ROSEMONT, Ill. – The Big Ten on Tuesday announced the 2015 Baseball All-Big Ten teams and individual award winners, as selected by the conference coaches. Illinois’ David Kerian was named Player of the Year, while teammate Tyler Jay garnered Pitcher of the Year accolades. Michigan’s Jake Bivens took home Freshman of the Year honors, while Fighting Illini mentor Dan Hartleb was tabbed Coach of the Year.

Kerian becomes the ninth Illinois standout to claim Big Ten Player of the Year honors, and the first since Justin Parr in 2013. Kerian currently leads the Big Ten in batting average (.383), home runs (13), slugging percentage (.661) and on-base percentage (.467). As Illinois’ starting first baseman, Kerian also paced the Big Ten in putouts (227) during conference play.

Jay becomes the fourth Illinois hurler to earn Big Ten Pitcher of the Year accolades, and the first since Andy Dickinson in 2001. The Illini’s left-handed closer currently leads the Big Ten in earned run average (0.67) and opponents’ batting average (.161), while ranking second in saves with 12. In 26 appearances, he has finished 24 games for Illinois this season. Entering the postseason, Jay has tallied 62 strikeouts against just six walks.

Bivens becomes the third Wolverine to capture Big Ten Freshman of the Year plaudits, joining Scott Weaver in 1993 and Jason Alcaraz in 1996. He currently ranks sixth in the conference in batting average (.351) and second in on-base percentage (.461). Bivens paces the Big Ten with 12 sacrifice bunts, and has drawn 28 walks on the season.

Hartleb becomes the second Illinois mentor to earn Big Ten Coach of the Year honors. Richard “Itch” Jones was named the Coach of the Year in 1998 and 2005. Hartleb guided Illinois to its 30th Big Ten Championship this season, the Illini’s first outright title since 2005. Illinois enters the Big Ten Tournament on a school-record 26-game winning streak, the longest streak in the nation this season.

The Big Ten also announced the Sportsmanship Award honorees from each institution. The student-athletes chosen are individuals who have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior. These student-athletes must also be in good academic standing and have demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting.

Eight members of the Nebraska baseball team were honored by the Big Ten Conference on Tuesday morning, including Tanner Lubach, Chance Sinclair and Ryan Boldt, who were each tabbed as second-team All-Big Ten performers by the league’s coaches. Josh Roeder earned third-team honors, while Scott Schreiber, Luis Alvarado and Garett King were all named to the All-Big Ten Freshman Team. Senior Blake Headley was Nebraska’s representative on the Sportsmanship Team.

After earning all-freshman honors last season, Boldt was one of three outfielders tabbed on the second team. Entering the Big Ten Tournament, Boldt leads the Huskers in average (.350), hits (75) and runs (45). Boldt’s 75 hits are tied for third in the league with

Michigan’s Carmen Benedetti. Boldt also ranks seventh in the league in batting average and is 10th in runs scored.

Lubach didn’t get off to the start he wanted in his senior year, going 0-for-18 to start the season, but then went got rolling. In his 41 games since, Lubach is hitting .348 (55-for-158) with eight doubles, one triple, four home runs and 19 multi-hit performances. On the year, Lubach is second on the team with a .315 average and is third on the team in RBIs with 25. Over NU’s last 10 games, Lubach has played in nine and leads on the team with a .467 average (14-for-30). Lubach has also been one of the best defensive catchers in the league. For his career, Lubach has thrown out 43 base runners, which ranks second all-time at Nebraska to Cory Burleson’s 46.

Sinclair earned All-Big Ten honors for the second straight season after being a first-team selection last year. While Sinclair’s record doesn’t show it, he has arguably been better this year. The right hander has allowed nine more hits this season (89 to 80), but has issued fewer walks (19 to 24) and struck out 18 more hitters (64 to 46).

Roeder earned All-Big Ten honors following another stellar season working as Nebraska’s closer. The Plano, Texas, native set a new career record at Nebraska this season for saves and enters the tournament with 33 career saves. He now needs on more save to tie Brett Jensen’s single season record of 16 saves. This season, Roeder has converted 15 saves in 16 chances. His only blown save of the year was the result of a unearned run that scored on a two-out error.

Nebraska’s three freshman that were honored were all major contributors to the team this year. King served as Nebraska’s Tuesday starter and the Huskers were a perfect 8-0 in games he started. The Anaheim Hills, Calif., native has posted a 4-1 record with a 3.55 ERA in 50.2 innings entering the Big Ten Tournament.

Schreiber has split time at first base this season and has played in 38 games, including 36 starts. Schreiber is tied for third on the team with three home runs, while also notching two doubles, two triples and 17 RBIs.

Alvarado joined the Huskers from Salinas, Puerto Rico, and has been part of the rotation in left field this season. Alvarado is hitting .300 in the year in 33 games, including 23 starts. He ended the regular season with five doubles and one home run, with two of the doubles and his home run coming last week at Illinois.

The Huskers open postseason play tomorrow at Target Field, when they take on the Illinois Fighting Illini in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament at 5:05 p.m. The game will be carried on the Big Ten Network.

The complete list of All-Big Ten teams and award winners can be found below.

