Baseball

MIAC announces 2026 Baseball Awards

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. – With the 2026 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) season in the books, the conference announced its annual baseball awards on Tuesday.
 
Bethel junior shortstop Seth Nelson was voted the MIAC Baseball Max Molock Player of the Year honors, while Saint John's first-year right-hander Max Edwards was selected as both the MIAC Baseball Mike Augustin Pitcher of the Year and MIAC Baseball Rookie of the Year. Macalester head coach Matt Parrington was recognized by his peers as the MIAC Baseball Jim Dimick Coach of the Year.
 
Nelson (Mahtomedi, Minn. / Mahtomedi) was voted the MIAC Baseball Max Molock Player of the Year after leading all MIAC hitters in batting average (0.444), on-base percentage (0.596), and OPS (1.374) during conference games, while finishing second in the league in slugging percentage (0.778) and runs scored (26). A starter in all 20 games for the regular-season champion Royals, Nelson collected 23 RBI and 13 extra-base hits in his 63 MIAC at-bats in 2026. He is the third Royal in program history to be named MIAC Baseball Max Molock Player of the Year, joining Josh Gilbert (1993) and Matt Rowley (2012).
 
Edwards (Rockford, Minn. / Rockford) was selected as both the Mike Augustin Pitcher of the Year and MIAC Rookie of the Year after finishing the conference regular season ranked second in the MIAC in earned run average (1.67) and opponent batting average (0.179), and third in strikeouts (32). Edwards started five games against MIAC foes, going the distance in three and finishing with a 3-1 record on the mound. Edwards is the fourth SJU pitcher – and the first since 2018 – to be recognized as the MIAC Mike Augustin Pitcher of the Year. He is also the second Johnnie in program history to be named MIAC Baseball Rookie of the Year, joining 2017 honoree Wyatt Ulrich.
 
Parrington (27th season) was honored by his peers with the MIAC Jim Dimick Coach of the Year award after guiding the Scots to a 15-5 mark in conference play during the regular season. The winningest coach in program history, Parrington collected his 400th victory at Macalester in 2026. After voting was completed, Parrington's Scots went on to set a new program record for overall wins (26) and claimed the MIAC Baseball Playoff championship for the first time since 2017 to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Baseball Tournament. Parrington was previously recognized as the MIAC Jim Dimick Coach of the Year in 2011 and 2017.
 
In addition to individual awards, MIAC coaches also selected 33 players to the All-Conference Team, with 19 more receiving honorable mention distinction.
 
Twenty-eight of the 33 All-Conference selections earned the achievement for the first time in their collegiate career, while Augsburg senior outfielder Stanley Regguinti became the 88th baseball player in recorded conference history to be selected All-MIAC three times.
 
All awards were nominated by and voted on by the eleven MIAC head baseball coaches, and only statistics from regular-season MIAC contests were considered for conference honors; any nominated player not selected as All-Conference but still receiving votes from at least three coaches was named honorable mention.
 
The MIAC also announced the All-Playoff Team for baseball, which recognized the top eleven performers from the conference tournament, as selected by playoff-participant head coaches.
 
| 2026 MIAC Baseball Awards |