Five Michigan State baseball players earn all-Big Ten honors

Five Michigan State baseball players earned all-Big Ten accolades as the conference announced its league awards Tuesday. Second baseman Dan Durkin, center fielder Brandon Hughes, designated hitter Chad Roskelly and pitcher Alex Troop were all tabbed to the all-Big Ten second-team list, while outfielder Bryce Kelley was named to the all-freshman team.

This is the second-straight year for Durkin and Hughes to collect all-Big Ten accolades, as Durkin was a first-team selection, while Hughes was a third-teamer last season.

Durkin was MSU's starting second baseman for all 52 games, one of only two players to start all 52 games this season. Durkin led B1G second basemen and ranked tied for ninth in the league overall with nine home runs, and was also first among B1G second basemen and was tied for 11th in the conference overall stats with 42 RBI. He also led B1G second basemen and ranked 12th in the conference overall with a .497 slugging percentage, and was also tops among the league's second basemen and ranked tied for second overall with 16 doubles.

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Durkin was also the Spartans' recipient of the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award. The student-athletes chosen are individuals who have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior. These student-athletes must also be in good academic standing and have demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting.

Hughes led the B1G and ranked seventh in the NCAA with 30 stolen bases, setting a new MSU single-season record. He also led the B1G and ranks third in NCAA with 0.63 stolen bases per game. Hughes was named Collegiate Baseball's National Players Of The Week as well as a USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award Gold Standard Performance of the Week on March 26 for his performance at Illinois.

Troop was tied for the B1G lead with eight wins this season, posting the second-most wins in conference-only action with four victories, finishing the season with an 8-3 overall record. He also ended with a 2.47 ERA, ranking fourth in the conference. Troop was also fourth in the league stats with a .223 opposing batting average. By firing 83 strikeouts this season, Troop ranked fifth in the conference, just shy of MSU's top 10 single-season strikeouts list, but helped the Spartan pitching staff total 420 Ks this season, the second-most in school history. 

Roskelly was MSU's primary designated hitter this season, hitting .324 overall and .315 in B1G only action. He had a 13-game hitting streak, tying for the second-longest hitting streak this season for the Spartans. Roskelly had a .463 overall slugging percentage, including .500 in conference only games. 

Kelley was Michigan State's starting left fielder in all 24 B1G games. He led MSU and was seventh in B1G only stats with a .364 batting average, including a hit in 22 of 24 conference games, featuring a pair of 10-game hitting streaks in conference only action, with 20 in last 21 league contests. He finished with a .353 batting average overall, ranking third in the league's overall rankings.

Michigan State finished the 2017 season with a 29-23 overall record, posting a 10-14 B1G mark, finishing ninth in the league standings and just missing the conference tournament. 

BIG TEN AWARDS

Player of the Year
JAKE ADAMS, Iowa

Pitcher of the Year
Brian Shaffer, Maryland

Freshman of the Year
Tyler Blohm, Maryland

Coach of the Year
Darin Erstad, Nebraska

All-Big Ten First Team
C - Cole McDevitt, Minnesota
1B - JAKE ADAMS, Iowa
2B - Ako Thomas, Michigan
SS - Michael Brdar, Michigan
3B - Drew Lugbauer, Michigan
OF - Jack Yalowitz, Illinois
OF - Marty Costes, Maryland
OF - Joe Hoscheit, Northwestern
DH - Scott Schreiber, Nebraska
UTIL - Jake Meyers, Nebraska
SP - Brian Shaffer, Maryland
SP - Oliver Jaskie, Michigan
SP - Lucas Gilbreath, Minnesota
RP - Jackson Lamb, Michigan

All-Big Ten Second Team
C - Tyler Cropley, Iowa
1B - Pat McInerney, Illinois
2B - Dan Durkin, Michigan State
SS - Mason McCoy, Iowa
3B - Micah Coffey, Minnesota
OF - Logan Sowers, Indiana
OF - Robert Neustrom, Iowa
OF - Brandon Hughes, Michigan State
DH - Chad Roskelly, Michigan State
UTIL - Matt Lloyd, Indiana
SP - Nick Gallagher, Iowa
SP - Alex Troop, Michigan State
SP - Sal Biasi, Penn State
RP - Brian Glowicki, Minnesota

All-Big Ten Third Team
C - Nick Matera, Rutgers
1B - Toby Hanson, Minnesota
2B - Michael Massey, Illinois
SS - Angelo Altavilla, Nebraska
3B - AJ Lee, Maryland
OF - Craig Dedelow, Indiana
OF - Johnny Slater, Michigan
OF - Dominic Canzone, Ohio State
DH - Chris Folinusz, Rutgers
UTIL - Mike Carter, Rutgers
SP - Pauly Milto, Indiana
SP - Jake Hohensee, Nebraska
SP - Gareth Stroh, Purdue
RP - Mac Lozer, Michigan

All-Big Ten Freshman Team
C - Bryce Bonner, Purdue
1B - MATT GORSKI, Indiana
2B - Michael Massey, Illinois
SS - Jeremy Houston, Indiana
3B - LUKE ROSKAM, Nebraska
OF - Bryce Kelley, Michigan State
OF - DOMINIC CANZONE, Ohio State
OF - Skyler Hunter, Purdue
DH - Casey Dodge, Illinois
UTIL - Jordan Kozicky, Minnesota
SP - TYLER BLOHM, Maryland
SP - Hank Christie, Northwestern
SP - Cal Krueger, Indiana
RP - Tommy Henry, Michigan

Sportsmanship Award Honorees
Anthony Drago, Illinois
Tony Butler, Indiana
Corbin Woods, Iowa
Zach Jancarski, Maryland
Michael Brdar, Michigan
Dan Durkin, Michigan State
Matt Stemper, Minnesota
Ben Miller, Nebraska
Cooper Wetherbee, Northwestern
Jalen Washington, Ohio State
Alex Malinsky, Penn State
Hayden Grant, Purdue
Max Herrmann, Rutgers

Unanimous selections in ALL CAPS

- MSU Athletic Communications