Chambana Sun

Senior outfielder Connor Milton has been recognized as the Big Ten Player of the Week, as announced by the conference. Milton delivered an impressive performance during the Illinois series sweep against Northwestern, achieving a .750 batting average with nine hits in 12 at-bats. His contributions included five runs scored, two doubles, three home runs, and eight RBIs. Additionally, he maintained a .750 on-base percentage and achieved a slugging percentage of 1.667.

Milton's standout week began on Friday with a 2-for-3 performance that included an RBI. On Saturday, he had a career-best game, going 4-for-4 with three runs scored, a double, two home runs, and four RBIs. This game saw him set personal records for hits, runs, home runs, RBIs, and total bases with 11. In Sunday's finale of the series against Northwestern, Milton continued his strong play by going 3-for-5 with two runs scored, a double, one home run, and three RBIs. This marked his first time hitting home runs in consecutive games and extended his hitting streak to three games—a career-long achievement for him. He also recorded three consecutive multi-hit games for the first time in his career.

This is Milton's first time receiving conference weekly honors during his tenure with Illinois. He joins teammates Jacob Schroeder and Drake Westcott as recipients of this accolade this season. The last occurrence of three different Illinois players earning Big Ten Player of the Week honors in one season was in 2018.