Illinois, Maryland and Rutgers Collect Baseball Honors

ROSEMONT, Ill. – The Big Ten Conference has announced its baseball weekly awards for games played March 19-24.

Player of the Week

Drake Westcott, Illinois

Jr. – 1B — Edwardsville, Ill. — Louisville

Batted .400 (6-for-15) with a home run and 6 RBI to help Illinois to a 3-1 record
Scored five runs, drew five walks and handled 33 chances without an error at first base
Compiled a slash of .400/.600/.800 and a 1.400 OPS as Illinois took its first series at Indiana since the 2008 season
Earns his third career player of the week award and second of the season
Last Illinois Player of the Week: Drake Westcott (March 4, 2024)

Pitcher of the Week

Justin Sinibaldi, Rutgers

Sr. – S-LHP — Bridgewater, N.J. — Bridgewater-Raritan

Recorded a complete game, 3-0 shutout win against UConn on March 22 in Piscataway
Held the 2023 NCAA Regional participants to four hits (all singles) and a .133 batting average.
Retired the side in the eighth inning on just six pitches; threw 110 pitches for the game
Struck out nine Huskie batters and produced 11 ground outs
The two-time Academic All-Big Ten selection receives his first Big Ten Pitcher award
Last Rutgers Pitcher of the Week: Christian Coppola (Feb. 26, 2024)

Freshman of the Week

Brayden Martin, Maryland

Fr. – UTL — Bowie, Md. — St. John’s College

Posted a team-best .600 batting average (6-for-10) along with a .667 on-base percentage and .600 slugging percentage over four games last week
Produced not one, but two walk-off singles, helping Maryland to a pair of 10-inning wins against Michigan State on Friday and Sunday
Saw action in left field, as a designated hitter and a pinch hitter in helping Maryland to its 23rd-consecutive Big Ten series win
Collects the first Big Ten Freshman award of his career
Last Maryland Freshman of the Week: Kyle McCoy (May 1, 2023)

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