Around The Big Ten – April 30

More on this week’s edition of “Big Ten Whip Around” — start listening to SiriusXM Big Ten Radio (Ch. 372) on the SiriusXM app now.

BASEBALL

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
AJ Guerrero, Washington
Sr. — OF — Fife, Wash. — Fife HS

• Batted .706 (12-for-17) over a four-game stretch, recording four home runs (including two grand slams) and 13 RBI
• Helped Washington to a 3-1 record and its fifth-straight Big Ten series win with a pair of victories against Northwestern
• Compiled a .714 on-base percentage and slugged 1.471 with 25 total bases
• Did not strike out in 17 at-bats; finished the week with eight runs scored
• Becomes first Husky to be named Big Ten Player of the Week

PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Caden Aoki, USC
Sr. — S-RHP — Huntington Beach, Calif. — Notre Dame (NCAA)

• Tossed nine innings of two-hit ball in USC’s 6-1 win over Minnesota on April 26
• Took a no-hitter into the eighth inning before allowing a single — at one point, retired 15 batters in a row
• Fanned nine batters and allowed just one earned run in recording USC’s first complete-game, two-hitter since 2015
• Held the Gophers to a .069 batting average while logging a 0.44 WHIP
• Earns his second Big Ten Pitcher of the Week certificate, having previously been recognized on March 3, 2025

FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
Andrew Johnson, USC
Fr. — R-RHP — San Juan Capistrano, Calif. — Capistrano Valley Christian HS

• Amassed a 0.00 ERA over two relief appearances, holding opponents to three hits while fanning seven over 8.1 innings of work
• Earned the win in USC’s 16-6 win at Minnesota, entering the game with the Trojans trailing 6-5 before throwing 6.1 scoreless innings with two hits and no walks allowed
• Held Long Beach State scoreless over two innings, striking out three
• Receives his first Big Ten weekly accolade
• Last Trojan chosen Big Ten Freshman of the Week: Grant Govel (Feb. 24, 2025)

SOFTBALL

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

• Notched a team-high .625 batting average across the Huskers’ three games against Washington
• Reached based in seven of her eight trips to the plate, recording five hits, two walks, three runs and eight RBI
• Tallied three home runs, one in the 12-8 win on Friday and two in the 6-0 win on Sunday. Sunday marked the second multi-home run game of her career
• With her two home runs on Sunday, Bahl now has 34 extra-base hits on the season, one shy of tying the school record. Her 55 runs this season is tied for the seventh-highest total in school history
• On Friday, Bahl became the first player in Nebraska history to amass 15 doubles and 15 home runs in the same season
• Last Nebraska Player of the Week: Ava Kuszak (Feb. 17, 2025)

Pitcher of the Week
Sydney Schwartz, Minnesota
Jr. – RHP – Victoria, Minn. – Chanhassen

• Went 3-0 and added a save in 16.0 scoreless innings over four appearances to help Minnesota to a 4-0 weekend with a pair of wins over both Pitt and North Dakota
• Struck out 15 on the weekend with just six hits allowed and four walks issued, limiting opposing batters to a .105 batting average
• Friday against Pitt, Schwartz threw a three-hit shutout and followed the next day with a two-hit shutout against the Panthers
• Saturday, she came in relief and got the final three outs to earn the save against North Dakota
• Closed the weekend with a no-hitter against the Fighting Hawks, striking out four with one walk allowed
• Last Minnesota Pitcher of the Week: Autumn Pease (May 8, 2023)

Freshman of the Week
Rylee McCoy, Oregon
1B – Agoura Hills, Calif.  – Oaks Christian School

• Hit .556 (5-for-9) with a double, a home run and eight RBI to help lead Oregon to a road sweep at Indiana, slugging 1.000 for the series
• McCoy homered in the second game against the Hoosiers to break the Oregon freshman record for home runs with her 15^th of the season
• Drove in four runs in Sunday’s series finale, the last two of which in the sixth inning proved to be the difference in the Ducks’ 9-7 win
• Last Oregon Freshman of the Week: Stefini Ma’ake (April 7, 2025)

WOMEN’S LACROSSE

The Big Ten Conference announced its 2025 women’s lacrosse individual awards on Tuesday, following a vote of the league’s head coaches.

Big Ten Tournament finalists Maryland and Northwestern earned two awards each, as the Terps’ Kori Edmondson and Kayla Gilmore were named Midfielder and Freshman of the Year, respectively, while Madison Taylor and Kelly Amonte Hiller claimed Attacker and Coach of the Year honors.

Johns Hopkins’ Reagan O’Brien was named Defender of the Year, while Michigan’s Erin O’Grady earned her second consecutive Goaltender of the Year award.

Taylor earned the third consecutive Attacker of the Year honor for Northwestern and the program’s fifth in the last six seasons. Taylor leads the nation with 125 points, while her 89 goals are good for second in the country. The junior tallied 16 hat tricks in 18 games and posted at least five points on 16 occasions, including an 11-point outing against Oregon.

Edmondson is the fifth Maryland student-athlete named Midfielder of the Year and earns the program’s sixth award in 10 years. The junior from Severna, Md. has recorded at least three goals in 13 of 19 games and leads the Terps with 65 points, 56 goals, and 34 ground balls, while her 68 draw controls and 17 caused turnovers are second on the team.

O’Brien is the first Blue Jay to garner Defender of the Year accolades. The junior from Charlestown, Mass. set an NCAA single season record with 85 caused turnovers, while leading the Big Ten with 52 ground balls. O’Brien caused at least three turnovers in 14 of 18 games, setting a new program record with 10 caused turnovers in the Blue Jays Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal win over Penn State.

O’Grady becomes the third repeat winner of the Big Ten Goaltender of the Year award, joining Maryland’s Megan Taylor (2016-19) and Emily Sterling (2022-23). The senior’s .540 save percentage ranks second in the country, while her 9.00 goals against average is good for seventh. O’Grady notched double-digit saves in 11 of 15 games, anchoring the nation’s number two-ranked scoring defense.

Gilmore is the third Maryland student-athlete to earn Freshman of the Year honors and its first since Grace Griffin earned the award in 2018. The Mastic, N.Y. native has made an immediate impact for Maryland, starting all 18 of her appearances this season, while posting 23 points on 14 goals and nine assists. The freshman has also collected a team-high 73 draw controls, good for eighth in the Big Ten.

This is the fifth time Amonte Hiller has been named Coach of the Year, also claiming the honor in 2019, 2021, 2023, and 2024. Northwestern won both the Big Ten regular season and tournament titles for the third consecutive season and the fourth time in the last five years. The Wildcats have been ranked in the top three on every IWLCA Coaches Poll this season and will enter the 2025 NCAA Tournament with a 16-2 record and an eight-game win streak.

The complete list of 2025 Big Ten women’s Lacrosse individual award winners is below.

Attacker of the Year: MADISON TAYLOR, Jr. Northwestern
Midfielder of the Year: Kori Edmondson, Jr., Maryland
Defender of the Year: Reagan O’Brien, Jr., Johns Hopkins
Goaltender of the Year: Erin O’Grady, Sr., Michigan
Freshman of the Year: Kayla Gilmore, M, Maryland
Coach of the Year: Kelly Amonte Hiller, Northwestern

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