ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Wichita State catcher Chris O'Brien and Shockers’ ace Charlie Lowell highlight the 2011 MVC all-conference baseball teams, being tabbed Player and Pitcher of the Year, respectively.  Creighton's Ed Servais has been named Coach of the Year, after leading the Bluejays to their first regular-season title since 2005 and the top seed in this week's State Farm MVC Baseball Championship.  O'Brien is Wichita State’s 15th-ever Joe Carter Player of the Year, while Lowell is the 12th Shocker to be named Pitcher of the Year.  Missouri State reliever Dan Kickham was named Newcomer of the Year and Bears’ rookie Friday night starter Nick Petree earned Freshman of the Year honors. 

O'Brien, a junior from Tulsa, Okla., ranks among the nation’s leaders in hits (4th), doubles (6th), total bases (14th), RBI (16th) and batting average (16th), while also leading the league with a .496 on-base-percentage.  His 30 multiple-hit games lead the league and he enters the tournament on a career-best 24-game hitting streak, which ranks as the seventh longest streak in Shocker history.  During the streak, O’Brien his hitting .436 with 20 runs, eight doubles, four home runs and 19 RBI.  He has hit safely in an impressive 50 of 60 games this season.  O’Brien is the 15th Shocker to win the MVC Joe Carter Player of the Year award, and the first since 2006.   

Lowell, who hails from Old Monroe, Mo., leads the league with 114 strikeouts, which ranks third nationally, and is tied for the second most wins in the Valley with nine.  His 11.5 strikeouts per nine innings also rank ninth in the nation.  He threw two complete games, both in league play, and held batters to a .213 batting average, the third lowest total among league starting pitchers.  Lowell becomes Wichita State’s 12th student-athlete to earn Pitcher of the Year honors.

Kickham, a hometown Springfield, Mo. native, and a Crowder College transfer, made an immediate impact on the mound for the Bears, leading the league with 13 saves, which currently ranks 11th in the nation.  His 13 saves tie Shaun Marcum’s school record for saves in a season, while also ranking third most in a career at Missouri State.  In 23 appearances he gave up just five earned runs and seven extra-base hits, and did not allow an earned run until his 18th appearance of the season.  Kickham is the eighth Missouri State player to earn the Valley’s Newcomer of the Year honor, and the first since 2003. 

Petree, a product of Clinton, Mo., tallied an 8-2 record in 15 appearances this season, including two complete games and two saves.  He owns the Missouri State freshman record for wins with eight, while his 89 innings pitched is the tops for a freshman in school history.  His 76 strikeouts are the third most by a Missouri State freshman, including a season-high 11 batter fanned against Wichita State.  Petree is also the first Missouri State freshman to begin a season 6-0 since 1983.  Petree is the fifth-ever Missouri State player to be named Freshman of the Year. 

Servais, now in his eighth season as head coach of the Creighton baseball squad, fashioned the Bluejays’ second-ever Missouri Valley Conference regular-season title this season.  Now the winningest head coach in program history, his 39-13 overall record this season is the second best win percentage heading into postseason play in school history, while his 15 wins in Valley play were a six-game improvement from a season ago. 

Picked to finish fifth in the preseason poll, Creighton took home its first regular-season crown since 2005, earning the top seed in this week’s State Farm MVC Baseball Championship.

2011 marks the fourth Coach of the Year honor for Servais, also winning in 2007, 2005 and 2004.  He joins Jack Dahm as the only other Creighton skipper to win Coach of the Year honors. 

Wichita State placed four players on the all-conference first team, in Johnny Coy (1B), Chris O'Brien (C), Preston Springer (DH) and Charlie Lowell (SP).  Regular-season champion and top-seeded Creighton had three first-team honorees, including Jimmy Swift (SS), Trever Adams (OF) and Jonas Dufek (SP), while Illinois State also knotted three first team honorees – Ryan Court (3B), Tyler McNeely (OF) and Kenny Long (RP).  Missouri State's Kevin Medrano (2B) and Dan Kickham (RP) also earned honors on the top team, while Evansville's Cody Fick, Indiana State's Robby Ort and Southern Illinois’ Cody Forsythe round out the list of first team accolades.

Featured on the second team are three Bluejays, including Mike Gerber (OF), Ty Blach (SP) and Kurt Spomer (RP) and three Bears, in Brock Chaffin (DH), Luke Voit (DH) and Nick Petree (SP).  Two Bradley Braves, including Mike Tauchman (OF) and Joe Bircher (SP), as well as two Wichita State Shockers, in Tyler Grimes (SS) and Cale Elam (RP), also earned second-team honors.  Rounding out the members of the 2011 second team are Trentt Copelend (2B) of Evansville, Jeremy Lucas (C) of Indiana State and Jordan Sivertsen (OF) of Southern Illinois.

An additional eight players were honored as part of the honorable mention all-conference team, as student-athletes must receive at least two votes to be named as honorable mention.

All-conference honors and specialty awards are voted on by the league’s eight head baseball coaches.

Joe Carter Player of the Year:
Chris O'Brien, Wichita State

Pitcher of the Year:
Charlie Lowell, Wichita State

Newcomer of the Year:
Dan Kickham, Missouri State

Freshman of the Year:
Nick Petree, Missouri State