Ryan Niedzwiedz, a junior first baseman from North Aurora, Illinois, has been named to Baseball America’s College Team of the Week for the second time this season, a testament to his consistent impact on the SIUE Cougars.
A historic week for the Cougars
The honor follows a dominant three‑game road series at Eastern Illinois, where Niedzwiedz led the Cougars to a sweep and helped cement their position near the top of the Ohio Valley Conference standings.
During the series he went 8‑for‑15, launching five home runs and driving in eight runs, which translated to a .533 batting average, a slugging percentage of 1.533 and an OPS of 2.096 for the week.
He tied the school’s single‑game record with three homers and extended his season total to 24, the most in SIUE history, while also recording his sixth multi‑homer game of the year.
The Cougars, now two games ahead in the OVC, will close out the regular season with a matchup at SIU Carbondale before traveling to face UT Martin, a schedule that could further test the momentum generated by Niedzwiedz’s breakout performance.