ROSEMONT, Ill. – Six Illini earned All-Big Ten selections and Dan Hartleb was named Big Ten Coach of the Year, the conference announced Tuesday.
Camden Janik and Jacob Schroeder were named to the First Team, Brody Harding and Ryan Moerman were named to the Second Team, while Drake Westcott and Cameron Chee-Aloy were named to the Third Team. Chee-Aloy was also named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team.
Connor Milton was selected as Illinois' Sportsmanship Award honoree.
The six All-Big Ten selections are the program's most since 10 were selected in 2015. Janik and Schroeder are also the first Illini since 2021 to be named to the All-Big Ten First Team. Chee-Aloy also becomes the first Illini named to the All-Freshman Team since 2021.
Illinois now has 86 First Team selections in program history, with Hartleb coaching 24 of those players.
Hartleb earns his second Coach of the Year award and his first since 2015. He matches his mentor, Itch Jones, for the most in program history.
ALL-BIG TEN FIRST TEAM
Camden Janik
.370/.460/.560, 42 R, 15 2B, 1 3B, 7 HR, 47 RBI, 28 BB
This is the first conference honor of Janik's career. The Wauconda, Ill., native leads the Illini in average, hits (74), doubles and on-base percentage. Janik currently ranks tied-for-sixth among conference batters in average and is also the second-toughest player to strike out in the entire country. The junior leads the team with 23 multi-hit performances, posting 13 two-hit games and nine three-hit games, both of which also lead the squad. Janik has also helped shut down opponents' running games, cutting down eight baserunners in 13 stolen-base attempts (61.5%). Janik's grand slam in the seventh inning on May 17 at Purdue ended up being the decisive swing in the contest, leading Illinois to its first conference title since 2015. Janik is one of four Illini to play in all 50 games this season.
Jacob Schroeder
.315/.430/.650, 42 R, 6 2B, 14 HR, 41 RBI, 21 BB
This is the first conference honor of Schroeder's career. The Chicago native ranks fourth in slugging, seventh in OPS (1.081) and tied-for-eighth in home runs in the Big Ten. Schroeder was named Big Ten Player of the Week twice this season, the first of which was earned on April 1 after compiling a slash line of .533/.632/1.333, along with a 1.964 OPS. He launched three home runs (including a grand slam), recorded nine RBI and crossed the plate nine times. He earned the honor again on April 15 after going .533 (8-for-15) with four home runs and 11 RBI. He homered three times and collected eight RBI in a 21-11 win over Northern Illinois on April 14. The redshirt senior has, like Janik, also caught eight baserunners attempting to steal.
ALL-BIG TEN SECOND TEAM
Brody Harding
.309/.387/.516, 43 R, 9 2B, 10 HR, 37 RBI, 22 BB
This is the first conference honor of Harding's career. The Moline, Ill., native put together the best season of his Illini career, setting career-best marks in average, runs, hits (58), RBI, on-base percentage and slugging. Harding tallied the first multi-homer game of his career on March 30 vs. Penn State in the first game of the doubleheader, helping Illinois to a 17-6 win. His second home run of the contest was a three-run, walk-off blast, the first such hit of his career. Harding collected a career-high five RBI on May 5 vs. Ohio State and recently matched a career high with four hits on May 18 at Purdue. One of three Illini to start all 50 games this season, Harding committed just two errors in 210 total chances at second base.
Ryan Moerman
.265/.381/.612, 45 R, 5 2B, 18 HR, 52 RBI, 18 BB
This is the second conference honor of Moerman's career after he was also named All-Big Ten Second Team in 2023. The Lockport, Ill., native leads the Illini in home runs and RBI, and his 18 round-trippers are the most in the Big Ten. He is also just the seventh player in program history to slug at least 18 home runs in a single season. Moerman has three multi-homer games on the season, including a three-homer, nine-RBI performance on April 30 vs. No. 24 Indiana State. The junior fell just one RBI shy of matching the program record while setting a new career-best mark with four hits. Moerman closed out the regular season in style, slugging a go-ahead home run in each game of the Illini's sweep of Purdue to secure an outright Big Ten championship. Moerman was also tied for the team lead in outfield assists with three, all coming in right field.
ALL-BIG TEN THIRD TEAM
Cameron Chee-Aloy
.333/.441/.517, 34 R, 6 2B, 2 3B, 4 HR, 22 RBI, 17 RBI
This is the first conference honor of Chee-Aloy's career. The Toronto native began his college career with an eight-game hitting streak, slugging three home runs during the Illini's first four games in Winston-Salem, N.C. Chee-Aloy currently has a 15-game hitting streak and has also reached base safely in 19 straight games, including 30 of 31 overall. The freshman collected the first walk-off hit of his career on March 15 vs. Southern Indiana, which gave the Illini a 2-1 victory.
