Quincy, Lewis, UIS Earn GLVC Baseball Postseason Awards

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INDIANAPOLIS – Quincy University junior catcher Luke Napleton, Lewis University junior pitcher Jake Karaba, University of Illinois Springfield freshman pitcher Adam Brouwer, and Hawks skipper Matt Schissel have earned major postseason awards for the 2023 Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) Baseball season, the league office announced on Wednesday.
 
Napleton claimed Player of the Year, Karaba took home Pitcher of the Year, Brouwer garnered Freshman of the Year, and Schissel was dubbed Coach of the Year by his peers. In total, 41 student-athletes claimed All-Conference honors, while 13 were chosen as GLVC James R. Spalding Sportsmanship honorees for the sport and Truman State University was named the team sportsmanship award winner.
 
The All-Conference awards are nominated and voted on by league coaches, who, per GLVC Bylaws, are not permitted to vote for their own players.

Player of the Year: Luke Napleton, Jr., C, Quincy

• Unanimously earns sixth Player of the Year award for Quincy, with the last coming in 2016 (Ryan Snyder).
• Led league in GLVC-only games for slugging percentage (.910), home runs (17), runs batted in (55), total bases (111), and on-base plus slugging percentage (1.379).
• Paced league in slugging percentage (.878), homers (26), RBIs (80), total bases (166), and OPS percentage (1.312) overall.
• Accumulated .393 batting average, .469 on-base percentage, 48 hits, 45 runs scored, and 12 doubles in 122 at-bats during Conference play.
• Notched .370 batting average, .434 OBP, 70 hits, 59 runs scored, 16 doubles, and one triple in 189 at-bats overall.
• Started all 49 games for the Hawks.
• Named GLVC Player of the Week on Mar. 13 and Apr. 17.
• Claimed D-II National Player of the Week on Mar. 16.
• Earns second-straight selection to All-GLVC First Team, as one of three unanimous picks.

 
Pitcher of the Year: Jake Karaba, Jr., SP, Lewis

• Unanimously voted as first-ever Pitcher of the Year honor for Lewis.
• Led league in GLVC-only games for earned run average (1.84), hits allowed (18), opponent batting average (.123), and strikeouts (72).
• Paced league in ERA (1.61), hits allowed (28), opponent batting average (.134), and punchouts (109) overall.
• Recorded a 6-1 record, four complete games, and two shutouts in 44.0 innings during GLVC contests.
• Posted a 7-1 record and tied for Conference lead in home runs allowed (2) in 61.2 innings overall.
• Started 10 games for the Flyers.
• Named GLVC Pitcher of the Week on Mar. 6, Mar. 20, May 1, and May 8.
• Claimed D-II National Pitcher of the Week on Mar. 23.
• Earns second career selection to All-GLVC First Team, as one of three unanimous picks.

 
Freshman of the Year: Adam Brouwer, SP, Illinois Springfield

• Claims first-ever Freshman laurel for UIS.
• Tallied a 6-1 record, 2.97 ERA, 41 strikeouts, and .239 opponent batting average in 36.1 innings during GLVC contests.
• Produced a 7-1 record, 3.24 ERA, 55 punchouts, .240 opponent batting average, and one save in 50.0 innings overall.
• Started nine games for the Prairie Stars.
• Earns first selection to All-GLVC First Team.

Coach of the Year: Matt Schissel, Quincy

• Unanimously secures fourth Coach of the Year honor for Quincy, and first for Schissel in his second season as head coach.
• Managed the Hawks to an impressive 40-9 overall record and 27-5 Conference mark, claiming the GLVC Regular Season title and No. 1 seed in the GLVC Championship.
• Led Quincy to No. 7 ranking in the NCBWA poll.
• In addition to guiding Napleton to his major award and unanimous All-GLVC First Team selection, he mentored five more players to first-team distinctions, as well as two others who were named to the Second Team.
   

Quincy led all league programs with six first-team choices, including one unanimous selection (Napleton), followed by UIS with four first-team nods. Maryville University and University of Indianapolis saw two players land on the list, with UIndy’s Drew Donaldson earning a unanimous pick. The last seven spots on the First Team were filled by a single representative from Drury University, Lewis, McKendree University, Rockhurst University, Missouri S&T, Southwest Baptist University, and William Jewell College, highlighted by Lewis’ Karaba claiming a unanimous spot.
 
The league also recognized Truman State as its GLVC Baseball James R. Spalding Sportsmanship Award team recipient, as well as 13 student-athletes who have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior. These individuals must also be in good academic standing and have demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting. The honorees are now eligible to become one of their school’s two Spalding Sportsmanship Award winners, which will be announced in May.
 
A complete list of the 2023 All-GLVC teams and postseason honorees can be found below.
 
GLVC Player of the Year: Luke Napleton, Jr., C, Quincy #
GLVC Pitcher of the Year: Jake Karaba, Jr., SP, Lewis #
GLVC Freshman of the Year: Adam Brouwer, SP, Illinois Springfield
GLVC Coach of the Year: Matt Schissel, Quincy #
 

FIRST TEAM * Lance Logsdon, Gr., 1B, QU Zeke Skinner, So., 1B, SBU Drew Donaldson, Jr., 2B, UINDY # Cole Hampton, Sr., 3B, S&T Alex Epp, Sr., SS, WJC Elias Stevens, Sr., UT, MU Dustin Dupont, Jr., UT, QU Austin Simpson, Jr., DH, QU Luke Napleton, Jr., C, QU # Michael Gould, Jr., OF, MU Asher Bradd, Jr., OF, UIS Caleb Vaughn, Jr., OF, UINDY Adonis Forte, So., OF, RU Katom Parnell, Gr., OF, MCK Jake Karaba, Jr., SP, LEWIS # Spencer Walker, Gr., SP, QU Cody Bahl, So., SP, DU Chad Saner, So., SP, UIS Ryan Carmack, Gr., SP, UIS Chase Gockel, Gr., RP, QU Ian Delleman, Sr., RP, UIS    # Unanimous Selection * Extra Member Due to Tie

SECOND TEAM TJ Yakimisky, Jr., 1B, UIS Thomas Fox, Jr., 2B, LEWIS Andrew Buescher, So., 3B, UMSL Gino D'Alessio, Jr., SS, QU Joey Kossina, Jr., UT, MCK Holden Missey, Gr., UT, TSU Brady Ware, Sr., DH, UINDY Angelo Cantelo, Jr., C, LEWIS Zach Parks, Sr., OF, QU Brandon Olion, Sr., OF, UMSL Cain Headrick, So., OF, LEWIS Jake Wilcox, Jr., OF, WJC Michael Alt, Jr., OF, LEWIS Chandler Ashby, So., SP, WJC Jack Jones, Jr., SP, DU Brandon Dewitt, Sr., SP, UINDY Adam Brouwer, Fr., SP, UIS Seth Spencer, So., SP, UINDY Drake Downing, So., RP, MU Wesley Laaker, So., RP, DU

GLVC JAMES R. SPALDING SPORTSMANSHIP HONOREES
Brooks Sunny, DU
Asher Bradd, UIS
E.J White, UINDY
Kevin Barry, LEWIS
Trace Berggren, MU
Katom Parnell, MCK
Scott Henrich, S&T
Justin Simard, UMSL
Spencer Walker, QU
Malik Stevenson, RU
Kyler Charchun, SBU
Holden Missey, TSU
Alex Epp, WJC
 
GLVC JAMES R. SPALDING SPORTSMANSHIP TEAM AWARD
Truman State