Around The Big Ten – April 16

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MEN’S LACROSSE

Offensive Players of the Week
Matt Traynor, Penn State
Senior – Midfield/Attack – Downingtown, Pa. – Major: Comms Arts and Sciences

• Matched a career best seven goals in a 10-4 win over Johns Hopkins
• Set the new Big Ten best marks in goals scored and points this season
• Also added a season-high four ground ball to round out the effort Traynor currently leads the conference in points per game (4.38)
• Last Penn State Offensive Player of the Week Award: TJ Malone (April 23, 2024)

Defensive Player of the Week
Will Schaller, Maryland
Junior – Defense – Bel Air, Md. – Major: Philosophy, Politics, and Economics

• Anchored the Terps’ defense in the win over No. 2 Ohio State
• His effort of three caused turnovers and a ground ball helped hold Ohio State to eight goals on the day
• Ohio State’s eight goals were its lowest in Big Ten play this season
• Schaller’s third Defensive Player of the Week Award. Last: March 18, 2025

Specialist of the Week
Logan McNaney, Maryland
Grad. – Goalie – Corning, N.Y. – Major: Applied Economics

• Allowed just 8 goals on 18 shots in a 13-8 win over No. 2 Ohio State
• Mcnaney made 10 saves and added a ground ball on the day
• His efforts helped the Terps to their fifth top 10 win of the season
• McNaney’s second Specialist of the Week Award. Last: Feb. 18, 2025

Freshman of the Week
Hunter Aquino, Penn State
Freshman – Midfield – Easton, Pa. – Major: Intended Kinesiology

• Scored a goal in a 10-4 win over Johns Hopkins
• Aquino’s goal was his 14^th of the season
• Also collected two ground balls and caused a turnover
• Aquino’s fifth Freshman of the Week Award. Last: April 1, 2025

WOMEN’S LACROSSE

Offensive Player of the Week
Madison Taylor, Northwestern
Jr. – A – Wantagh, N.Y. – Wantagh

• Totaled 11 points on seven goals and four assists in No. 3 Northwestern’s 19-10 win over Oregon

• Tallied a season-high in points in just the first half of the victory

• Scores her sixth Offensive Player of the Week honor and fifth of the season

• Last Northwestern Offensive Player of the Week: Madison Taylor (April 8, 2025)

Midfielder of the Week
Lauren Saltz, Penn State
Sr. – M – Westminster, Md. – Westminster

• Paired a goal and an assist as Penn State upset No. 22 USC 16-8

• Also scooped two ground balls, caused a turnover, and won three draw controls

• Nabs her first Midfielder of the Week award

• Last Penn State Midfielder of the Week: Kristin O’Neill (April 16, 2024)

Defensive Player of the Week
Erin O’Grady, Michigan
Sr. – GK – Massapequa, N.Y. – St. Anthony’s

• Posted 12 saves in No. 13 Michigan’s 13-2 win over No. 5 John Hopkins

• Became the third goalkeeper in program history with more than 300 career stops, bringing her total to 309

• Earns her fourth career Defensive Player of the Week accolade

• Last Michigan Defensive Player of the Week: Erin O’Grady (March 19, 2024)

Freshman of the Week
Brooke Long, Penn State
M – Melville, N.Y. – St. Anthony’s

• Recorded her first-career hat trick on just four shots in a 16-8 win over No. 22 USC

• Added two ground balls and two caused turnovers in the victory

• Notches her first Freshman of the Week award

• Last Penn State Freshman of the Week: Kelly MacKinney (April 23, 2024)

BASEBALL

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Abbrie Covarrubias, USC
So. — 2B — Anaheim, Calif. — Cypress HS

• Batted .500 (8-for-16) and slugged .938 to help USC to a 3-1 week and a series win over Penn State, the fifth series in a row for the Trojans
• Amassed 15 total bases on four singles, two doubles, one triple and one home run
• Fielded 1.000 in 15 chances in the infield, compiling six putouts and nine assists
• Extended hitting streak to seven games and raised season average to .339, second-best on the team; stole three bases on the week
• Becomes first Trojan to be named Big Ten Player of the Week

PITCHER OF THE WEEK
FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
Tate Carey, Michigan
Fr. — S-RHP — Windsor, Ontario — Riverside Secondary School

• Tossed Michigan’s first no-hitter since 1994 with a seven-inning, complete game in a 13-0 win over Akron on April 8 in Ann Arbor, Mich.
• Faced a minimum 21 batters allowing just a walk in the seventh
• Pitched 12 scoreless innings in winning two starts on the week, striking out 11 and holding opponents to a 0.081 batting average
• Improved his pitching record to 6-0 on the season
• Last Wolverine chosen Big Ten Pitcher of the Week: Jacob Denner (April 22, 2024)

SOFTBALL

Player of the Week
Megan Grant, UCLA
Jr. – UTL – San Bruno, Calif. – Aragon High School – Major: Sociology

• Led UCLA in a 4-0 week with a .667 batting average (6-for-9), five home runs, 11 RBI, six runs, a 2.333 slugging percentage and a 3.083 on-base percentage
• Hit a home run in all four games and hit grand slams in back-to-back games against Cal Baptist and Washington, marking her third grand slam in a four-game stretch
• In the first win vs. Washington, Grant logged the fourth multi-home run performance of her career and third of the season. Her first home run was a go-ahead grand slam in the first inning of a 7-4 victory
• In the game two win, went 2-for-2 with a solo home run in the first inning and sent a solo home run over the right-center fence in the third inning to give UCLA a 2-1 lead
• Her two home runs in game on against Washington pushed her season total to 20 HR through 42 GP, tying Stacey Nuveman (1999) as the fastest Bruin to reach 20 homers in a single season. Her 22 home runs are tied for fourth in UCLA history and the most by a Bruin since 2013
• Took over as the NCAA leader in home runs (22) and RBIs (68)
• Last UCLA Player of the Week: Megan Grant (April 7, 2025)

Pitcher of the Week
Jordy Bahl, Nebraska
Jr. – RHP – Papillion, Neb. – Papillion-La Vista – Major: Child, Youth and Family Studies

• Across the Huskers’ three wins last week, Bahl compiled an ERA of 1.27 and a record of 2-0, helping hand Northwestern its first Big Ten series loss since 2022
• Both Husker wins vs. Northwestern came in run-rule fashion, winning 11-1 on Saturday and 10-1 on Sunday.
• Against Creighton on Wednesday, Bahl threw 6.0 innings and allowed only one run while striking out eight batters, earning the win in an 8-2 game over the Bluejays
• In the first game against Northwestern on Saturday, Bahl struck out 11 batters for her fifth double-digit strikeout outing of the year, while allowing only one run and two hits
• Last Nebraska Pitcher of the Week: Jordy Bahl (March 31, 2025)

Freshman of the Week
Keirys Click, Illinois
UTL – Hobart, Ind.  – Hobart – Major: Psychology

• Helped Illinois to its first Big Ten series win of the season against Michigan State
• Went 3-for-8 on the weekend with a pair of home runs, three RBI and three runs
• Tied the series finale in the bottom of the seventh with a two-run home run, a game the Illini went on to win 5-4
• Earns her first Freshman of the Week honor
• Last Illinois Freshman of the Week: Stevie Meade (March 8, 2022)

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