Four Members of the Purdue Baseball Program Earn 2021 Big Ten Honors
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The Big Ten announced the recipients of the league's award winners and All-Conference teams for the 2021 season on Sunday. Four Purdue players earned recognition, including seniors Ben Nisle, Miles Simington and Trent Johnson.
All three will close out their collegiate careers with the Boilermakers this weekend. Sophomore Mike Bolton Jr. also joined his teammates in being honored this year.
Nisle, Simington and Bolton all received Third Team All-Big Ten Honors, while Johnson was the team's Sportsmanship Award honoree.
Nisle and Simington were the only two outfielders in the conference from the same program to be named to an All-Big Ten team. Together, they were the first pair of All-Big Ten outfielders since a trio of Purdue's outfielders — Barrett Serrato, Tyler Spillner and Stephen Talbott — were recognized in 2011.
Nisle, so far this season, is having the best year of his Boilermaker career. He leads the team with 22 extra-base hits and 28 RBI. He's hammered eight home runs on the season. Nisle was a four-year starter in left field for Purdue and was a unanimous All-Big Ten Freshman selection back in 2018.
Simington has been the Boilermakers' most consistent batter this season. He reached base safely in 38 of the team's first 40 games and opened the year with an eight-game hit streak. He also earned a 21-game on-base streak.
Simington's grand slam in a 12-5 victory over Minnesota on May 21 made him the second Purdue player in a decade to hit two grand slams in different seasons.
Bolton, who is expected to start as an outfielder next season, worked his way into the Boilermakers' batting rotation in the second half of the season.
As a designated hitter and the team's leadoff man, Bolton leads the team with a .459 on-base percentage and 17 stolen bases without being thrown out. He ranks second in the Big Ten in steals while setting a program record in conference play.
Johnson closed out his collegiate career in a 7-4 victory over Penn State on Saturday. He allowed five hits and two runs while pitching five innings.
Here's the full list of the league's award winners:
Top Big Ten Players and Coach
- Player of the Year: Spencer Schwellenbach, Nebraska
- Pitcher of the Year: Trenton Wallace, Iowa
- Freshman of the Year: Max Anderson, Nebraska
- Coach of the Year: Will Bolt, Nebraska
All-Big Ten First Team
- Catcher – Luke Roskam, Nebraska
- First Base – Anthony Calarco, Northwestern
- Second Base – Ted Burton, Michigan
- Shortstop – Benjamin Cowles, Maryland
- Third Base – Jackson Raper, Illinois
- Outfield – Grant Richardson, Indiana
- Outfield – Ben Norman, Iowa
- Outfield – Jaxon Hallmark, Nebraska
- Starting Pitcher – Trenton Wallace, Iowa
- Starting Pitcher – Steven Hajjar, Michigan
- Starting Pitcher – Cade Povich, Nebraska
- Relief Pitcher – Spencer Schwellenbach, Nebraska
- Designated Hitter – Justin Janas, Illinois
- At-Large – Shawn Goosenberg, Northwestern
All-Big Ten Second Team
- Catcher – Griffin Mazur, Michigan
- First Base – Conner Pohl, Ohio State
- Second Base – Zack Raabe, Minnesota
- Shortstop – Benjamin Sems, Michigan
- Third Base – Max Anderson, Nebraska
- Outfield – Chris Alleyne, Maryland
- Outfield – Tito Flores, Michigan
- Outfield – Kade Kern, Ohio State
- Starting Pitcher – Gabe Bierman, Indiana
- Starting Pitcher – McCade Brown, Indiana
- Starting Pitcher – Cameron Weston, Michigan
- Relief Pitcher – Ryan Ramsey, Maryland
- Designated Hitter – Matt Wood, Penn State
- At-Large – Michael Trautwein, Northwestern
All-Big Ten Third Team
Catcher – Ryan Hampe, Illinois
First Base – Jimmy Obertop, Michigan
Second Base – Izaya Fullard, Iowa
Shortstop – Branden Comia, Illinois
Third Base – Chris Brito, Rutgers
Outfield – Zaid Walker, Michigan State
Outfield – Ben Nisle, Purdue
Outfield – Miles Simington, Purdue
Starting Pitcher – Andrew Hoffmann, Illinois
Starting Pitcher – Garrett Burhenn, Ohio State
Starting Pitcher – Seth Lonsway, Ohio State
Relief Pitcher – Willie Weiss, Michigan
Relief Pitcher – TJ Brock, Ohio State
Designated Hitter – Mike Bolton, Purdue
At-Large – Cole Barr, Indiana
Big Ten All-Freshman Team
- Catcher – Luke Shliger, Maryland
- Second Base – Paul Toetz, Indiana
- Shortstop – Mitch Jebb, Michigan State
- Third Base – Max Anderson, Nebraska
- Outfield – Morgan Colopy, Indiana
- Outfield – Kade Kern, Ohio State
- Outfield – Ryan Lasko, Rutgers
- Starting Pitcher – Riley Gowens, Illinois
- Starting Pitcher – Jason Savacool, Maryland
- Starting Pitcher – Nick Powers, Michigan State
- Relief Pitcher – John Modugno, Indiana
- Designated Hitter – Ethan O'Donnell, Northwestern
- At-Large – Matthew Shaw, Maryland
- At-Large – Brice Matthews, Nebraska
Sportsmanship Award Honorees
- Nate Lavender, Illinois
- Collin Hopkins, Indiana
- Grant Leonard, Iowa
- Elliot Zoellner, Maryland
- Joe Pace, Michigan
- Andrew Morrow, Michigan State
- Jack Wassel, Minnesota
- Joe Acker, Nebraska
- Charlie Bourbon, Northwestern
- Joe Gahm, Ohio State
- Conor Larkin, Penn State
- Trent Johnson, Purdue
- Kyle Muller, Rutgers
Recent Stories From Boilermakers Country
- JOHNSON'S FINAL APPEARANCE ON THE MOUND: Seniors led the way both on the mound and on offense as Purdue earned a 7-4 victory over Penn State on Saturday. The two teams resumed play after their game was originally suspended on Thursday. CLICK HERE
- PURDUE ADDS TRANSFER RECEIVER: Marshall transfer wide receiver Broc Thompson is a native of Indianapolis and will return to his home state after playing two seasons with the Thundering Herd. CLICK HERE
- PFF BIG TEN PROJECTIONS: Pro Football Focus simulated the Big Ten football seasons 10,000 times and listed results for all 14 programs. Purdue is projected to win 4.9 games while having a 1% chance at a conference championship victory. CLICK HERE
- PURDUE BASKETBALL AT BARCLAYS CENTER: Purdue basketball is expected to play North Carolina State at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, next season. An official announcement is expected next week. CLICK HERE
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