Chambana Sun

Three members of the University of Illinois Fighting Illini baseball team have been recognized with All-Big Ten honors, as announced by the conference on Tuesday. Vytas Valincius earned a spot on the Second Team, while Zach Bates and Jacob Schroeder were named to the Third Team. Additionally, Schroeder was selected for the Big Ten All-Defensive Team.

Payton Hutchings received recognition as Illinois' Sportsmanship Award honoree.

Valincius, an outfielder from Lockport, Illinois, leads his team in batting average and doubles. He posted a .354 batting average this season and has achieved several multi-hit games. "This is the first conference honor of Valincius' career," stated the announcement.

Zach Bates, a relief pitcher from Columbia, Missouri, also received his first conference honor. He recorded a 2.84 ERA over 25.1 innings pitched this season with eight saves. Bates showed strong performances throughout the season, including a stretch where he allowed only one earned run over 15.1 innings.

Jacob Schroeder, who was previously named to the All-Big Ten First Team in 2024, added another accolade to his resume with this year's Third Team selection and inclusion in the All-Defensive Team as catcher. The Chicago native hit ten home runs this season and reached significant career milestones in RBIs.

The Big Ten Baseball Awards also highlighted other notable players across various teams: Roch Cholowsky from UCLA was named Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year; Joseph Dzierwa from Michigan State took Pitcher of the Year; Jake Hanley from Indiana was awarded Freshman of the Year; and Mark Wasikowski from Oregon received Coach of the Year honors.