVPs in the same season.
Let’s also not forget that Leonard and Strasburg led their teams to their first-ever championships.
Leonard had a memorable series against the Golden State Warriors en route to his second NBA title and Finals MVP award (first one with the San Antonio Spurs in 2014).
The two-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year led the Raptors in points (28.5) and rebounds (9.8) per game to lead Toronto to an NBA championship in six games. He also led the NBA in total points (732) and minutes (939) last postseason.
Strasburg, a local San Diegan from West Hills High School in Santee, started in Games 2 and 6 against the Houston Astros in this year’s World Series.
The former No. 1 overall draft pick allowed two runs in six innings in Game 2 before pitching 8 1/3 innings and allowing two runs in the Nationals’ win-or-go-home Game 6 victory.
In total, Strasburg’s efforts resulted in 14 total strikeouts, three walks and a 2.51 ERA in the World Series.
He is also the first pitcher in MLB history to go 5-0 in a single postseason.
Strasburg now has a career 1.46 ERA during the playoffs, which is the third-lowest in postseason history of pitchers who have pitched at least 40 innings.
Needless to say, these two have represented SDSU well throughout the past decade.
Kyle Betz is a junior studying journalism. Follow him on Twitter @KyleBBetz.
