Valparaiso University baseball sophomore Ryan Maka (Oak Forest, Ill. / Oak Forest) was recognized for his stellar season on Monday night as he was named to the All-Missouri Valley Conference First Team, which was announced at the league’s postseason awards banquet in Terre Haute, Ind. In addition, senior catcher Jake Skrine (Longmont, Colo. / Mead [Indiana]) earned All-MVC Honorable Mention.

Maka ranks fourth in the Missouri Valley Conference with a .343 batting average. In MVC-only games, he finished the season second in the league in batting average at .382. In league-only play, Maka also ranked in the top 10 in The Valley in slugging percentage, on-base percentage, runs scored, hits, RBIs, total bases and walks.

Entering the second game of the doubleheader on April 15 at Bradley, Maka was hitting .268 for the season. Since then, he is hitting .444 to go along with a .496 OBP and .694 slugging percentage, leading the team in all three slash-line categories in that stretch.

Of his 32 hits during those 18 games, 10 have gone for extra bases, including four home runs. He has totaled 50 bases and driven in 25 runs while scoring 18 in those 18 contests. Maka’s batting average from last season to this season jumped nearly 100 points as he hit .250 as a freshman a year ago.

Skrine, who joined the program as a graduate transfer from Indiana prior to this season, has belted 11 home runs in his lone season with the Brown & Gold. This marks the highest single-season home run total by a Valpo player since Josh Wallace hit 11 in 2008. If Skrine hits one more, he will own Valpo’s highest single-season home run total since 2002 (Dan Schrum, 13).

Skrine, who owns a batting average of .269 overall and .283 in Valley play, hit two home runs over his first 21 games and has now hit nine over his last 20. He had a pair of three-homer series this season – at Bradley and vs. Illinois State including a two-homer game against the Redbirds.

Maka becomes the third Valpo player to earn First Team All-MVC honors since the program joined the league, joining a group that includes Blake Billinger (2018) and Nolan Tucker (2022).

Valpo will take on Murray State at 5 p.m. CT / 6 p.m. ET on Tuesday in Terre Haute, Ind. to open up Valpo’s portion of the eight-team, double-elimination Missouri Valley Conference Tournament, hosted by Indiana State at Bob Warn Field. The game will air on ESPN+ with links to live video and stats available on ValpoAthletics.com.

2023 All-Missouri Valley Conference Baseball Teams

First Team Yr. Pos. Hometown (Previous School)

Chase Hug, Evansville 5th 1B Indianapolis, Ind. (Olney Central College)

Kip Fougerousse, Evansville Jr. 2B Linton, Ind. (Indiana)

Charlie Szykowny, UIC Gr. 3B Palos Heights, Ill. (Wisconsin-Stout)

Randal Diaz, Indiana State So. SS Toa Alta, Puerto Rico (Leadership Christian Academy)

Grant Magill, Indiana State R-Jr. C Highlands Ranch, Colo. (Mountain Vista)

Cam Cratic, Missouri State Gr. DH Madison, Wis. (Madison College)

Spencer Nivens, Missouri State $ R-So. OF Columbia, Mo. (Rock Bridge)

Eric Roberts, Evansville % Gr. OF Hamilton, Ohio (Hamilton)

Ryan Maka, Valparaiso So. OF Oak Forest, Ill. (Oak Forest)

Dustin Mercer, Murray State R-So. OF Weddington, N.C. (Virginia Tech)

Matt Jachec, Indiana State* R-Jr. SP Hampshire, Ill. (Hampshire)

Connor Fenlong, Indiana State R-Sr. SP Gouverneur, N.Y. (Wabash Valley CC)

Brandt Thompson, Missouri State Jr. SP Eden Prairie, Minn. (North Iowa Area CC)

Jared Spencer, Indiana State So. RP Centreville, Mich. (Centreville)

Garrett Ferguson, Missouri State Fr. RP Blue Springs, Mo. (Summit Christian Academy)

*2022 First Team; $ 2022 Second Team; % 2022 Honorable Mention

Second Team Yr. Pos. Hometown (Previous School)

Brennan McCullough, Murray State Gr. 1B Oxford, Ala. (Wallace State-Hanceville CC)

