GLIAC Earns 15 D2CCA All-Region Baseball Honorees

GLIAC Earns 15 D2CCA All-Region Baseball Honorees

ROLLA, Mo. – Ohio Dominican's Justin Childers and Northwood's Tyler Jandron headline the 2017 D2CCA Baseball All-Midwest Region First Team. They were named the Midwest Region Player and Pitcher of the Year, respectively, as selected by the region's sports information directors.

Fifteen Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) baseball student-athletes were named to the D2CCA All-Midwest Region teams, including ten first-team selections.

2017 D2CCA Baseball All-Midwest Region Teams
First Team
Name School Yr. Position Hometown
Austin Szink Walsh Sr. Catcher Canton, Ohio
Justin Childers Ohio Dominican Jr. First Base Pickerington, Ohio
Brad Baldwin Wayne State Jr. Second Base Troy, Mich.
David Vinsky Northwood Fr. Outfield Farmington Hills, Mich.
Lee Sponseller Ohio Dominican Jr. Outfield Mason, Ohio
Steven Ring Hillsdale So. Utility (Non-P) Northville, Mich.
Ethan Wiskur Hillsdale Sr. Designated Hitter Clio, Mich.
Tyler Jandron Northwood Jr. Starting Pitcher Negaunee, Mich.
Matt Iosue Walsh Sr. Starting Pitcher Mayfield, Ohio
Matt Williams Grand Valley State Sr. Relief Pitcher Geneva, Ill.
Second Team
Name School Yr. Position Hometown
Connor Foley Northwood Sr. Outfield Midland, Mich.
Seth Johnson Grand Valley State Jr. Outfield Gobles, Mich.
Ryan Arnold Grand Valley State Jr. Starting Pitcher Springfield, Ill.
Chris Horvath Wayne State Sr. Starting Pitcher Lakeshore, Ont.
Ryan McSweeney Walsh Sr. Relief Pitcher Seven Hills, Ohio


Midwest Region Player of the Year – Justin Childers, Jr., First Base, Ohio Dominican

Midwest Region Pitcher of the Year – Tyler Jandron, Jr., Starting Pitcher, Northwood

Childers, a junior, first baseman from Pickerington, Ohio, was the Player of the Year in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. He batted .451 with 14 home runs, 17 doubles, five triples, 60 RBIs, 62 runs scored and 18 stolen bases while slugging .846 with a .526 on-base percentage. Childers is second in the nation in slugging percentage and ranks third in batting average, ninth in OBP and 20th in runs scored. Childers also ranks in the top 30 nationally in total bases (13th), RBIs (24th), triples (28th) and hits (29th). 

Jandron, a starting pitcher for the Timberwolves from Negaunee, Mich., has made 13 appearances on the mound this season and was the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference's Pitcher of the Year. He is 11-1 with a 2.31 earned run average in 78 innings pitched and has struck out 88 batters while holding the opposition to a .248 batting average. Jandron finished the year earning the GLIAC pitching "triple crown," leading the conference in wins (11), ERA (2.31) and strikeouts (88).

Joining Childers and Jandron on the first team are Hillsdale's Steven Ring (Utility Non-Pitcher) and Ethan Wiskur (DH); Malone's Keenan Locke (OF) and Roscoe Blackburn (SP); Walsh's Austin Szink (C) and Matt Iosue (SP); Drury's Ryan Colombo (Utlity-Pitcher); Illinois Springfield's Cole Taylor (SS); Grand Valley's Matt Williams (RP); Northwood's David Vinsky (OF); Ohio Dominican's Lee Sponseller (OF); Saint Joseph's Josh Handzik (3B); Southern Indiana's Lucas Barnett (SP) and Wayne State's Brad Baldwin (2B).

The second team is comprised of Bellarmine's Eddie Mathis (SP) and Alex Phillips (Utility-Pitcher); Grand Valley's Ryan Arnold (SP) and Seth Johnson (OF); Quincy's Troy Wehde (DH) and Jake Walters (2B); Illinois Springfield's Michael Rothmund (1B); Kentucky Wesleyan's Josh Galvan (Utility Non-Pitcher); Malone's Matt Noel (C); Northwood's Connor Foley (OF); Rockhurst's Brett Marr (SS); Southern Indiana's Drake McNamara (OF); Truman State's Jason Priest (3B); Trevecca Nazarene's Jesse Peters (SP); Walsh's Ryan McSweeney (RP); and Wayne State's Chris Horvath (SP).

All 16 first-team All-Region selections will now be placed on the national ballot for All-America Consideration. The All-America teams are scheduled to be released on Friday, May 26. The complete D2CCA All-Midwest Region teams can be found on the following page.

The Division II Conference Commissioners Association encourages and promotes Division II athletics and high standards of sportsmanship as important elements of higher education. The CCA is a key communications link among the conferences as they discuss views, policies and regulations that impact Division II intercollegiate athletics and works closely with the NCAA as a communications channel to NCAA Division II member colleges and universities.