• Illinois All-Time Big Ten Awards
• Illinois All-Time All-Big Ten

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Illinois starting pitcher Cody Sedlock was named Big Ten Pitcher of the Year, the conference office announced Tuesday. Sedlock, the Big Ten leader in strikeouts and innings pitched, becomes the fifth Fighting Illini pitcher in history to earn the award.

Senior catcher Jason Goldstein was named to the All-Big Ten third team, his third straight All-Big Ten selection, pitcher Cole Bellair earned All-Freshman Team recognition and senior reliever J.D. Nielsen was Illinois' Sportsmanship Award honoree.
 

Cody Sedlock
Big Ten Pitcher of the Year
All-Big Ten first team starting pitcher
Sedlock joins 2015 winner Tyler Jay to give Illinois back-to-back Big Ten Pitchers of the Year for the second time in program history. Jason Anderson won in 2000, followed by Drew Dickinson, who is now the Illini's pitching coach, in 2001. Brett Weber was the first Illinois player to be named Pitcher of the Year in 1998.

Sedlock, one of four unanimous first team selections, was the only pitcher in the conference to finish in the top five of innings (1st, 64.2), strikeouts (1st, 75), ERA (3rd, 1.67) and opponent batting average (3rd, .188) during conference games. He finished the year with a 5-3 record, 2.49 ERA and a program-record 116 strikeouts in 101.1 innings.

The junior right-hander from Sherrard, Illinois, put together one of the best end-of-season runs in Illinois history over his last five starts. He averaged 8.9 innings per start with a 1.01 ERA against five Big Ten opponents on his way to the Illini's team record for innings pitched during a Big Ten season.

Sedlock set career bests of 10.2 innings pitched and 14 strikeouts, also an Illinois Field record, against Ohio State on April 22. The outing earned Sedlock Illinois' first ever National Pitcher of the Week award. He followed that spectacular performance by going 9.0+ innings in three of his next four starts. Sedlock was the only pitcher in the nation to pitch into the 10th inning on two occasions in 2016.

The plant biotechnology major has one year of eligibility left, but is expected to be a high pick in the upcoming MLB Draft. Many publications are predicting Sedlock will be a first-round selection on June 9.
 

Jason Goldstein
All-Big Ten third team catcher
Goldstein led the Illini in batting average (.312), on-base percentage (.402) and RBIs (29), while also handling the Illinois pitching staff behind the plate. He was one of the most consistent hitters, as his average never dropped below .300 after the first game of the season.

Goldstein, a 17th round pick of the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2015, also excelled in the classroom during his four years at Illinois. He earned a degree in industrial engineering and is one of 10 finalists for the prestigious Senior Class Award.

Goldstein is the second catcher in Illini history to earn three All-Big Ten honors. Aaron Nieckula earned All-Big Ten distinctions while playing the position from 1996-98.
 

Cole Bellair
All-Freshman Team starting pitcher
Bellair was Illinois' first freshman to start a Big Ten game in 2013, when he started March 26 against Penn State and allowed one run in 8.0 innings. The right-hander from Lockport, Illinois, pitched in 16 games, including nine starts, and went 2-3 with a 3.34 ERA. Bellair was third on the team in ERA (3.34), fourth in innings (59.1), fourth in strikeouts (35) and fourth in batting average against (.241).

Bellair is Illinois' first pitcher on the All-Freshman Team since Kevin Duchene in 2013.

J.D. Nielsen
Sportsmanship Award nominee
Nielsen was a senior leader for the Illini and one of the most reliable options out of the bullpen. The Winterset, Iowa, native went 5-1 with a 3.60 ERA in 29 games in 2016. Nielsen is third in Illinois history in career apperances with 79. A student-athlete from each institution is chosen for Sportsmanship Award nomination. They are individuals who have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior and have demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting.

BIG TEN AWARDS

PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Matt Fiedler, Minnesota

PITCHER OF THE YEAR
Cody Sedlock, Illinois

FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Chad Luensmann, Nebraska

COACH OF THE YEAR
JOHN ANDERSON, Minnesota

ALL-BIG TEN FIRST TEAM
C – AUSTIN ATHMANN, Minnesota
1B – Scott Schreiber, Nebraska
2B – Dan Durkin, Michigan State
2B – Connor Schaefbauer, Minnesota
SS – Nick Roscetti, Iowa
3B – Nick Sergakis, Ohio State
OF – Joel Booker, Iowa
OF – CODY BRUDER, Michigan
OF – Ronnie Dawson, Ohio State
DH – MATT FIEDLER, Minnesota
SP – CODY SEDLOCK, Illinois
SP – Kyle Hart, Indiana
SP – Tanner Tully, Ohio State
RP – Dakota Mekkes, Michigan State

ALL-BIG TEN SECOND TEAM
C – RJ Devish, Rutgers
1B – Jordan Zimmerman, Michigan State
SS – Steven Reveles, Nebraska
3B – Micah Coffey, Minnesota
OF – Dan Motl, Minnesota
OF – Ryan Boldt, Nebraska
OF – Greg Guers, Penn State
DH – Carmen Benedetti, Michigan
SP – Brett Adcock, Michigan
SP – Cam Vieaux, Michigan State
SP – Dalton Sawyer, Minnesota
RP – Chad Luensmann, Nebraska

ALL-BIG TEN THIRD TEAM
C – Harrison Wenson, Michigan
C – Jason Goldstein, Illinois
1B – Kyle Wood, Purdue
2B – Nick Dunn, Maryland
SS – Brian Wilhite, Indiana
3B – Jake Bivens, Michigan
OF – Craig Dedelow, Indiana
OF – Brandon Hughes, Michigan State
OF – Jake Meyers, Nebraska
DH – Ben Miller, Nebraska
SP – Taylor Bloom, Maryland
SP – Brian Shaffer, Maryland
SP – Howie Brey, Rutgers
RP – Jack Anderson, Penn State

ALL-BIG TEN FRESHMAN TEAM
C – Ryan Fineman, Indiana
1B – WILLIE BURGER, Penn State
2B – Nick Dunn, Maryland
SS – Riley Smith, Minnesota
3B – LUKE MILLER, Indiana
OF – Marty Costes, Maryland
OF – Marty Bechina, Michigan State
OF – Jawuan Harris, Rutgers
DH – Scotty Bradley, Indiana
SP – Cole Bellair, Illinois
SP – MATT WALDRON, Nebraska
SP – Justin Hagenman, Penn State
RP – CHAD LUENSMANN, Nebraska

SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD NOMINEES
J.D. Nielsen, Illinois
Austin Cangelosi, Indiana
Jimmy Frankos, Iowa
Anthony Papio, Maryland
Cody Bruder, Michigan
Justin Hovis, Michigan State
Conner Schaefbauer, Minnesota
Taylor Fish, Nebraska
Jake Stolley, Northwestern
Nick Sergakis, Ohio State
Alex Malinsky, Penn State
Kyle Johnson, Purdue
RJ Devish, Rutgers