CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Four members of the No. 20 Illinois Baseball team were selected to the All-Big Ten First Team, the Big Ten Conference announced Tuesday. Garrett Acton, Andy Fisher, Michael Massey and Zac Taylor were all honored as first-team selections, tied for the fourth-most Illini on the first team since the All-Big Ten teams began in 1949.
Jack Yalowitz was a third-team pick, Cam McDonald made the All-Freshman Team and David Craan was selected as Illinois' Sportsmanship Award honoree.
All-Big Ten First Team
2B Michael Massey, All-Big Ten First Team
.323/.383/.478, 14 2B, 3B, 5 HR, 26 RBI
Massey has had a consistent climb to All-Big Ten first team honors after being voted to the second team as a sophomore and third team as a freshman. Last year's Gold Glove Award winner for second base, Massey has played error-free in 21 games defensively, while splitting time at second base and DH due to an injury in the early part of the season. Massey hit .323 with five homers and 26 RBIs, ranked sixth in the Big Ten in hits (65), eighth in batting average and leads Big Ten second basemen in nearly every statistical category.
CF Zac Taylor, All-Big Ten First Team
.344/.419/.662, 12 2B, 3 3B, 10 HR, 28 RBI, 20-23 SB
Taylor has had a huge season despite missing 14 games with an injury. He has not appeared enough to rank on the Big Ten's batting average chart (would be fourth), yet he led the Big Ten with 20 steals and hit 10 homers. Taylor became the first player in Illinois history with 10+ home runs and 10+ stolen bases in back-to-back seasons.
LHP Andy Fisher, All-Big Ten First Team
7-1, 2.65 ERA, 88.1 IP, 85 SO
Fisher has been one of the most consistent pitchers in the Big Ten all season with a 7-1 record and 2.65 ERA. The left hander ranks fourth in the Big Ten in batting average against (.205), fourth in innings (88.1), sixth in ERA (2.65) and eighth in strikeouts (85). Fisher's best outing came against eventual Big Ten regular season champion Indiana, when he threw eight shutout innings with nine strikeouts to earn National Pitcher of the Week honors.
RHP Garrett Acton, All-Big Ten First Team
2-2, 19 SV, 1.71 ERA, 31.2 IP, 33 SO
Acton set the Illinois and Big Ten record for saves in a season with 19, a mark that also leads the nation. He has allowed only 10 hits in 31 2/3 innings for a .105 batting average against. Nearly 70% of Acton's appearances have been saves and over half of Illinois' wins have been saved by Acton.
All-Big Ten Third Team
RF Jack Yalowitz, All-Big Ten Third Team
.301/.378/.459, 14 2B, 3B, 5 HR, 30 RBI
Yalowitz earned his second All-Big Ten honor after being a first teamer as a sophomore in 2017. The senior is one of four Illini batting over .300 and is tied for the team lead in doubles with 14. Yalowitz has played in over 200 games in four years for Illinois and has 22 career homers and 126 RBIs. He also has 20 career assists from the outfield, including six this season.
All-Big Ten Freshman Team
LF Cam McDonald, All-Big Ten Freshman Team
.282/.336/.325, 4 2B, 3B, HR, 33 RBI
McDonald leads Illinois in RBIs with 33 as the only player on the team to start every game this season. He has consistently hit in the middle of Illinois' order and ranks third in hits (59), fourth in runs (28) and fifth in average (.282) on the team.
Sportsmanship Award
David Craan
Big Ten Awards
Player of the Year: Jordan Brewer, Michigan
Pitcher of the Year: Andrew Saalfrank, Indiana
Freshman of the Year: Maxwell Costes, Maryland
Coach of the Year: Jeff Mercer, Indiana
All-Big Ten First Team
C – Eli Wilson, Minnesota
1B – Maxwell Costes, Maryland
2B – Michael Massey, Illinois
SS – Jack Dunn, Northwestern
3B – Alex Erro, Northwestern
OF – Zac Taylor, Illinois
OF – Jordan Brewer, Michigan
OF – Dominic Canzone, Ohio State
SP – Andy Fisher, Illinois
SP – Andrew Saalfrank, Indiana
SP – Jeff Criswell, Michigan
RP – Garrett Acton, Illinois
DH – Jordan Nwogu, Michigan
At-Large – Matt Lloyd, Indiana
All-Big Ten Second Team
C – Dillon Dingler, Ohio State
1B – Scotty Bradley, Indiana
2B – Royce Ando, Michigan State
SS – Jack Blomgren, Michigan
3B – Cole Barr, Indiana
OF – Randy Bednar, Maryland
OF – Matt Gorski, Indiana
OF – Aaron Palensky, Nebraska
SP – Max Meyer, Minnesota
SP – Dante Biasi, Penn State
SP – Tevin Murray, Rutgers
RP – Grant Leonard, Iowa
DH – Cam Chick, Nebraska
At-Large – Brady Cherry, Ohio State
All-Big Ten Third Team
C – Joe Donovan, Michigan
1B – Jimmy Kerr, Michigan
2B – Shawn Goosenberg, Northwestern
SS – AJ Lee, Maryland
3B – Taylor Wright, Maryland
OF – Jack Yalowitz, Illinois
OF – Elijah Dunham, Indiana
OF – Jesse Franklin, Michigan
SP – Hunter Parsons, Maryland
SP – Karl Kauffmann, Michigan
SP – Seth Lonsway, Ohio State
RP – Bo Hofstra, Purdue
DH – Michael Pineiro, Maryland
At-Large – Cole McKenzie, Purdue
All-Big Ten Freshman Team
C – Michael Trautwein, Northwestern
1B – Maxwell Costes, Maryland
2B – Shawn Goosenberg, Northwestern
SS – Zach Dezenzo, Ohio State
3B – Justin Williams, Penn State
OF – Cam McDonald, Illinois
OF – Grant Richardson, Indiana
OF – Zaid Walker, Michigan State
SP – Michael Doherty, Northwestern
SP – Garrett Burhenn, Ohio State
SP – Seth Lonsway, Ohio State
RP – Willie Weiss, Michigan
DH – Cam Chick, Nebraska
At-Large – Michael Pineiro, Maryland
Sportsmanship Award Honorees
David Craan, Illinois
Drew Ashley, Indiana
Mitchell Boe, Iowa
Taylor Wright, Maryland
Jimmy Kerr, Michigan
Marty Bechina, Michigan State
Jeff Fasching, Minnesota
Joe Acker, Nebraska
Danny Katz, Northwestern
Ridge Winand, Ohio State
Blake Hodgens, Penn State
Bryce Bonner, Purdue
Tyler McNamara, Rutgers
Most Illinois First Team Honorees
6 - 2015
6 - 1998
5 - 2005
4 - 2019
4 - 1996
