The Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) announced its all-conference baseball teams on Tuesday evening. Three Prairie Stars were named to the First Team: Ivan Dahlberg, Brant Vanaman, and Mark Kattula. Adam Wibbenmeyer was selected as a member of the honorable mention squad.
Ivan Dahlberg, So., C
The sophomore catcher earns his first career All-GLVC honors as he was featured on the First Team. Dahlberg played in 46 games this season, hitting .326 with 45 hits, and team-leading 50 RBIs, 49 runs scored, and 13 home runs. He was in the top-10 in the GLVC in slugging percentage (.688), on base percentage (.503), OPS (1.191), and walks (41). The everyday catcher only made two errors on the season for a fielding percentage of .994.
Dahlberg's best performance of the season came after the home series against Missouri S&T where he earned his first career Player of the Week Award. In the series, Ivan batted .533 (8-for-15) with a .619 on-base percentage in four games. He ripped three doubles and three home runs for a 1.333 slugging percentage. He also drove in 10 runs and scored 11 during the series. His weekend was highlighted by his performance in the final game of the series, going 3-for-4 with two home runs and six RBIs.
Dahlberg was also the team's James R. Spalding Sportsmanship Honoree. He is now eligible to become one of the two Spalding Sportsmanship Award winners from UIS, which will be announced in May.
Brant Vanaman, R-Jr., OF
The redshirt junior outfielder earns his second career All-GLVC honors after being named to the Second Team in 2022. Vanaman played and started in 43 games this season, hitting .395 with 64 hits, 49 RBIs, 47 runs scored, 10 home runs, and a team-leading 4 triples. He appeared in the top-10 in the GLVC in batting average (.395), slugging percentage (.710), OPS (1.181), and triples (4). He had 48 putouts and 1 assist with a 1.000 fielding percentage.
Vanaman's best performance of the season came against Davenport where he earned his first career Player of the Week Award. In the series Brant batted .471 (8-for-17) with a .550 on-base percentage in the four games. He had three home runs, two doubles, and one triple for a 1.235 slugging percentage. He drove in 14 runs and scored 7 of his own. In Game One of the series, Vanaman hit for the first ever cycle in UIS history, going 4-for-5 with 7 RBIs.
Mark Kattula, R-Jr., DH
The redshirt junior designated hitter earns his first career All-GLVC honors after joining the Prairie Stars as a transfer from Heartland. Kattula played in 48 games this season, hitting .397 with 73 hits, 46 RBIs, 41 runs scored, 18 doubles, and 7 home runs. He led the Prairie Stars in batting average, hits, and doubles. Kattula also appeared in the top-10 in the GLVC in batting average (.397), hits (73), and doubles (18).
Kattula's best performance of the season came at the MSSU Lion Classic in February where he earned his first career Player of the Week Award. In the three games, Mark batted .636 (7-for-11) with a .643 on-base percentage in three games. He hit three doubles and two home runs for a 1.455 slugging percentage. In the three games he drove in 10 runs and scored 5 himself. Against MSU - Mankato he went 3-for-4 with a double, home run, and five RBIs.
Adam Wibbenmeyer, Jr., RP
The redshirt junior relief pitcher earns his first career All-GLVC recognition after joining the Prairie Stars as a transfer from Western Kentucky. Wibbenmeyer received honorable mention after appearing in 18 games during the season, finishing with a 2-2 record, 2 saves, and 6.75 ERA. In his 18 games, Adam pitched 36.0 innings while striking out 37 batters.
Wibbenmeyer went 2.0 innings or more in relief on nine separate occasions. He earned his first win of the season against Rockhurst where he pitched 4.0 innings while only giving up 3 hits and 1 earned run. Both of his saves came from 2.0 innings or more, against Davenport and Trevecca Nazarene.
A complete list of the 2024 All-GLVC teams and postseason honorees can be found below.
GLVC PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Alex Epp, Sr., SS, William Jewell #
GLVC PITCHER OF THE YEAR: Griffin Kirn, R-Jr., LHP, Quincy
GLVC FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: David Broughton, 3B, Quincy
GLVC COACH OF THE YEAR: Al Ready, Indianapolis
| FIRST TEAM Austin Simpson, R-Jr., 1B, QU Andrew Buescher, Jr., 2B, UMSL Mikey Kocen, Jr., 3B, LEWIS Alex Epp, Sr., SS, WJC # Ivan Dahlberg, So., C, UIS Brant Vanaman, R-Jr., OF, UIS Braedon Stoakes, Jr., OF, UMSL Adonis Forte, Jr., OF, RU Evan Jilbert, Jr., OF, WJC Jake Wilcox, Sr., OF, WJC Dustin Dupont, Sr., UT, QU Michael Laudando, Jr., UT, RU Mark Kattula, R-Jr., DH, UIS Cody Bahl, Jr., SP, DU Diego Cardenas, R-So., SP, UINDY Jacob Kroeger, Sr., SP, MU Dylan Mollett, Sr., SP, S&T Griffin Kirn, R-Jr., SP, QU E.J. White, Gr., RP, UINDY Jake Canent, Sr., RP, RU # Unanimous Selection |
SECOND TEAM Chris McDevitt, Jr., 1B, LEWIS Thomas Fox, Sr., 2B, LEWIS Cole Hampton, Jr., 3B, UINDY David Broughton, 3B, QU Jack Zebig, So., SS, MU Dustin Dupont, Sr., C, QU Caleb Vaughn, Sr., OF, UINDY Michael Gould, Sr., OF, MU Brandon Roth, R-Jr., OF, MCK Jack Bell, Jr., OF, S&T Kenneth Sugi, Jr., OF, S&T Gunner Wicklund, Jr., UT, UIU Jordan Phillips, R-Jr., UT, WJC Barrett Rose, Jr., DH, UMSL Cade Waits, Sr., SP, DU Michael Sclafani, Sr., SP, LEWIS Zach Haygood, Jr., SP, UMSL Michael Laudando, Jr., SP, RU Breven Yarbro, R-Jr., SP, WJC Jackson Bruno, Fr., RP, LEWIS Trent Anderson, Sr., RP, UMSL * Extra Member Due to Tie |
HONORABLE MENTION Max Elmer, Sr., OF, DU Connor Bain, So., OF, DU Adam Wibbenmeyer, Jr., RP, UIS Easton Good, Jr., SS, UINDY George Bilecki, So., OF, LEWIS Noah Arras, Sr., SP, MU Matt Schuler, Sr., DH, MU Elias Stevens, Gr., C, MU Kobe Essien, Sr., SP, QU Will Brant, Jr., UT, WJC |
GLVC JAMES R. SPALDING SPORTSMANSHIP HONOREES
Brock Schaffitzel, DU
Ivan Dalhberg, UIS
Cole Hampton, UINDY
Dru Jasnoch, LEWIS
Ben Prywitch, MU
Kyle Czarnecki, MCK
Sam Monroe, S&T
Trent Anderson, UMSL
Dustin Dupont, QU
Drew Cornelison, RU
Ezekiel Skinner, SBU
Luke Turner, TSU
Brock Zimmer, UIU
Dawson Tweet, WJC
GLVC JAMES R. SPALDING SPORTSMANSHIP TEAM AWARD
Southwest Baptist