Baseball Honors Awarded to Illinois, Iowa, Michigan and Purdue
ROSEMONT, Ill. – The Big Ten Conference has announced its baseball weekly awards for games played April 16-21.
Player of the Week
Connor Milton, Illinois
Sr. – OF — Champaign, Ill. — Champaign Central
- Went 9-for-12 at the plate with three home runs and eight RBI as first-place Illinois completed a weekend sweep of Northwestern
- Compiled a slash of .750/.750/1.667 along with a 2.417 OPS
- Amassed 20 total bases and three multiple-hit games for the Illini, who extended their win streak to seven games
- The Big Ten Distinguished Scholar receives his first Big Ten Player Award
- Last Illinois Player of the Week: Jacob Schroeder (April 15, 2024)
Co-Pitcher of the Week
Brody Brecht, Iowa
Jr. – S-RHP — Ankeny, Iowa — Ankeny
- Tossed a one-hitter on 110 pitches in Iowa’s 5-1 win over Rutgers Sunday in Iowa City
- Struck out 12 batters and allowed just one run (none earned) in holding the Scarlet Knights to a .042 batting average
- Threw a career-high 7.1 innings in helping Iowa to a series sweep of Rutgers
- The Golden Spikes Watch List recipient collects his first Big Ten Pitcher honor of the season and the third of his career
- Last Iowa Pitcher of the Week: Cade Obermueller (March 11, 2024)
Co-Pitcher of the Week
Jacob Denner, Michigan
5th – R-LHP — Closter, N.J. — Bergen Catholic
- Working out of the bullpen, collected two wins and a save in three appearances
- Recorded a 0.67 WHIP, allowed two runs and six baserunners over 9.0 innings
- Finished the week with 10 strikeouts and teamed with Kurt Barr to register a shutout in the series opener versus Ohio State in Ann Arbor, Mich.
- The three-time Academic All-Big Ten selection receives his second conference weekly award of the season and the third of his career
- Last Michigan Pitcher of the Week: Jacob Denner (April 1, 2024)
Freshman of the Week
Luke Gaffney, Purdue
Fr. – 1B — Danville, Ky. — Boyle County
- Reached base in 9 of 18 plate appearances, stockpiling eight runs with eight RBI and a 1.000 slugging percentage.
- Stroked three home runs, including a grand slam on Saturday to break the Purdue freshman RBI record (in his 38th game) that had stood since 2010
- Played first base and made his debut at catcher, filling in for an injured starter, to finish with 24 putouts and an assist on the week
- Captures the Big Ten Freshman award for the fifth time this season and the second-straight week
- Last Purdue Freshman of the Week: Luke Gaffney (April 15, 2024)
2024 Big Ten Baseball Weekly Awards
Feb. 19
PL: Matt Maloney, Jr., C, PSU
P: Connor Foley, So., S-RHP, IND
F: Luke Gaffney, Fr., 1B, PUR
Feb. 26
PL: Devin Taylor, So., OF, IND
P: Christian Coppola, So., S-RHP, RU
F: Luke Gaffney, Fr., 1B, PUR
March 4
PL: Drake Westcott, Jr., 1B, ILL
PL: Nick Williams, Jr., OF, MSU
P: Mitch Voit, So., S-RHP/INF, MICH
F: Ryan McKay, Fr., 2B, MSU
March 11
PL: Rhett Stokes, Jr., IF, NEB
P: Cade Obermueller, So., S-LHP, IOWA
F: Kyle Remington, Fr., R-RHP, MINN
F: Luke Gaffney, Fr., 1B, PUR
March 18
PL: Josh Kuroda-Grauer, Jr., SS, RU
P: Kurt Barr, So., R-RHP, MICH
F: Ty Doucette, Fr., 1B, RU
March 25
PL: Drake Westcott, Jr., 1B, ILL
P: Justin Sinibaldi, Sr., S-LHP, RU
F: Brayden Martin, Fr., UTL, MD
April 1
PL: Jacob Schroeder, Sr., C, ILL
P: Jacob Denner, 5th, S-LHP, MICH
F: Jasen Oliver, Fr., 2B, IND
April 8
PL: Tyler Cerny, So., SS, IND
P: Brett Sears, Sr., S-RHP, NEB
F: Joey Brenczewski, Fr., 1B, IND
April 15
PL: Jacob Schroeder, Sr., C, ILL
P: Mason McConnaughey, So., S-RHP, NEB
F: Luke Gaffney, Fr., 1B, PUR
April 22
PL: Connor Milton, Sr., OF, ILL
P: Brody Brecht, Jr., S-RHP, IOWA
P: Jacob Denner, 5th, R-LHP, MICH
F: Luke Gaffney, Fr., 1B/C, PUR