ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Southern Illinois shortstop Kaeber Rog and Evansville pitcher Nick Smith highlight the 2022 MVC all-conference baseball teams, being tabbed Joe Carter Player of the Year and Pitcher of the Year, respectively. Evansville's Wes Carroll has been named the league's Dan Callahan Coach of the Year, after leading the Aces to a second-place finish in the league standings after being selected seventh in the preseason poll. Rog is SIU's fourth Player of the Year, while Smith is the third Purple Ace to be named Pitcher of the Year. Rog was also named Newcomer of the Year and DBU rookie third baseman Luke Heefner earned Freshman of the Year honors. Illinois State outfielder Ryan Cermak takes home the Defensive Player of the Year award for a second-straight season.
Rog, a junior shortstop from Willemstad, Curacao, led The Valley in conference play, hitting .405 with a .709 slugging percentage and a .500 on-base percentage. For the entire season, the sensational shortstop finished sixth or higher in The Valley in batting average (.374), hits (83), home runs (13), runs scored (47) and RBI (51). He finished the regular season with 83 hits, which ranks 20th nationally. Rog is the fourth Saluki to earn the Valley’s Joe Carter Player of the Year honor, joining P.J. Finigan (2005), Doug Shields (1990) and Dale Kisten (1986).
Smith, a product of Boonville, Ind., owns a 4.06 ERA in Valley play with a 4-2 record in seven starts. For the season, Smith posted a 6-4 record in 14 starts, finishing the regular season with a 4.46 ERA and 71 strikeouts in 74.2 innings of work. He had one complete game shutout this season vs. Indiana State, allowing only two hits with seven strikeouts in a 14-0 win. Smith is the third Ace to win the Valley's Pitcher of the Year honor, joining Kyle Freeland (2014) and Ryan Miller (2000).
Rog, a transfer from Eastern Florida State, made an immediate impact offensively for the Salukis this season. The junior shortstop hit .374 for the season and led the MVC with 83 hits. He held the highest batting average of any MVC newcomer and led the MVC in fielding assists. Rog becomes just the second player in MVC history to win the Joe Carter Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year in same season, joining DBU's Darick Hall in 2016. Rog is the third Saluki to win the Newcomer of the Year award, joining Toby Barnett (2002) and Brad Benson (1997).
Heefner, a third baseman who hails from Cedar Hill, Texas, has been sensational in his DBU debut. The rookie enters the postseason holding a .298 average, while scoring 29 runs with nine doubles, seven home runs and 26 RBI. The freshman finished the regular season ranking in the top three for DBU in three offensive categories including second in stolen bases (11) and third in both batting average (.298) and on-base percentage (.378). Heefner becomes the third player in DBU history to be named MVC Freshman of the Year, joining Jimmy Glowenke (2018) and Jameson Hannah (2016).
Cermak, an outfielder from Riverside, Ill., claimed the league's Defensive Player of the Year award for a second-straight season, becoming the first player in league history to win the award twice. Cermak also became just the third player in MVC history to earn the same specialty award in back-to-back seasons joining Wichita State's Mike Pelfrey (Pitcher of the Year 2004-05) and Wichita State's Joe Carter (Player of the Year 1980-81). With numerous sensational highlight-reel plays, Cermak posted a 1.000 fielding percentage in 160 chances, while adding three assists. He had 16 more putouts than any other MVC outfielder, averaging 3.34 putouts per game.
Carroll, now in his 14th season as head coach of the Evansville baseball squad, led the Purple Aces to a second-place finish in the Missouri Valley Conference standings after being picked seventh in the preseason poll. This season, the Aces earned their first 30-win season and highest MVC regular season finish since 2014. Carroll’s 350 wins at UE are second-most in program history behind Jim Brownlee. Carroll earns his second Missouri Valley Conference Dan Callahan Coach of the Year honor, winning previously in 2014.
Second place Evansville placed a league-high four players on the all-conference first team. The Purple Aces first-team selections included Brent Widder (3B), Mark Shallenberger (OF), Shane Gray (SP) and Nick Smith (SP). Regular season champion Southern Illinois placed three players on the first team, including Kaeber Rog (SS), J.T. Weber (OF) and Matthew Steidl (RP). DBU also has three first-team players with Cole Moore (1B), Ryan Wrobleski (C) and Chandler Arnold (RP). Indiana State's Jordan Schaffer (SS) and Matt Jachec (SP), Bradley's Connor O'Brien (1B), Illinois State's Ryan Cermak (OF) and Valparaiso's Nolan Tucker (2B) round out the list of first-team accolades.
Featured on the second team are three Salukis, including Ryan Rodriguez (3B), Grey Epps (2B), and Trey McDaniel (RP) and three players from UE in Tanner Craig (1B), Simon Scherry (SS) and Drew Dominik (RP). DBU also placed three on the second team with Miguel Santos (2B), Luke Heefner (3B) and Jace Grady (OF). Indiana State placed two on the second team with Josue Urdaneta (2B) and Seth Gegely (OF), while Missouri State also added two with Drake Baldwin (C) and Spencer Nivens (OF). Bradley's Jacob Kisting (SP), Illinois State's Jared Hart (SP) and Valparaiso's Colin Fields (SP) round out the members of the 2022 second team.
An additional 12 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.
All-conference honors and specialty awards are voted on by the league’s eight head baseball coaches.