INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — The Lewis University baseball team had eight players named to All-Great Lakes Valley Conference teams, the GLVC announced Tuesday (May 6). The Flyers took home three major awards as well as
Mikey Kocen (Beach Park, Ill./UNC-Pembroke) was named Player of the Year,
Brendan Lawry (Bolingbrook, Ill./Eckerd College) was awarded Pitcher of the Year and head coach
Mike Vucsko earned Coach of the Year. Four Flyers were named to both the first and second teams.
Kocen and Lawry were both unanimously selected to the All-GLVC First Team, while
George Bilecki (Chicago, Ill./Marist) and
Cain Headrick (Custer Park, Ill./Providence Catholic) were also named to the first team.
Jackson Bruno (Chicago, Ill./Notre Dame Prep),
Jason Krol (Chicago, Ill./St. Laurence),
Chris McDevitt (Chicago, Ill./St. Rita) and
Cole Nelson (St. Charles, Ill/Lenoir Rhyne) received All-GLVC Second Team honors.
The All-Conference awards are nominated and voted on by league coaches, who, per GLVC Bylaws, are not permitted to vote for their own players.
Kocen was unanimously named GLVC Player of the Year by the league coaches after his performance on the diamond. The second baseman has played in 48 games, ranking second with a .427 batting average, total bases (150), a .511 on-base percentage, 73 hits, 18 home runs, and 58 runs batted in. The senior led the league with a .877 slugging percentage, 1.396 on-base plus slugging percentage and 59 had runs scored.
Lawry was named GLVC Pitcher of the Year after recording a perfect 10-0 record, including a 8-0 mark in conference play. The senior posted a 3.61 earned run average (ERA), second best in the league, in 57.1 innings of work, and in opponent batting average (.207).
Vucsko earned his first career GLVC Coach of the Year and became the eighth Lewis skipper to receive the honor after leading the Flyers to a 34-16 record and a 24-8 league record. Lewis won the regular season title after being picked to finish seventh in the preseason poll. Vucsko is in his fourth season as head coach, having previously served four years as an assistant coach and then promoted to associate head coach for three seasons. Prior to that he was a member of the program from 2008-2011 where he started in 160 contests.
Bilecki was named to the first team after being recognized as honorable mention a year ago. The junior played and started in all 50 contests, leading the GLVC in home runs (22), runs batted in (61) and total bases (154) and was second in slugging behind his teammate Kocen. He was seventh in hits (68) and 18-for-20 on stolen bases.
Headrick earned first team honors for the first time in his career after starting in all 50 games during his senior season. The outfielder recorded a .363 batting average with 70 total hits, 38 runs scored, 10 home runs and was tied for fourth in the league with 53 runs batted in.
Bruno was awarded second team for the second straight season with Lewis after receiving the recognition in 2024. The relief pitcher made 15 appearances out of the bullpen and posted a 3.24 earned run average (ERA), 0.92 Walks and Hits per Innings Pitched (WHIP), seven saves, 24 strikeouts and walked just one in 25 innings of work.
Krol was named second team after his performance behind the plate and at first base. Krol recorded a .376 batting average with 67 total hits with four doubles, two triples, 39 runs scored and 36 RBI.
McDevitt earned second team honors after starting every contest for Lewis. The first baseman/catcher recorded 61 total hits with 15 doubles and 10 home runs. He finished tied for second in runs scored (57)
Nelson was awarded second team in his lone season with the Flyers after participating in every game this year. The middle infielder posted a .350 batting average, while ranking eighth in the conference with 12 round trippers and seventh in the league with 48 runs batted in.
Ian Nguyen (Coon Rapids, Minn./Coon Rapids) was the Lewis Baseball GLVC James R. Spalding Sportsmanship Honoree.
FULL GLVC RELEASE
Lewis will be back in action for the GLVC Tournament starting Wednesday, May 7 as the top overall seed and will take on No. 8 seed Missouri-St. Louis starting at 7:30 p.m. CT.
