The Valparaiso University baseball team was well represented as the Missouri Valley Conference announced all-conference teams on Tuesday.

Seniors Chase Dawson (Chesterton, Ind. / Andrean) and Blake Billinger (Los Gatos, Calif. / St. Francis [Mission]) were named to the All-MVC Second Team, while juniors Riley Dent (Long Beach, Calif. / Wilson) and Easton Rhodehouse (Gilbert, Ariz. / Highland) received All-MVC Honorable Mention recognition.

Dawson batted .331 over 47 regular-season games, accumulating four home runs, nine doubles, five triples and 28 RBIs. In Valley play, he hit .347 with five doubles, two triples, two homers and 12 RBIs in 21 games while reaching base at a .425 clip and slugging .547. Dawson, who enters the MVC Tournament one hit shy of reaching 200 for his career, ranks third in program history in career assists (456), sixth in runs scored (145) and tied for second in triples (13).

Also a 2016 Horizon League All-Freshman Team and All-Tournament Team honoree, Dawson enters the MVC Tournament ranked fifth in The Valley in batting average, ninth in slugging percentage and tied for first in triples.

Billinger finished the regular season with a .307 batting average while starting all 49 games. He launched a team-high nine home runs while also leading the team in RBIs (39), total bases (96), doubles (13), slugging percentage (.545) and on-base percentage (.410). He enters the tournament ranked 13^th in The Valley in batting average, sixth in slugging percentage, 11^th in OBP, ninth in RBIs, tied for sixth in home runs, tied for sixth in doubles and tied for ninth in walks.

Also a 2018 All-MVC First Team selection, Billinger was named to the Google Cloud Academic All-District Team selected by CoSIDA this season. He has started all 102 games since joining Valpo’s program and tied a program record for doubles in a single season with 23 in 2018.

Dent had a breakout year at the plate, becoming the latest in a long line of Valpo hitters to make significant jumps from early in their careers to late in their careers. After hitting .206 in 38 games as a freshman and .209 in 31 games as a sophomore, he has posted a .297 batting average through 46 games during his junior campaign. He ranks third on the team in both batting average and on-base percentage (.387).

Rhodehouse finished the regular season with a 3.82 ERA over 22 appearances out of the Valpo bullpen, posting a 2-3 record to go along with four saves. He has secured 44 strikeouts while walking 13 in 35 1/3 innings. A 2017 Horizon League All-Freshman Team honoree, the right-hander was named the MVC Pitcher of the Week and a National Player of the Week on May 13 after pitching six shutout innings without allowing a base hit to earn the win in a 14-inning victory over Southern Illinois on May 10.

Valpo will open up MVC Tournament action on Tuesday afternoon by taking on Missouri State in a single-elimination first-round game that will begin at 2 p.m. at Duffy Bass Field in Normal. The game can be seen on ESPN+.

First Team Yr. Pos. Hometown (Previous School)
Connor O'Brien, Bradley Fr. 1B San Diego, Calif. (Rancho Bernardo)
Jarrod Watkins, Indiana State Sr. 2B Washington, Ill. (Wabash Valley)
Joe Butler, Illinois State Jr. 3B Channahon, Ill. (Minooka)
Jimmy Glowenke, DBU * So. SS Lewisville, Texas (Marcus)
Drew Millas, Missouri State * Jr. C Swansea, Ill. (Belleville East)
Bryce Ball, DBU Jr. DH Mason City, Iowa (North Iowa Area CC)
Luke Bandy, DBU Jr. OF Bentonville, Ark. (Providence Academy)
Joe Aeilts, Illinois State Jr. OF Champaign, Ill. (Champaign Central)
John Rave, Illinois State $+ Jr. OF Bloomington, Ill. (Central Catholic)
Dakota Kotowski, Missouri State Fr. OF Channahon, Ill. (Providence Catholic)
MD Johnson, DBU + Sr. SP Red Oak, Texas (Homeschool Athletic Assoc)
Collin Liberatore, Indiana State Jr. SP Greensburg, Penn. (Pittsburgh)
Brent Headrick, Illinois State Jr. SP Custer Park, Ill. (Reed-Custer)
Tyler Grauer, Indiana State Jr. RP Shawnee, Kan. (Mill Valley)
Burl Carraway, DBU So. RP College Station, Texas (A&M Consolidated)
$2018 Second Team; *2018 First Team; +2017 Honorable Mention

