May 2, 2024
DICKINSON, N.D. – The North Star Athletic Association announced its postseason baseball awards Thursday evening at the Biesiot Activities Center on the campus of Dickinson State (N.D.). The NSAA Baseball All-Conference teams, postseason awards and Gold Glove team were voted on by the league’s coaches. The Champions of Character recipients were also announced.
The NSAA Baseball First-Team and Second-Team All-Conference consists of 17 recipients each. Bellevue (Neb.) landed a total of 11 selections to the All-Conference teams, with eight athletes being named to First Team and three athletes on the Second Team.
Logan Grant of Bellevue was selected as the North Star Athletic Association Baseball Player-of-the-Year, while his teammates Blake Crippen was named as the Pitcher-of-the-Year and Steven Elsner earned the Newcomer-of-the-Year award. Takao Cookson of Valley City State (N.D.) was named as the Freshman-of-the-Year. BU’s Duane Monlux was selected as the NSAA Baseball Coach-of-the-Year after leading his team to their fifth straight conference regular-season title.
Each team has two honorable mention recipients to the NSAA Baseball All-Conference list.
The North Star Athletic Association Baseball Postseason tournament gets underway Friday 12 p.m. (Central Time)/11 a.m. (Mountain Time) with Dakota State (S.D.) taking on Mayville State (N.D.). Dickinson State faces Valley City State at 3:30 p.m. (CT)/2:30 p.m. (MT) and close the day with Waldorf (Iowa) taking on Viterbo (Wis.) at 7 p.m. (CT)/6 p.m. (MT). Bellevue have an opening round bye and is set to play on Saturday afternoon.
The double elimination tournament runs through Monday with the championship game, with an if necessary game on Tuesday afternoon.
Below are the complete listings of All-Conference Teams selections, postseason awards and Gold Glove team:
2024 North Star Athletic Association Baseball All-Conference First Team
| Position |
First Name, Last Name |
Year |
School |
Hometown |
| C |
Logan Grant |
Junior |
Bellevue (Neb.) |
Chestermere, Alberta, Canada |
| C |
Ryan McDaniel |
Senior |
Dakota State (S.D.) |
Firestone, Colo. |
| 1B |
Alec Ackerman |
Senior |
Bellevue (Neb.) |
Parker, Colo. |
| 2B |
Aidan Perry |
Sophomore |
Dakota State (S.D.) |
Dripping Springs, Texas |
| 3B |
Zach Meyer |
Senior |
Waldorf (Iowa) |
Gilbert, Ariz. |
| SS |
Brendan Luther |
Sophomore |
Bellevue (Neb.) |
Mississauga, Ont., Canada |
| INF |
Blake Warner |
Senior |
Viterbo (Wis.) |
Hastings, Minn. |
| OF |
Jake Lacey |
Junior |
Bellevue (Neb.) |
Gillette, Wyo. |
| OF |
Steven Elsner |
Junior |
Bellevue (Neb.) |
San Francisco, Calif. |
| OF |
Anthony Lind |
Sophomore |
Bellevue (Neb.) |
Omaha, Neb. |
| OF |
Chris Shopbell |
Junior |
Mayville State (N.D.) |
Logan, Utah |
| DH |
Riley Rankin |
Junior |
Mayville State (N.D.) |
Crosby, Texas |
| SP |
Blake Crippen |
Senior |
Bellevue (Neb.) |
Hillsboro, Ore. |
| SP |
Sam Tyrpa |
Junior |
Dakota State (S.D.) |
Excelsior, Minn. |
| SP |
Will Clair |
Junior |
Dakota State (S.D.) |
Casper, Wyo. |
| SP |
Hunter Magnuson |
Junior |
Valley City State (N.D.) |
Willmar, Minn. |
| RP |
Teron Williams |
Junior |
Bellevue (Neb.) |
Belton, Mo. |
2024 North Star Athletic Association Baseball All-Conference Second Team
| Position |
First Name, Last Name |
Year |
School |
Hometown |
| C |
Kolby Amaral |
Junior |
Waldorf (Iowa) |
Grass Valley, Calif. |
| C |
Jamel Chabot |
Freshman |
Valley City State (N.D.) |
Cheney, Wash. |
| 1B |
Carlos Molina, Jr. |
Junior |
Dickinson State (N.D.) |
Tucson, Ariz. |
| 2B |
Tyler Monroe |
