Baseball's Best from Division I Earn Conference Honors

The ICCAC All-Region teams were announced on Wednesday as Iowa Western led the way with six First Team All-Region selections, along with the ICCAC Division I Baseball Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year.

Bradyen Smith took home the Player of the Year award along with be a First Team status as an infielder. Smith was the leader in the conference in a number of different categories, including runs (62), hits (75), doubles (17), total bases (133), walks (37), batting average (.421), and in double plays, turning a total of 35 in the season. In 51 games, the player of the year also hit 11 home runs and had a slugging percentage of .747.

The Defensive Player of the Year award belonged to AJ Singer. The Reiver shortstop was first in assists with 145 and converted 26 double plays. A Second Team All-Region infielder, Singer committed just six errors on the season with a .969 fielding percentage.

Chris Piperno of Southwestern won Coach of the Year for the 2023 season. In 53 games, he coached Southwestern to 19 wins, including 10 in conference. Back in late February and early March, Piperson led the Spartans to a seven-game winning streak. He was brought in last offseason, and turned around the program which saw a total of six wins -- and just three in conference. 

The league's First Team catcher was Logan Myers from Indian Hills. The freshman hit three triples, knocked in 30 runners, and batted .319 on the season. Myers had just one error in 38 games and threw out nine runners attempting to steal.

Two other Indian Hills' players joined the First Team, both Jack Nelson and Sam Hart as pitchers.

In 11 starts, Nelson had six wins in 53 innings pitched. He struck out 74 hitters and had an ERA of 3.06 which placed first. Against Nelson, opponents' batting averages were at a low .191.

Hart appeared in 18 games and had 12 saves on the season. He gave up just nine hits and three earned runs while on the mound.

Both Ryan Reyerson and Ethan Louthan of Iowa Western finished out the First Team All-Region pitchers. Reyerson pitched in 30.1 innings while giving up 20 hits and marking a 1.78 ERA. Louthan had a 5-1 record in 15 appearances and pitched a total of 31.1 innings. He struck out 23 hitters and opponents' batting average against him is 1.615. 

Eric Bello was the lone Southwestern First Teamer for the 2023 season. The sophomore infielder was tied for second in doubles with 16 and also second in hits with 74. Bello had a batting average of .359 in 53 games and stole 14 bases.

Another first team infielder was Tyler Stone from Iowa Western. The power hitting was first in home runs (17) and first in slugging percentage at .778. Stone was first in RBI as well, 13 more than the second-place finisher with 72. He also finished second in walks at a total of 30.

Austin Gurney was the last infielder left on the First Team. He hit 12 homers, 43 RBIs, and batted .299 9n 47 games. Gurney had a slugging percentage of .563 and his on base percentage was at .374.

Indian Hills' Daniel Figueroa earned First Team All-Region honors as an outfielder. The speedster was first in triples with six, and stolen bases with, which was 20 more than the next player. Figueroa connected on 62 hits and eight doubles in 181 at-bats. 

Tye Wood and Brandon Rogers of Iowa Western took the last two spots for outfielders on the First Team. Wood was first in on-base percentage at .546 and had the second-best batting average at .413.

Rogers batted .383 with 56 RBIs in 47 games this season. He finished second in all three categories of on base percentage, batting average, and slugging percentage.

The final First Teamer is Miguel Padron of Marshalltown. The designated hitter had 62 hits and nine doubles. Padron was fifth in average at .363 and an on-base percentage at .449 in 49 total games.

Player of the Year: Brayden Smith, Iowa Western

Defensive Player of the Year: AJ Singer, Iowa Western

Coach of the Year: Chris Piperno, Southwestern