Wilson and Meyer earn All-Big Ten accolades

Published 2:34 pm Wednesday, May 22, 2019

Catcher Eli Wilson and pitcher Max Meyer represent the Gopher Baseball team among this year’s list of All-Big Ten Conference performers as decided by league coaches and announced on Tuesday.

Wilson earns his first career All-Big Ten selection as the First Team’s catcher. The junior led Minnesota with his .290 batting average during the regular season, ranked second on the team with his 25 RBIs and 13 doubles, and also finished among the team’s leaders in home runs (4) and runs scored (27). The second-generation Gopher from Seattle batted .247 in conference play with each of his four homers coming against conference foes, driving in 11 runs and crossing the plate 14 times. He helped anchor the young Minnesota pitching staff calling games from behind the plate.

Meyer earned his second All-Big Ten honor, landing on the First Team as a reliever during his freshman campaign. A move to the rotation served Meyer well this season, as he went 3-1 in seven starts during conference play, posting a 2.98 ERA in 42.1 innings while 51 strikeouts. On the full season, Meyer led the Minnesota staff with 80 strikeouts in 71.0 innings pitched while finishing 4-3 with a 2.28 ERA in 15 games and 10 starts, earning two saves along the way.

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The Woodbury native also served as a designated hitter for the Gophers, batting .256 with four doubles, 12 RBIs, 15 runs scored, and one highlight reel home run, walking off North Dakota State on April 9.

Jeff Fasching represented the Maroon & Gold among the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award honorees. The fifth-year senior from St. Cloud has enjoyed a career year in 2019, 1-0 with a 1.26 ERA in 19 appearances out of the Gopher bullpen. The left-hander has struck out 32 batters in 28.2 innings.

Michigan outfielder Jordan Brewer took home Big Ten Player of the Year honors while Indiana’s Andrew Saalfrank earned Pitcher of the Year designation. League coaches tabbed first baseman Maxwell Costes of Maryland as Freshman of the Year, while Indiana’s Jeff Mercer claimed the Coach of the Year selection leading the Hoosiers to a regular season conference title.