Junior |
Bellevue (Neb.) |
Lincoln, Neb. |
| 3B |
Wyatt Wilharm |
Sophomore |
Dickinson State (N.D.) |
Benson, Ariz. |
| SS |
Jaden Babiuk |
Junior |
Valley City State (N.D.) |
St. Albert, Alberta, Canada |
| INF |
Nick Grade |
Sophomore |
Bellevue (Neb.) |
Kennewick, Texas |
| OF |
Jeremy Green |
Junior |
Dakota State (S.D.) |
Houston, Texas |
| OF |
Cory Brownson |
Junior |
Dakota State (S.D.) |
Billings, Mont. |
| OF |
Brett Stuessel |
Junior |
Viterbo (Wis.) |
Sparta, Wash. |
| OF |
Walker Hultgren |
Senior |
Dakota State (S.D.) |
Maple Grove, Minn. |
| DH |
Keanu Calamayan |
Senior |
Dickinson State (N.D.) |
Tucson, Ariz. |
| SP |
Dustin Schorie |
Senior |
Bellevue (Neb.) |
Chandler, Ariz. |
| SP |
Brandon Jaenke |
Junior |
Viterbo (Wis.) |
Fall Creek, Wis. |
| SP |
Hunter Vikemyr |
Junior |
Dakota State (S.D.) |
Viroqua, Wis. |
| SP |
Takao Cookson |
Freshman |
Valley City State (N.D.) |
Regina, Sask., Canada |
| RP |
JD Kirchner |
Senior |
Dakota State (S.D.) |
Lennox, S.D. |
2024 NSAA Baseball Postseason Awards
Player-of-the-Year: Logan Grant – Bellevue (Neb.)
Pitcher-of-the-Year: Blake Crippen – Bellevue (Neb.)
Newcomer-of-the-Year: Steven Elsner – Bellevue (Neb.)
Freshman-of-the-Year: Takao Cookson – Valley City State (N.D.)
Coach-of-the-Year: Duane Monlux – Bellevue (Neb.)
2024 North Star Athletic Association Baseball Gold Glove
| Position |
First Name, Last Name |
Year |
School |
Hometown |
| C |
Logan Grant |
Junior |
Bellevue (Neb.) |
Chestermere, Alberta, Canada |
| 1B |
Blake Warner |
Senior |
Viterbo (Wis.) |
Hastings, Minn. |
| 2B |
Aidan Perry |
Sophomore |
Dakota State (S.D.) |
Dripping Springs, Texas |
| 3B |
Nick Grade |
Junior |
Bellevue (Neb.) |
Kennewick, Wash. |
| SS |
Brendan Luther |
Sophomore |
Bellevue (Neb.) |
Mississauga, Ont., Canada |
| LF |
Jeremy Green |
Junior |
Dakota State (S.D.) |
Houston, Texas |
| CF |
Walker Hultgren |
Senior |
Dakota State (S.D.) |
Maple Grove, Minn. |
| RF |
Anthony Lind |
Sophomore |
Bellevue (Neb.) |
Omaha, Neb. |
| P |
Blake Crippen |
Senior |
Bellevue (Neb.) |
Hillsboro, Ore. |
2024 North Star Athletic Association Baseball All-Conference Honorable Mention
Bellevue (Neb.): Brady Toth (SP), CJ Townsend (2B)
Dakota State (S.D.): Dawson Portner (3B), Bubba Thompson (SS)
Dickinson State (N.D.): Jonathan Lerma (SP), Alberto Nieto (OF)
Mayville State (N.D.): Gunner Thompson (RP), Carson Lundmark (OF)
Valley City State (N.D.): Connor Nelson (RP), Christopher Dietrich (SP)
Viterbo (Wis.): Kyle Burns (RP), Jake Ouweneel (SP)
Waldorf (Iowa): Ryan Meyer (SP), Ian Carr (OF)
2024 North Star Athletic Association Baseball Champions of Character Recipients
Bellevue (Neb.): Takumi Maeno
Dakota State (S.D.): Ned Ceklic
Dickinson State (N.D.): Clay Prell
Mayville State (N.D.): Marcus Hughes
Valley City State (N.D.): Blake Portalski
Viterbo (Wis.): Kyle Burns
Waldorf (Iowa): Kade Hobbs
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2024 NSAA Baseball
First Team All-Conference |
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2024 NSAA Baseball
Second Team All-Conference |
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2024 NSAA Baseball
All-Conference
Honorable Mention |
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2024 NSAA Baseball
Postseason Awards |
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2024 NSAA Baseball
Gold Glove Team |
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2024 NSAA Baseball
Champions of Character |
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2024 NSAA Baseball Regular-Season Title
Bellevue (Neb.) |