Second Team Yr. Pos. Hometown (Previous School)
Tanner Craig, Evansville So. 1B Scottsburg, Ind. (Austin)
Chase Dawson, Valparaiso Sr. 2B Chesterton, Ind. (Andrean)
Jackson Glenn, DBU Jr. 3B Cedar Hill, Texas (Grayson College)
Luke Shadid, Bradley Jr. SS Peoria, Ill. (Notre Dame HS)
Keaton Rice, Bradley $ So. C Geneseo, Ill. (Geneseo)
Blake Billinger, Valparaiso * Sr. DH Los Gatos, Calif. (Mission)
Dan Bolt, Bradley Jr. OF Morton, Ill. (Morton)
Jack Duffy, Missouri State Jr. OF Kansas City, Mo. (Staley)
Andy Shadid, Bradley @+ Sr. OF Peoria, Ill. (Notre Dame HS)
Roby Enriquez, Indiana State Sr. OF Carolina, P.R. (Allen CC)
Mitch Janssen, Bradley Sr. SP Princeville, Ill. (Princeville)
Jordan Martinson, DBU Sr. SP North Richland Hills, Texas (Birdville)
Logan Wiley, Missouri State @ Jr. SP Springfield, Mo. (Kansas State)
Tyler Ward, Indiana State $ Sr. RP Santa Claus, Ind. (Heritage Hills)
Theron Denlinger, Bradley Jr. RP Cuba City, Wis. (Madison College)
$2018 Second Team; *2018 First Team; @2018 Honorable Mention; +2017 Honorable Mention

Honorable Mention Yr. Pos. Hometown (Previous School)
Jack Butler, Illinois State So. 1B Downs, Ill. (Tri-Valley)
Ben Whetstone, Missouri State Jr. 1B Overland Park, Kan. (Rockhurst)
Blayne Jones, DBU Fr. 2B Muenster, Texas (Muenster)
Brendan Dougherty, Bradley @+ Jr. 3B Des Moines, Iowa (Dowling Catholic)
Jake Means, Indiana State* Sr. 3B Gardner, Kan. (Cowley CC)
Alex Lyon, Southern Illinois Sr. SS White House, Tenn. (Volunteer State)
Riley Dent, Valparaiso Jr. OF Long Beach, Calif. (Wilson)
Nate Reeder, Evansville So. DH Shawnee, Kan. (Shawnee Mission NW)
Adam Lukas, Evansville Jr. SP Grafton, Wis. (Grafton)
Triston Polley, Indiana State Sr. SP Avon, Ind. (Brownsburg)
Sam Lund, Bradley Sr. SP Sun Prairie, Wis. (Madison College)
Justin Yeager, Southern Illinois Jr. RP Plainfield, Ill. (Plainfield North)
Trey McDaniel, Southern Illinois So. RP Williamsville, Mo. (Greenville)
Easton Rhodehouse, Valparaiso Jr. RP Gilbert, Ariz. (Highland)
*2018 First Team; @2018 Honorable Mention; +2017 Honorable Mention

All-Defensive Team Yr. Pos. Hometown (Previous School)
Ben Whetstone, Missouri State Jr. 1B Overland Park, Kan. (Rockhurst)
Blayne Jones, DBU Fr. 2B Muenster, Texas (Muenster)
Jake Means, Indiana State * Sr. 3B Gardner, Kan. (Cowley CC)
Jimmy Glowenke, DBU * So. SS Lewisville, Texas (Marcus)
Keaton Rice, Bradley So. C Geneseo, Ill. (Geneseo)
John Rave, Illinois State + Jr. OF Bloomington, Ill. (Central Catholic)
Luke Bandy, DBU Jr. OF Bentonville, Ark. (Providence Academy)
Roby Enriquez, Indiana State Sr. OF Carolina, P.R. (Allen CC)
Jordan Martinson, DBU Sr. P North Richland Hills, Texas (Birdville)
Triston Polley, Indiana State Sr. P Avon, Ind. (Brownsburg)
*Repeat Honoree + Three-time honoree

JOE CARTER PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Joe Aeilts, Illinois State
PITCHER OF THE YEAR
Brent Headrick, Illinois State
NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR
Collin Liberatore, Indiana State
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Dakota Kotowski, Missouri State
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Jake Means, Indiana State
DAN CALLAHAN COACH OF THE YEAR
Steve Holm, Illinois State