Indiana baseball saw six different players earn postseason awards in the two weeks following its elimination from the NCAA Tournament on June 2. Hoosier outfielder Devin Taylor, pitchers Jacob Vogel and Connor Foley, and infielders Tyler Cerny, Jasen Oliver and Joey Brenczewski all earned recognition for their efforts in 2024.
After a blazing sophomore season in which he led Indiana in batting average (.357), home runs (20) and runs scored (67), Taylor earned a myriad of postseason honors. After becoming the first player in Indiana baseball history to be named first-team All-Big Ten in his first two seasons, he was named a second-team All-American by Perfect Game, the organization announced Wednesday.
Taylor was also named to the first-team All-Midwest Region by the American Baseball Coaches Association on Monday. He was invited to the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team Training Camp, which will take place June 26-27 at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, North Carolina. Taylor is the sixth Indiana player to earn an invite to the Collegiate National Team training camp and the first since then-Indiana sophomores Kyle Schwarber and Sam Travis participated in 2013.
The Collegiate National Team comprises the top 56 non-draft eligible players in college baseball. Taylor will compete for a roster spot and, if selected, will represent the United States in an International Friendship Series against Chinese Taipei and a Summer League Tour against teams from the Appalachian League and the Coastal Plain League. The Collegiate National Team’s season will culminate in a Fourth of July friendly at Segra Stadium in Fayetteville, North Carolina.
In 2024 Taylor posted 30 multi-hit games in 59 starts and hit 12 home runs in his final 19 games after being moved to the leadoff spot. His 20 home runs are a single-season Indiana record in the BBCOR era, dating back to 2011. Taylor has hit 36 home runs in his first two seasons with Indiana and has a chance to break the all-time Hoosier home run record in 2025. Alex Dickerson, Mike Smith and Mike Sabo are tied atop the table with 47 career home runs and Dickerson most recently accomplished the feat from 2009-11.
Vogel, who posted a 2.31 ERA and held opponents to a .195 batting average in 23.1 innings at the back end of Indiana’s bullpen, was named a Freshman All-American by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association, the organization announced Tuesday. Vogel, Oliver and Brenczewski were named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team as well. Vogel is the first Indiana player to be named a NCBWA All-American since third baseman Josh Pyne and outfielder Carter Mathison were named second-team All-Americans in 2022.
Foley was named second-team All-Big Ten after posting a 4.71 ERA while striking out 82 batters in 63 innings pitched. Opponents batted .165 against Foley. Cerny was named third-team All-Big Ten after batting .315 with 10 home runs, 60 RBIs and a conference-best 24 doubles.
