ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Indiana State catcher Jeremy Lucas and Bears’ ace Nick Petree highlight the 2012 MVC all-conference baseball teams, being tabbed Player and Pitcher of the Year, respectively.  Indiana State's Rick Heller has been named Coach of the Year, after leading the Sycamores to their first regular-season title since 1985 and the top seed in this week's State Farm MVC Baseball Championship. Lucas is Indiana State’s first-ever Joe Carter Player of the Year, while Petree is the fifth Bear to be named Pitcher of the Year. Indiana State ace Dakota Bacus was named Newcomer of the Year and Bears’ rookie reliever Tyler Burgess earned Freshman of the Year honors. Evansville's Eric Stamets was named the league's first-ever Defensive Player of the Year. 

Lucas, a semifinalist for the Johnny Bench Award, is tied for the league lead in runs scored (52), while ranking second in average (.363), hits (77) and on-base percentage (.459). He also leads the Sycamores in home runs (9) and slugging percentage (.571). A junior from West Terre Haute, Ind., his 24 multiple-hit games and 16 multi-RBI games both rank second in the league. He has hit safely in an impressive 41 of 52 games this season.    

Petree, a product of Clinton, Mo., leads the NCAA with a 0.91 ERA, turning in the nation's longest scoreless innings streak this season. He worked a Missouri State-record 38.1 consecutive shutout frames from April 6-May 17, as well as going 73.0 straight innings without giving up an earned run (March 2-May 17). He leads the league in victories (10) and ranks fourth on the Bears' single-season wins list. The right-hander also became just the seventh pitcher in school history to surpass the 100-strikeout plateau in a season (102). Petree gave up fewer than five hits in 10 of his 14 appearances and has not allowed a home run on his clock this season.

Bacus, a Moline, Ill. native, and a Southeastern Community College transfer, made an immediate impact on the mound for the Sycamores, ranking fourth in the league in ERA (2.08) and wins (7), and fifth in strikeouts (86). He has a team-leading three complete games, including the 6-3 victory over Missouri State that clinched the regular-season title for Indiana State. Bacus is the fourth Sycamore to earn the Valley's Newcomer of the Year honor, and the first since 2005.

Burgess, a lefty who hails from Webb City, Mo., (5-0, 1.24 ERA, 11 saves) has been sensational        in his Missouri State debut, becoming the first Missouri State pitcher on to register either a win or save in his first seven outings as a Bear. He has already claimed the Missouri State freshman saves record and ranks third on the Bears’ single-season all-time list. Burgess is the sixth Missouri State player to earn the league's Freshman of the Year honor.

Stamets, a native of Dublin, Ohio, earns the league's first-ever Defensive Player of the Year award. With incredible range in the field, Stamets owns a .966 fielding percentage with 91 putouts and a league-high 189 assists. He also ranks tied for third in the league in fielding double plays (35). Stamets has started every game of his career, batting .311 with 39 runs, 24 RBP and a team-high 18 doubles. He also leads the MVC and ranks 22nd nationally with 30 steals.

Heller, now in his third season as head coach of the Indiana State baseball squad, recorded his 100th win at Indiana State this season, becoming the fifth coach in Sycamore history to reach the century mark in wins. Indiana State has posted 105 wins and a .629 winning percentage under Heller the past three seasons, the best winning percentage in that span among teams in the MVC. The Sycamores broke the 40-win plateau in 2012, their first 40-win season since 1992 and 10th overall.

Picked to finish fourth in the preseason poll, Indiana State took home its fourth regular-season crown (first since 1985), earning the top seed in this week’s State Farm MVC Baseball Championship.

Heller earns his first-ever Coach of the Year honor, joining Bob Warn (1979, 1983 and 1984) and Lindsay Meggs (2009) as the only other Indiana State skipper to win Coach of the Year honors.

Regular-season champion and top-seeded Indiana State placed three players on the all-conference first team, in Jeremy Lucas (C), Rob Ort (OF) and Dakota Bacus (SP). League runner-up Missouri State also had three first-team honorees, including Kevin Medrano (2B), Nick Petree (SP) and Tyler Burgess (RP), while Illinois State and Southern Illinois notched three players apiece on the first-team. The Redbirds honorees included Zac Johnson (3B), Eric Aguilera (OF) and Kenny Long (RP), while the Salukis' honors go to Chris Serritella (1B), Austin Montgomery (UT) and Jordan Sivertsen (OF). Bradley's Joe Bircher, Evansville's Eric Stamets and Wichita State's Johnny Coy round out the list of first team accolades.

Featured on the second team are four Bears, including Brock Chaffin (1B), Brent Seifert (3B), Luke Voit (C) and Spiker Helms (OF) and four Salukis, in Brock Harding (DH), Cody Forsythe (SP), Cameron Maldonado (SP) and Todd Eaton (RP). Three Sycamores, including Tyler Wampler (SS), Kyle Burnam (OF) and Sean Manaea (SP), as well as one each from Bradley (Chris Godinez, 2B), Creighton (Anthony Bemboom, UT), Evansville (Kevin Kaczmarski, OF) and Wichita State (Cale Elam, RP), round out the members of the 2012 second team.

An additional 17 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.

A nine-member all-defensive team was also named for the first time this season.

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

Joe Carter Player of the Year:
Jeremy Lucas, Indiana State

Pitcher of the Year:
Nick Petree, Wichita State

Newcomer of the Year:
Dakota Bacus, Indiana State

Freshman of the Year:
Tyler Burgess, Missouri State

Defensive Player of ther Year:
Eric Stamets, Evansivlle

Dan Callahan Coach of the Year:
Rick Heller, Indiana State