NCBWA NAMES NAIA NATIONAL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

DALLAS (NCBWA) Benedictine College of Kansas, Presentation College of South Dakota, and Tennessee Wesleyan University headlined 2021's first week of National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association awards for the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). The statistics mentioned below were for Monday, Feb. 1, through Sunday, Feb. 7.


Hitter of the Week: Senior shortstop Daniel Myers of Benedictine (Kan.) had a week to remember at the plate for the Ravens. The Heart of America Conference's Hitter of the Week started off going 12 for 12 at the plate and finished the span at 12 of 14. Benedictine posted a pair of sweeps on the week, beating Bethany College 6-5 and 15-1 on Feb. 3 and then beating Dordt University 14-3 and 2-1 on Feb. 5. Myers finished his week with a .857 batting average and a 1.429 slugging percentage, scoring 11 runs with five doubles and a home run while driving in eight. He also walked twice, was hit by a pitch, and finished with three stolen bases in three attempts. Defensively, he finished the week with five putouts and 11 assists in 17 chances while being part of three double plays.


Pitcher of the Week: Junior Chris Koeiman of Tennessee Wesleyan University produced a double-digit strikeout effort in his first outing of the year. Koeiman went five innings strong, allowing one hit and no runs while striking out ten, which was one shy of his career-high as part of a 16-1 win over Marian University of Indiana.


Rookie of the Week: Presentation College pitcher Trevor Ball flirted with a no-no in his first collegiate start in a Saints uniform. He fired six and two-thirds of no-hit baseball, falling one out short of going the distance. Ball finished with seven strikeouts in the victory over Southwestern College of Kansas on Feb. 5.


Founded in 1962, the NCBWA is dedicated to the advancement of college baseball. Membership is open to writers, broadcasters and publicists of the sport. Members receive a membership card, directory, newsletter updates and official votes in the Howser Award Player of the Year, Regional Player of the Year and NCBWA All-America voting. The NCBWA also sponsors preseason All-America awards, publication and writing contests.


2021 NAIA Players of the Week:

Week ending Feb. 7: Daniel Myers, Benedictine (Hitter); Chris Koeiman, Tennessee Wesleyan (Pitcher); Trevor Ball, Presentation (Rookie)

· Week ending Feb. 14: Gary Mattis, Tennessee Wesleyan (Hitter); Benjamin Harris, Brewton-Parker (Pitcher/Rookie)

· Week ending Feb. 28: Pedro Nazario, Cumberlands (Hitter); Robert Gonzalez, Tennessee Wesleyan (Pitcher); Carson Ford, Texas Wesleyan (Rookie)

· Week ending March 7: Jayden Adams, Concordia, Neb. (Hitter); Eli Jackson, Blue Mountain (Pitcher); Thaniel Thumper, Doane (Rookie)

· Week ending March 14: Justin Brooks, Middle Georgia State (Hitter); Dan Monear, Rochester (Hitter); Joe Osborn, Doane (Rookie)

· Week ending March 21: Zachary Presnall, Mobile (Hitter); Antonio Frias, Faulkner (Pitcher); Stephen Still, Loyola (Rookie)

· Week ending March 28: Shane Stewart, Central Baptist (Hitter); Chris Wall, Columbia College (Pitcher); Evan Juniper, Kentucky Christian (Rookie)

· Week ending April 4: Justice Lucas, Faulkner (Hitter); Garrett Martin, Middle Georgia State (Pitcher); Tucker Musgrove, Mobile (Rookie)

· Week ending April 11: Aaron Saal, Mount Vernon Nazarene (Hitter); Travis Keys, Aquinas College (Pitcher); Hayden Sullivan, Ava Maria (Rookie)

· Week ending April 18: Josh Sears, Freed-Hardeman (Hitter); Jared Davis, Texas A&M-Texarkana (Pitcher); Blaize Minick, South Carolina-Beaufort (Rookie)

· Week ending April 25: Adrian Reed, Madonna (Hitter); Benjamin Harris, Brewton-Parker (Pitcher/Rookie)