Sophomore Ryan Cermak was named Missouri Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Year and First-Team All-MVC to headline a group of seven Illinois State baseball student-athletes honored by the conference, as announced Tuesday morning.
Cermak is the third player in MVC history to earn a specialty award in back-to-back seasons (Mike Pelfrey, 2004-05; Joe Carter, 1980-81) and the first earn Defensive Player of the Year twice.
Illinois State's seven players recognized is tied for second in the conference behind Evansville's eight.
Cermak was First-Team All-MVC, junior Jared Hart was named Second-Team All-MVC while seniors Nick Gile and Colin Wyman and junior Derek Salata were named Honorable Mention All-MVC. Cermak, sophomore Greg Nichols, and sophomore Luke Cheng were All-Defensive Team as Illinois State's three All-Defensive Team honorees were tied for the MVC-high.
Cermak's 157 putouts are 16 more than any other MVC outfielder and has not made an error. Cermak is hitting a team-best .339 and has scored a team-high 45 runs. He ranks second in the conference with 19 home runs and is the only Redbird since 1999 to hit at least 15 home runs in a season.
Hart leads the MVC in ERA at 2.04 (next closest is Matthew Steidl at 2.54).
Gile has smacked nine home runs while recording 30 RBIs and a team-high 14 doubles.
