Nolan Tucker (Cedar Lake, Ind. / Hanover Central) got the job done on the diamond and in the classroom this season.

In addition to earning First Team All-Conference honors, the Valparaiso University baseball second baseman was named to the Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete First Team on Tuesday. In addition, sophomore Alex Ryan (Lake Mills, Wis. / Lakeside Lutheran) earned MVC Scholar-Athlete Honorable Mention recognition.

Tucker finished his season second in the conference in batting average, both overall (.365) and in league play (.384). He also ranked ninth in the league in on-base percentage (.440) and had four hits on three different occasions, accounting for three of the team’s five four-hit games.

Tucker, who finished with the highest batting average by a Valpo player since Ryan O’Gara hit .388 in 2010, made a significant jump after entering the season with a .188 batting average over two injury-riddled seasons. He finished a home run shy of the natural cycle on April 30 at Southern Illinois as his single, double and triple came in that order as part of a four-hit game. That helped him earn MVC Player of the Week recognition on May 2.

Academically, the Northwest Indiana native possesses a 3.83 cumulative grade point average in management.

Ryan, an outfielder who owns a 4.00 cumulative GPA in business, played in 46 games and made 44 starts for the Beacons this season. He tied for second in the league with four triples and tied for second in the MVC with five sacrifice bunts. Ryan had a season-high three hits on April 30 at SIU and crushed his first collegiate home run on May 1 at SIU.

2022 MVC Baseball Scholar-Athlete First-Team

Name, School Yr. Pos. GPA Major Hometown (Previous School)

Drake Baldwin, Missouri State Jr. C 3.80 General Business Madison, Wis. (Madison West)

Taylor Catton, Bradley Jr. P 3.90 Middle School Education Dunlap, Ill. (Dunlap)

Ryan Cermak, Illinois State So. OF 3.77 Parks & Rec Riverside, Ill. (Riverside-Brookfield)

Tanner Craig, Evansville 5th 1B 3.54 Leadership Scottsburg, Ind. (Austin)

Cam Cratic, Missouri State Sr. DH 3.80 Sociology Madison, Wis. (Madison College)

Luke Eldred, DBU* Sr. P 3.92 Masters in Sport Management Mount Vernon, Iowa (Mt. Vernon)

Grey Epps, Southern Illinois Sr. 2B 3.84 Marketing Clarksville, Tenn. (Rossview)

Noah Farmer, Southern Illinois # Sr. P 3.85 Biological Sciences Metropolis, Ill. (Massac County)

Evan Martin, Southern Illinois Jr. OF 4.00 Strategic Analytics Manchester, Mo. (Parkway South)

Jake McCaw, Illinois State # Jr. 1B 4.00 MBA Bloomington, Ill. (Normal Community)

Connor O'Brien, Bradley Sr. 1B 3.40 Management & Leadership San Diego, Calif. (Rancho Bernardo)

Jack Parisi, Indiana State Gr. P 3.94 Sport Management Fort Wayne, Ind. (Homestead)

Riyan Rodriguez, Missouri St Gr. P 3.80 Natural Sciences Santa Clarita, Calif. (Arkansas Tech)

Nolan Tucker, Valparaiso RSo. 2B 3.83 Management Cedar Lake, Ind. (Hanover Central)

J.T. Weber, Southern Illinois # Sr. OF 3.73 Civil Engineering Metropolis, Ill. (Massac County)

Colin Wyman, Illinois State Sr. P 4.00 Sport Management Pflugerville, Texas (Navarro College)

#2021 First-Team; *2021 Honorable Mention

2022 MVC Baseball Scholar-Athlete Honorable Mention

Name, School Yr. Pos. GPA Major Hometown (Previous School)

Drew Dominik, Evansville 5th. P 3.45 Masters in Leadership Oak Forest, Ill. (Blackhawk CC)

Matt Jachec, Indiana State RSo. P 3.40 Sport Management Hampshire, Ill. (Hampshire)

Jake McMahill, Missouri State Gr. P 3.95 Sport Management Blue Springs, Mo. (Evansville)

Alex Ryan, Valparaiso So. OF 4.00 Business Lake Mills, Wis. (Lakeside Lutheran)

Mark Shallenberger, Evansville Jr. OF 3.46 Psychology St. Louis, Mo. (St. Louis Priory)

Ryan Wrobleski, DBU RSo. Util. 3.43 Finance Eden Prairie, Minn. (North Iowa Area CC)