SAINT PETER, Minn. – Gustavus baseball head coach Brad Baker '80 (11th season) was named the Region 9 Coach of the Year while five other Gusties earned All-Region honors when D3baseball.com and the American Baseball Coaches' Association (ABCA) announced awards earlier today (May 27). 

First-time honorees Brayden Kohls (So., Norwood, Minn.) and Danny Gavin (So., Iowa City, Iowa) were named to both organizations' first teams, while Adam Biewen (5th, Golden Valley, Minn.) joined the duo as a first team selection for D3baseball.com. Chris Knowles (5th, New Ulm, Minn.) was an ABCA second team honoree, and Luke Siegle (Sr., Blaine, Minn.) rounded out the selections on D3baseball.com's third team. All five players were honored as All-Conference earlier this month (May 13).

Baker led the Gusties to their best season on record, claiming the MIAC regular season championship for the third time in the last six seasons with a league mark of 17-3. Gustavus claimed its first MIAC playoff title as well, going a perfect 3-0 in conference tournament play to advance to the program's first national tournament appearance. Baker, who announced his retirement at the start of the season, set single season records for wins (37), winning percentage (.804), at-bats (1,559), hits (539), doubles (101), RBI (381), runs (414), and on-base percentage (.439).

Kohls led the heavy-hitting Gusties with a .416 batting average, playing and starting in all 46 games in the outfield. The sophomore set the single season program record for at-bats in a season with 190 and finished second in both hits (79) and RBI (55), both team-leading statistics. Kohls collected 19 extra-base hits, 13 of which were doubles, with a slugging percentage of .563. His 74 hits in the regular season tied for eighth among all NCAA Division III players, and his three team-leading statistics (at-bats, hits, RBI) were the best marks in the conference, as well.   

Gavin led the Gusties at the plate alongside classmate Kohls, batting .413 in 184 at-bats. An All-Conference selection earlier this month, Gavin ranked in the top-25 of three different NCAA statistics in the regular season, sharing eighth with Kohls with 74 hits, while his .438 batting average was 17th and 58 runs 21st. He led the MIAC in runs scored (59) – also a single-season program record – and walks (33). He finished second behind Gavin in both at-bats (184) and hits (76). 

The All-Region distinction is the first for Biewen, who was named the MIAC Pitcher of the Year on May 13. Biewen finished a three-time All-MIAC selection and ended his career fourth in program strikeouts (168), fifth in appearances (43), and seventh in both starts (28) and wins (16). Biewen ended the season with a 3.45 ERA and an unblemished 7-0 record, appearing in 12 games and starting in 10. He pitched 57.1 innings, allowing 53 hits and 22 earned runs while striking out 71 batters. His 71 strikeouts rank second in a single season in program history, and led the conference with 20 batters caught looking. 

Knowles earned his first All-Region honor after posting an average of .369 in all 46 of the Gusties' games this season, collecting 66 hits, 50 runs, and 46 RBI, all of which ranked third on the team. He led the squad with nine home runs and has 28 in his career, which ranks fourth in program history. Knowles, the Gusties' starting first baseman for nearly his entire career, set the program record for putouts with 1,055. He finished his career batting .362 (11th in program history) with 547 at-bats (fourth), 198 hits (fifth), 36 doubles (10th), eight triples (eighth), 28 homers (fourth), 151 RBI (second), 78 walks (fourth), 143 runs (third), 13 sacrifice hits (fourth), and 156 games played (second).  

Siegle's selection is the second of his career but first at third base, as the two-way player was named an All-Region pitcher in 2023. Siegle started every game off the season, batting .338 with 44 hits in 130 at-bats. The senior collected a team-high 15 doubles alongside 36 RBI and a .554 slugging percentage. On the mound, he appeared in 12 games, starting in 11, with an ERA of 5.98 and a 5-2 record in 46.2 innings. He finished his career with the program record for pitching starts (38), was third in career program strikeouts (169) and appearances (44), and fourth in wins (20-8). 

Gustavus finished first in the MIAC for the third time in the last three seasons with a 17-3 record (37-9 overall) and won its first MIAC playoff title this spring. The Gusties were selected to host a four-team regional in the team's NCAA tournament debut, winning its first game, before dropping to the elimination bracket where the season ended with a pair of losses. 

In the regular season, Gustavus led the MIAC in batting average (.349), doubles (96), hits (504), home runs (40), on-base percentage (.443), runs (396), scoring margin (+9.2), slugging percentage (.519), strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.57), strikeouts per nine innings (8.5), walks per nine innings (3.32), and winning percentage (.837). The Gusties .349 batting average ranked fourth in Division III, while their slugging percentage was 11th, on-base percentage 12th, and 504 hits 13th.