Steven Loden, Southern Illinois Jr. 2B Lower Gwynedd, Pa. (Florida Atlantic)

Mason Landers, Belmont Jr. 3B Shelbyville, Tenn. (Shelbyville)

Drew Vogel, Murray State Jr. SS White House, Tenn. (White House)

Cole Christman, Southern Illinois Jr. C St. Louis, Mo. (John A. Logan College)

Logan Delgado, Bradley Jr. DH Antioch, Ill. (Antioch)

Adam Pottinger, Indiana State Jr. OF Deerfield, Ill. (Triton College)

Pier-Olivier Boucher, Southern Illinois Sr. OF Saint-Joseph-de-Bauce, Quebec (Indian Hills CC)

Zack Stewart, Missouri State Fr. OF Lebanon, Mo. (Lebanon)

Lane Miller, Indiana State R-Sr. SP Boonville, Ind. (Indiana)

Andy Bean, Belmont Jr. SP Fisherville, Tenn. (St. George's HS)

Jake Combs, Southern Illinois Jr. SP Houston, Texas (Navarro College)

Cameron Holycross, Indiana State R-Jr. RP Lapel, Ind. (Lapel)

Ethan Harden, Belmont Fr. RP Franklin, Tenn. (Battle Ground Academy)

Nate Hardman, Evansville R-Jr. RP Normal, Ill. (Lincoln Land CC)

Honorable Mention Yr. Pos. Hometown (Previous School)

Connor O'Brien, Bradley @* Sr. 1B San Diego, Calif. (Rancho Bernardo)

Matt Schark, Southern Illinois Jr. 1B St. Charles, Mo. (Jefferson College)

Josue Urdaneta, Indiana State $ R-Jr. 2B Maracaibo, Venezuela (Avant Garde Academic)

Mike Sears, Indiana State R-Jr. 3B Cincinnati, Ohio (Sinclair CC)

Simon Scherry, Evansville ^$ Jr. SS Santa Claus, Ind. (Heritage Hills)

Jake Skrine, Valparaiso Sr. C Longmont, Colo. (Indiana)

Dan Pacella, Illinois State Fr. OF Mundelein, Ill. (Mundelein)

Ryan Vogel, Bradley % Jr. OF Metamora, Ill. (Metamora)

Nick Smith, Evansville* Jr. SP Boonville, Ind. (Boonville)

Hayden Minton, Missouri State Sr. SP Collinsville, Okla. (Johnson County CC)

Paul Bonzagni, Southern Illinois R-So. RP Grapevine, Texas (Weatherford College)

*2022 First Team; $ 2022 Second Team; % 2022 Honorable Mention; @2021 First Team; ^

2021 Honorable Mention

All-Defensive Team Yr. Pos. Hometown (Previous School)

Chase Hug, Evansville 5th 1B Indianapolis, Ind. (Olney Central College)

Josue Urdaneta, Indiana State R-Jr. 2B Maracaibo, Venezuela (Avant Garde Academic)

Mike Sears, Indiana State R-Jr. 3B Cincinnati, Ohio (Sinclair CC)

Simon Scherry, Evansville Jr. SS Santa Claus, Ind. (Heritage Hills)

Grant Magill, Indiana State R-Jr. C Highlands Ranch, Colo. (Mountain Vista)

Ryan Vogel, Bradley Jr. OF Metamora, Ill. (Metamora)

Seth Gergely, Indiana State R-Sr. OF Tallmadge, Ohio (Sinclair CC)

Auggie Rasmussen, Illinois State Jr. OF Blair, Neb. (Iowa Western CC)

Spencer Nivens, Missouri State R-So. OF Columbia, Mo. (Rock Bridge)

Andy Bean, Belmont Jr. SP Fisherville, Tenn. (St. George's HS)

JOE CARTER PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Spencer Nivens, Missouri State

PITCHER OF THE YEAR

Connor Fenlong, Indiana State

NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR

Charlie Szykowny, UIC

FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR

Zack Stewart, Missouri State

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Grant Magill, Indiana State

DAN CALLAHAN COACH OF THE YEAR

Mitch Hannahs, Indiana State