ST. LOUIS – The Missouri Valley Conference announced its 2026 baseball all-conference teams and specialty award winners on Tuesday.
Indiana State’s Carter Beck was named the Joe Carter Player of the Year, while Southern Illinois’ Andrew Evans has been tabbed the MVC Pitcher of the Year.
UIC’s Sean McDermott was voted the Dan Callahan Coach of the Year, while for the fourth-straight year, The Valley’s Newcomer of the Year hails from UIC with Ashton Kampa taking home the honor in 2026.
The league’s Defensive Player of the Year award was shared, as UIC’s Vidal Colon and Southern Illinois’ Julio Guerrero were recognized with the postseason honor.
Joe Carter Player of the Year: Carter Beck, Indiana State
Pitcher of the Year: Andrew Evans, Southern Illinois
Co-Defensive Players of the Year: Vidal Colon, UIC; Julio Guerrero, Southern Illinois
Newcomer of the Year: Ashton Kampa, UIC
Freshman of the Year: Spike Magill, Evansville
Dan Callahan Coach of the Year: Sean McDermott, UIC
Indiana State’s Carter Beck was named the MVC Joe Carter Player of the Year. Beck joins Jeremy Lucas (2012) as the only two Sycamores in program history to win the prestigious honor.
Southern Illinois’ Andrew Evans became the first Saluki to collect MVC Pitcher of the Year honors since the awards’ introduction in 1987 – the third-longest standing baseball accolade in league history.
The Defensive Player of the Year award, introduced in 2012, has now been distributed to players from eight different institutions, including its newest honorees, UIC’s Vidal Colon and Southern Illinois’ Julio Guerrero.
For the fourth-straight year, a UIC Flame is recognized as The Valley’s Newcomer of the Year, as Ashton Kampa received this year’s honor. He joins UIC alums Charlie Szykowny (2023), Kendal Ewell (2024) and Luke Nowak (2025) as recipients.
For the second time in three years, an Evansville Purple Ace has been named the MVC Freshman of the Year. This year’s honoree, Spike Magill, becomes the third rookie in Aces’ program history to be recognized, joining Eric Stamets (2010) and Kenton Deverman (2024).
After guiding the UIC Flames to their first baseball regular-season title since joining The Valley, and first Conference title since 2017, Sean McDermott has been voted the Dan Callahan Coach of the Year. With this recognition, McDermott became the third Flames skipper to earn Coach of the Year laurels, while it’s the 13th time overall that a UIC head coach has been honored.