The Missouri Valley Conference revealed its 2026 baseball all-conference teams and specialty award winners on Tuesday, spotlighting the league’s top performers from across its member institutions.
Award Winners Overview
Indiana State’s Carter Beck was crowned the Joe Carter Player of the Year, becoming only the second Sycamore in program history to claim the honor, while his teammate Andrew Evans earned the MVC Pitcher of the Year award, marking the first Saluki to receive that distinction since the accolade’s inception in 1987.
UIC’s Sean McDermott was voted the Dan Callahan Coach of the Year after guiding the Flames to their first regular-season title since joining The Valley, a feat that also earned him the distinction of becoming the third Flames skipper to receive Coach of the Year laurels.
Ashton Kampa of UIC captured the Newcomer of the Year award for the fourth consecutive year, joining a distinguished list of UIC alumni such as Charlie Szykowny, Kendal Ewell and Luke Nowak who have previously earned the same recognition.
The Defensive Player of the Year award was shared by UIC’s Vidal Colon and Southern Illinois’ Julio Guerrero, underscoring the league’s depth of defensive talent, while Spike Magill from Evansville was named Freshman of the Year.
The conference’s specialty awards also highlighted the breadth of institutions represented, with the Defensive Player of the Year having been distributed across eight different schools, reflecting the competitive balance within the MVC.