MARION, Ill. – On the eve of the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) Championship Tournament, Jace Burton was named Co-GLVC Freshman of the Year, while five total Saints had their names called as members of the All-GLVC Squads.
 
Burton's honor is the second Freshman of the Year honor in program history for the Saints, being the first in over a decade since Andrew Naegel won it in 2012. The Saints middle infielder split time between shortstop and second base while being one of the most productive offensive threats in the league. He finished the regular season 11th in the league in batting average (.377), 14th in on-base percentage (.466), and 55th in on-base plus slugging (.933).
 
Since GLVC action, he turned it even higher, slashing .400/.487/.505/.992 with an added seven stolen bases.
 
On the first team was Ben Gregory and Braden Smith, two of the most dominant strikeout throwers in the league this season. Smith and Gregory finished first and third in the GLVC in ERA, while they were tied for fourth in the conference in strikeouts with 73. Continuing the parallels, the dynamic duo both finished the year with three complete games.
 
On the second team, Ty Rauser finished out the trifecta of dominant starting pitching for the Saints. Leading the league in strikeouts, Rauser K'd 79 batters this season. He also tied for the league lead in least home runs given up, having given up just two all season before the final rain-soaked weekend of the year.
 
Rauser is joined on the second-team by Cole Christman and Ambrose Russo. Christman became a dominant power threat once GLVC-action began, batting .312 with an OPS of .954, the grad-student blasted nine bombs with seven doubles in league play. Russo, who took over the leadoff role majority of the season, was the engine of the Saints offense, carrying a 1.027 OPS over 49 starts in centerfield. He finished fifth in the GLVC in doubles with 19, adding nine homers for a team leading 110 total bases. He was a dynamic threat on the bases as well, swiping 13 bags.
 
The Saints begin their chase for back-to-back GLVC Titles tomorrow at 12:30 p.m. CT in Marion, Ill. at Mtn Dew Park.

 
A complete list of the 2025 All-GLVC teams and postseason honorees can be found below. 
  
GLVC PLAYER OF THE YEAR:  Mikey Kocen, Sr., 2B, Lewis # 
GLVC PITCHER OF THE YEAR:  Brendan Lawry, Sr., SP, Lewis 
GLVC CO-FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR:  Bricen Smith, 2B, Missouri S&T, Jace Burton, 2B, Maryville 
GLVC COACH OF THE YEAR:  Mike Vucsko, Lewis # 
 

FIRST TEAM  Mark Kattula, R-Sr., 1B, UIS  Mikey Kocen, Sr., 2B, LEWIS  Ethan Bowers, Jr., SS, UIS  Jackson Crider, R-Fr., 3B, DU #  Michael Laudando, Sr., UT, RU  Jordan Phillips, R-Sr., UT, WJC  George Bilecki, Jr., OF, LEWIS  Austin Bode, R-Jr., OF, UINDY  Cain Headrick, Sr., OF, LEWIS  Matt Mateo, Jr., OF, QU  Adonis Forte, Sr., OF, RU  Will Beckham, R-So., DH, S&T  Ivan Dahlberg, Jr., C, UIS  Brendan Lawry, Sr., SP, LEWIS #  Ben Gregory, Jr., SP, MU  Braden Smith, So., SP, MU  Mark Decicco, Jr., SP, UIS  Roman Harrison, Jr., SP, QU  Seth Masters, R-Sr., RP, UIS  Luc Fuller, Sr., RP, DU        # Unanimous Selection

SECOND TEAM  Chris McDevitt, Sr., 1B, LEWIS  Wyatt Morgan, Gr., 2B, DU  Peyton Bittle, So., SS, MCK  Cole Nelson, Sr., 3B, LEWIS  Cole Christman, Gr., UT, MU  Sage McMinn, R-Jr., UT, MCK  Thane Meiners, Jr., UT, UIU  Gunnar Wicklund, Gr., OF, UIU  Nick Lukac, Sr., OF, UINDY  Drew Baugus, So., OF, S&T  Miguel Padron, Jr., OF, LIN  Ambrose Russo, Gr., OF, MU  Andrew Buescher, Sr., DH, UMSL  Jason Krol, Sr., C, LEWIS  Gage Hayes, Jr., SP, DU  Ty Rauser, Jr., SP, MU  Jake Schisler, So., SP, S&T  Jake Canent, Sr., SP, RU  Esteban Hernandez, Gr., SP, UIS  Jackson Bruno, So., RP, LEWIS  Austin Bestul, Sr., RP, UINDY     * Extra Member Due to Tie

HONORABLE MENTION  Connor Bain, Jr., OF, DU  Diego Cardenas, R-Jr., SP, UINDY  Garrett Meyer, Jr., OF, S&T  Ethan Morrow, Sr., SP, S&T   Bryce Nicolay, R-Fr., SP, UMSL  Braeson Stoakes, Sr., OF, UMSL  Ben Dahlof, Jr., OF, QU  Kobe Essien, Sr., SP, QU   Matthew Brimacombe, Sr., OF, RU  Evan Jilbert, Sr., OF, WJC

  
GLVC JAMES R. SPALDING SPORTSMANSHIP HONOREES 
Zach McKinnis, DU 
Mark Kattula, UIS 
Cole Hampton, UINDY 
Ian Nguyen, LEWIS 
Miguel Padron, LIN 
Nathan Beaton, MU 
Javier Garcia, MCK 
Keaton Scott, S&T 
Ben Click, UMSL 
Brandon Pickus, QU 
Patrick Wind, RU 
Cayden Shaver, SBU 
Cole Eggerding, TSU 
Bryce Hall, UIU 
Ben Click, WJC 
  
GLVC JAMES R. SPALDING SPORTSMANSHIP TEAM AWARD 
Lincoln