Northwestern, USC, Oregon Collect Baseball Weekly Honors

ROSEMONT, Ill. – The Big Ten Conference has announced its baseball weekly awards for games played February 13-15, 2026.

Player of the Week
Jackson Freeman, Northwestern
Jr. – OF – Ladera Ranch, Calif. – Tesoro HS

• Slashed .667/.692/1.417 and posted a 2.109 OPS in a three-game series at Rice
• Led Big Ten players with three home runs, 17 total bases, and seven runs
• Went 4-for-4 with four runs scored in Northwestern’s 17-6 run-rule win on Sunday
• The Academic All-Big Ten selection earns his first Player of the Week Award
• Last Wildcat to be named Big Ten Player of the Week: Ryan Kucherak (May 12, 2025)

Pitcher of the Week
Grant Govel, USC
So. – S-RHP – Rolling Hills Estates, Calif. – Palos Verdes HS

• Pitched six hitless innings in USC’s 11-0 win over Pepperdine on Saturday
• Struck out a career-high 10 batters (including five in a row) while walking one
• Held the Waves to a pair of base runners and retired 11 consecutive batters at one point
• His first Pitcher of the Week honor occurs after his fifth career start
• Last Trojan selected Big Ten Pitcher of the Week: Caden Aoki (April 28, 2025)

Freshman of the Week
Angel Laya, Oregon
Fr. – OF – San Diego, Calif. – Eastlake HS

• Batted .538 (7-for-13) with a pair of home runs and no strikeouts last week
• Started his collegiate career with three hits, a double, and two runs scored on Friday
• Safely hit in all four games, compiling four RBI and 14 total bases
• Slugged 1.077 and reached base at a .600 clip in Oregon’s sweep of George Mason
• Becomes the first Oregon player to receive the Big Ten Freshman of the Week Award

2026 Big Ten Baseball Weekly Awards
Feb. 16
PL: Jackson Freeman, Jr., OF, NU
P: Grant Govel, So., S-RHP, USC
F: Angel Laya, Fr., OF, ORE