Creighton's Darin Ruf has been named the 2007 Joe Carter Missouri Valley Conference Baseball Player of the Year, as voted on the by the league coaches. Ruf, a first-team all-conference athlete at first base, is just the fourth player from Creighton to earn the honor. Additionally, Creighton's Ben Mancuso has been named the MVC Pitcher of the Year. Mancuso is also just the fourth Bluejay to earn the postseason honor. The last time Creighton swept both the Player and Pitcher of the Year awards was in 1992, which was also the last year a Bluejay has earned either specialty award. Andy Masten of Creighton was named the Newcomer of the Year and the Freshman of the Year is Brad Altbach of Bradley.
Ruf, just a sophomore from Omaha, Neb., played in all 53 games for Creighton this season. Overall, he is hitting .377 with seven home runs and 53 runs batted in. In Valley games only, Ruf's batting average of .398 has led his team to a 19-5 conference finish. He leads the league with 29 RBI and a .693 slugging percentage in MVC action.
CU's Mancuso, also an Omaha native, owns a 6-2 Valley record and 9-2 overall mark heading into this week's tournament. In 64 innings pitched, he has allowed just 16 earned runs for a 2.25 ERA. Additionally, his six wins in Valley play leads the league.
Andy Masten of Creighton, the Newcomer of the Year, is a first-team all-MVC reliever. Through the regular season, he leads the Valley with 15 saves and 30 games finished. The transfer from Auburn made 31 appearances in MVC action while overall, he pitched 45 innings and struck out 43.
Brad Altbach is the league's Freshman of the Year. The Northbrook, Ill., native is the first Bradley player to be named Freshman of the Year since 1994 (Doug Robertson), which was the inaugural year for the honor. Altbach had five saves for the Braves this season in twenty appearances.
Regular-season champion Wichita State placed three players on the all-conference first team; Conor Gillaspie, third base; Matt Brown, outfield and Travis Banwart, starting pitcher. Rounding out the first team are Ryan Curry, Bradley (second base); Brandon Douglas, UNI (shortstop); Mark Kelly, Southern Illinois (catcher); Kevin Dubler, Illinois State (designated hitter); Adam Hills, Southern Illinois (utility); Deric Manrique, UNI, Jim Viscomi, Evansville (outfield); Kai Tuomi, Evansville (starting pitcher); Pat Venditte, Creighton (relief pitcher).
Sixty three student-athletes were nominated for all-conference honors. Student-athletes must receive at least two all-conference votes to be named as honorable mention.
2007 All-Missouri Valley Conference Baseball Teams
First Team
1B Darin Ruf Creighton So. Omaha, Neb. (Westside)
2B Ryan Curry Bradley Sr. Downers Grove, Ill. (South)
SS Brandon Douglas UNI So. St. Charles, Iowa (I-35)
3B Conor Gillaspie Wichita State So. Omaha, Neb. (Millard North)
C Mark Kelly Southern Illinois So. Hanover Park, Ill. (Hoffman Estates)
DH Kevin Dubler Illinois State So. Downers Grove, Ill. (South)
UT Adam Hills Southern Illinois Jr. Colorado Springs, Colo. (Colby CC)
OF Matt Brown Wichita State Jr. Oklahoma City, Okla. (Capitol Hill)
OF Deric Manrique UNI So. Sioux City, Iowa (Wahlert)
OF Jim Viscomi Evansville Jr. Aurora, Ill. (Glenbard East)
SP Travis Banwart Wichita State Jr. Wichita, Kan. (Goddard)
SP Ben Mancuso Creighton Jr. Omaha, Neb. (Creighton Prep)
SP Kai Tuomi Evansville Sr. Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario (White Pines C&VS)
RP Andy Masten Creighton Sr. Omaha, Neb. (Auburn)
RP Pat Venditte Creighton Jr. Omaha, Neb. (Central)
Second Team
1B Kasey Wahl Evansville Sr. Newburgh, Ind. (Newburgh)
2B Damon Sublett Wichita State Jr. Wichita, Kan. (Northwest)
SS Dan Brewer Bradley So. Brookfield, Ill. (Lyons Township)
3B Ryan Anetsberger Illinois State Jr. Wheaton, Ill. (Glenbard West)
C Chris Gradoville Creighton Sr. Omaha, Neb. (Bryan)
DH Chris Schmidt Indiana State Jr. Jasper, Ind. (Jasper)
UT Derek Schermerhorn Wichita State Sr. Newton, Iowa (Newton)
OF David Brumagin Indiana State Jr. Detroit, Mich. (Wabash Valley CC)
OF Aaron Roberts Southern Illinois Fr. Chatham, Ill. (Chatham-Glenwood)
OF Pat Tumilty Evansville Sr. Naperville, Ill. (Central)
SP Ross Detwiler Missouri State Jr. Wentzville, Mo. (Holt)
SP Ben Norton Evansville Sr. Ft. Wayne, Ind. (Bishop Dwenger)
SP Michael Christl Bradley Sr. Naperville, Ill. (Waubonsie Valley)
SP Aaron Jenkins UNI Jr. Brooklyn Park, Minn. (Champlin Park)
RP Noah Booth Wichita State Sr. Oklahoma City, Okla. (Westmoore)
RP Matt Brinkmann Evansville Sr. Newburgh, Ind. (Memorial)
Honorable Mention
Jesse Griswold, Illinois State - 1B
Matt Lawson, Missouri State - 2B
Robbie Minor, Evansville - SS
Paul Rice, Bradley - 3B
Ryan Eigsti, Bradley; Tyler Weber, Wichita State - C
Danny Jackson, Wichita State - DH
Kyle O'Brien, Illinois State - UT
Justin Carr, Bradley; Andy Dirks, Wichita State; Eric Hoffmann, UNI; Nolan Keane, Missouri State - OF
Cody Adams, Southern Illinois; Rob Musgrave, Wichita State - SP
Brad Altbach, Bradley; Bryant George, Southern Illinois; Noah Krol, Wichita State - RP
Joe Carter/Valley Player of the Year
Darin Ruf, Creighton
Pitcher of the Year
Ben Mancuso, Creighton
Newcomer of the Year
Andy Masten, Creighton
Freshman of the Year
Brad Altbach, Bradley