Drake Westcott
.280/.419/.586, 49 R, 9 2B, 16 HR, 49 RBI, 44 BB
This is the first conference honor of Westcott's career. The Edwardsville, Ill., native leads the Illini in walks, a tally that also ranks fourth in the Big Ten. His 16 home runs rank second on the team and are tied-for-third among Big Ten batters. Westcott was named Big Ten Player of the Week twice this season, which he first earned on March 4 after batting .462 (6-for-13) while compiling seven RBI and a .667 on-base percentage. He crushed three home runs, slugged 1.231 and posted a 1.908 OPS. He earned the honor again on March 25, batting .400 (6-for-15) with a home run and six RBI, compiling a slash of .400/.600/.800 and a 1.400 OPS as Illinois took its first series at Indiana since the 2008 season. In the Illini's series finale at Purdue on May 18, the redshirt junior homered twice in the sixth inning, becoming the first player in program history to perform the feat since 2005.
BIG TEN ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM
Cameron Chee-Aloy
.333/.441/.517, 34 R, 6 2B, 2 3B, 4 HR, 22 RBI, 17 RBI
This is the first conference honor of Chee-Aloy's career. The Toronto native began his college career with an eight-game hitting streak, slugging three home runs during the Illini's first four games in Winston-Salem, N.C. Chee-Aloy currently has a 15-game hitting streak and has also reached base safely in 19 straight games, including 30 of 31 overall. The freshman collected the first walk-off hit of his career on March 15 vs. Southern Indiana, which gave the Illini a 2-1 victory.
BIG TEN COACH OF THE YEAR
Dan Hartleb
Leading Illinois to an outright Big Ten championship for the first time since 2015, Hartleb was named Big Ten Coach of the Year for the second time in his career. The Fighting Illini, who were not picked to finish in the top six in the conference's preseason poll, captured the 31st Big Ten title in program history, which is second-most all time. The winningest head coach in program history and D1Baseball's Big Ten Coach of Decade for the 2010s guided the Illini to a 33-17 record during the regular season, which included a 20-3 record at Illinois Field. The 33 wins are the most by Illinois since 2019, and the Illini won 20 games at home for the first time since 2015.
2024 BIG TEN BASEBALL AWARDS
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Josh Kuroda-Grauer, Jr., INF, Rutgers
PITCHER OF THE YEAR
Brett Sears, Sr., RHP, Nebraska
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Luke Gaffney, Fr., C/1B, Purdue
COACH OF THE YEAR
Dan Hartleb, Illinois
ALL-BIG TEN FIRST TEAM
SP - Brody Brecht - Iowa
SP - Brett Sears - Nebraska
SP - Connor Wietgrefe - Minnesota
RP - Jacob Denner - Michigan
C - Camden Janik - Illinois
1B - Eddie Hacopian - Maryland
2B - Sam Hojnar - Maryland
SS - Josh Kuroda-Grauer - Rutgers
3B - Raider Tello - Iowa
OF - Devin Daylor - Indiana
OF - Stephen Hrustich - Michigan
OF - Jack Frank - Michigan State
DH - Jacob Schroeder - Illinois
UTL - Mitch Voit - Michigan
ALL-BIG TEN SECOND TEAM
SP - Connor Foley - Indiana
SP - Joseph Dzierwa - Michigan State
SP - Mason McConnaughey - Nebraska
RP - Logan Berrier - Maryland
C - J.T. Marr - Penn State
1B - Luke Gaffney - Purdue
2B - Brody Harding - Illinois
SS - Henry Kaczmar - Ohio State
3B - Chris Hacopian - Maryland
OF - Ryan Moerman - Illinois
OF - Josh Fitzgerald - Minnesota
OF - Adam Cecere - Penn State
DH - Tyler Stone - Nebraska
UTL - Joey Brenczewski - Indiana
ALL-BIG TEN THIRD TEAM
SP - Kurt Barr - Michigan
SP - Jordan Morales - Purdue
SP - Justin Sinibaldi - Rutgers
RP - Blaine Wynk - Ohio State
C - Connor Caskenette - Purdue
1B - Drake Westcott - Illinois
2B - Mack Timbrook - Michigan
SS - Tyler Cerny - Indiana
3B - Bryce Molinaro - Penn State
OF - Andy Nelson - Iowa
OF - Case Sanderson - Nebraska
OF - Mike Bolton Jr. - Purdue
DH - Reese Moore - Iowa
UTL - Cameron Chee-Aloy - Illinois
BIG TEN ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM
SP - Gavin DeVooght - Ohio State
SP - Mason Howart - Penn State
SP - Cole Van Assen - Purdue
RP - Jacob Vogel - Indiana
C - Reese Moore - Iowa
1B - Luke Gaffney - Purdue
2B - Jasen Oliver - Indiana
SS - Jack Spainer - Minnesota
3B - Chris Hacopian - Maryland
OF - Cameron Chee-Aloy - Illinois
OF - Case Sanderson - Nebraska
OF - Jackson Freeman - Northwestern
DH - Collin Priest - Michigan
UTL - Joey Brenczewski - Indiana
BIG TEN SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD
Connor Milton - Illinois
Jake Stadler - Indiana
Michael Seegers - Iowa
Jacob Orr - Maryland
Dylan Stanton - Michigan
Dillon Kark - Michigan State
Boston Merila - Minnesota
Drew Christo - Nebraska
Matt McClure - Northwestern
Mitchell Okuley - Ohio State
C.J. Pittaro - Penn State
Thomas Green - Purdue
Sonny Fauci - Rutgers