ALL-BIG TEN FIRST TEAM
C – Jason Goldstein, ILL
1B – David Kerian, ILL
2B – Brandon Lowe, MD
SS – Adam Walton, ILL
3B – Mark Weist, MSU
OF – Casey Fletcher, ILL
OF – Jackson Glines, MICH
OF – Pat Porter, OSU
DH – CARMEN BENEDETTI, MICH
SP – KEVIN DUCHENE, ILL
SP – Blake Hickman, IOWA
SP – MIKE SHAWARYN, MD
RP – TYLER JAY, ILL

ALL-BIG TEN SECOND TEAM
C – Tanner Lubach, NEB
1B – Ryan Krill, MSU
2B – Jacob Cronenworth, MICH
SS – Michael Handel, MINN
3B – Jose Cuas, MD
OF – Eric Toole, IOWA
OF – Ryan Boldt, NEB
OF – Troy Montgomery, OSU
DH – Scott Donley, IND
SP – Drasen Johnson, ILL
SP – Calvin Mathews, IOWA
SP – Chance Sinclair, NEB
RP – Nick Hibbing, IOWA

ALL-BIG TEN THIRD TEAM
C – Kevin Martir, MD
1B – Tyler Peyton, IOWA
2B – Reid Roper, ILL
SS – Nick Roscetti, IOWA
3B – Travis Maezes, MICH
OF – Ryan Nagle, ILL
OF – Craig Dedelow, IND
OF – Tom Marcinczyk, RU
DH – Pat McInerney, ILL
SP – John Kravetz, ILL
SP – Brett Adcock, MICH
SP – Ryan Riga, OSU
RP – Josh Roeder, NEB

ALL-BIG TEN FRESHMAN TEAM*
C – Chad Roskelly, MSU
1B – SCOTT SCHREIBER, NEB
2B – Grant Peikert, NU
SS – Jake Bivens, MICH
3B – Isaiah Pasteur, IND
OF – Logan Sowers, IND
OF – Brandon Hughes, MSU
OF – Luis Alvarado, NEB
DH – Drew Lugbauer, MICH
SP – Ryan Nutof, MICH
SP – Andrew Gonzalez, MSU
SP – Garett King, NEB
SP – Adam Niemeyer, OSU
RP – Bryan Pall, MICH

SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD HONOREES
Will Krug, Illinois
Will Nolden, Indiana
Kris Goodman, Iowa
Robert Galligan, Maryland
Eric Jacobson, Michigan
Ryan Krill, Michigan State
Lance Thonvold, Minnesota
Blake Headley, Nebraska
Cody Stevens, Northwestern
Pat Porter, Ohio State
James Coates, Penn State
Joe Eichmann, Purdue
Joe D’Annunzio, Rutgers

PLAYER OF THE YEAR
David Kerian, ILL

PITCHER OF THE YEAR
Tyler Jay, ILL

FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Jake Bivens, MICH

COACH OF THE YEAR
Dan Hartleb, ILL

Unanimous honorees in ALL CAPS
*additional honoree due to tie

Wednesday, May 20 (5:05 p.m.)
Probable Starters: RHP Sinclair (6-7) vs. LHP Duchene (10-1)
TV: Big Ten Network
Audio Stream: Huskers.com | Video Stream: BTN2Go.com and BTN2Go App
Radio: Husker Sports Network

Minneapolis – After the Nebraska baseball team (34-21, 9-14 Big Ten) finished the 2015 regular season at Illinois (45-6-1, 21-1 Big Ten) last week, the two teams will meet again in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament. The No. 8 seed Huskers and the No. 1 seed Illini are scheduled to play at 5:05 p.m. on Wednesday at Target Field, with the game carried nationally on the Big Ten Network.

The Huskers dropped the first two games of the series last week in Champaign, but had a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the fourth in the finale before it was canceled due to rain. Since the game was only in the fourth inning it was not a complete game and it’s as if the game never happened.

The winner of Wednesday’s opening-round game will play on Thursday at 9 p.m., while the loser will fall into an elimination game at 1 p.m. on Thursday. The winner/loser will meet winner/loser between No. 4 Maryland and No. 5 Michigan State, who play at  9:05 p.m. on Wednesday night, and that game will be carried on BTN.

Nebraska comes into the Big Ten Tournament with NCAA Tournament hopes still within reach, but the Huskers need to make a deep run in Minneapolis. Nebraska was great at Hawks Field this season with a 21-6 record, but they have struggled on the road with a 13-15 mark, including a 4-3 record in neutral site games. The Huskers are 9-4 all-time at the Big Ten Tournament, but have never faced Illinois.

The Illini enter the tournament as the No. 5 team in the country (D1Baseball) and are on a 26-game winning streak, the longest in the country this season. Illinois captured its 30th Big Ten title last Thursday with a win  over the Huskers, the Illini’s first since 2011 when they split with Michigan State. The Illini are 6-2 on the year when playing at a neutral site.

The Huskers and Illini have met 12 times since 1897 and the series is tied at 6-6. Illinois’ series win over the Huskers last week marked the first time the Illini have taken a series from Nebraska, as the Huskers had won the first three series between he two teams. Nebraska and Illinois first met in 1897, with the Illini winning 14-9, and the two clubs didn’t meet again until 2012 when Nebraska hosted Illinois for its first ever Big Ten game on March 23, 2012. The Illini won the opener, 11-3, but the Huskers responded with victories in the final two games to win the series.