RIVER FOREST, Ill. – As the baseball tournament gets underway, the Northern Athletic Collegiate Conference (NACC) has announced the 2025 All-Conference accolades. Eleven Concordia University Chicago (CUC) Cougars earned All-Conference honors: Bryce Jones (Ottawa, Ill.), Tyler Krater (Phoenix, Ariz.), Tyler Dorsch (Phoenix, Ariz.), and Jake Mahler (Vernon Hills, Ill.) all earned first team accolades, Ryan Renella (Bartlett, Ill.), Michael Southard (Northbrook, Ill.), Eliot Higgins (Park Ridge, Ill.), and Michael Kasik (Chandler, Ariz.) earned second team honors, while Brandon Mahler (Vernon Hills, Ill.), Yashion Boswell (Lynwood, Ill.), and Dylan Ferraro (Windsor, Colo.) picked up honorable mention.
 
First Team
Jones picks up his first All-Conference nod as the Cougars' reliable and experienced relief pitcher. With 18 appearances on the mound this season, Jones recorded an ERA of 1.66 in his 21.2 innings pitched. With a record of 3-2, Jones also recorded two saves this season, against Wartburg College on March 7 and Marian University on April 12. He recorded a season-high four strikeouts against Rockford University on April 15, while posting 18 strikeouts on the year.

Krater secured his second consecutive year of conference accolades after being named 2024 honorable mention. This season, he posted the highest slugging percentage for the Cougars with a .648. Leading the squad in home runs with 11, Krater also recorded the second-most RBIs with 46, the second-most doubles, with 16, a batting average of .333, and 32 runs scored. As CUC's primary third baseman, he also tallied 64 assists. In the NACC, he ranked fourth in doubles and home runs, and fifth in slugging percentage and RBIs. Krater also picked up a career-high seven RBIs against Lakeland on April 19.

For a third time in his career, Dorsch received All-Conference Recognition, being named to the second team in both 2023 and 2024. This year, he recorded a team-high 60 hits, team-high 49 RBIs, the second-best batting average of .353, and the second-most runs scored with 42. On the base path, he totaled 15 stolen bases, three of which came against Dominican on March 26. As the primary right fielder, Dorsch picked up the third-most putouts on the team with 106. In the NACC, he tallied the second-most RBIs, fifth-most hits, and sixth most home runs with nine.

As the squad's designated hitter this season, J. Mahler led the team with a .382 batting average, a.473 on-base percentage, had the second-best slugging percentage of .618, and had a team-high 18 doubles. He also recorded 33 runs scored, 33 RBIs, and six home runs. Compared to the conference, Mahler ranked second in doubles, fifth in on-base percentage, seventh in slugging percentage, eighth in batting average and ninth in hits.
 
Second Team
In his debut season, Renella led the Cougars with a 3.44 ERA. He made nine appearances on the mound, starting in eight of them, and posted a record of 3-2. In 49.2 innings pitched, he struck out a team-high 38 batters and had an opposing bat average of .257. Renella ranked fifth in the conference in earned run average. He picked up a career best eight strikeouts against Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) on April 23.

Southard went 3-1 on the season, starting on the mound in all eight of his appearances. He recorded an ERA of 2.86 in 34.2 innings pitched. Southard struck out 26 batters and had an opposing bat average of .256. He picked up a season-high seven strikeouts against Wisconsin Lutheran College (WLC) in six innings pitched.

Picking up his first All-Conference accolades, Higgins posted an ERA of 2.39 as a solid relief pitcher for the Cougars. In his 15 appearances on the mound, he pitched 26.1 innings and recorded four saves, the third-most in the NACC. With a 3-0 record, he struck out 29 batters and had an opposing bat average of .169. He recorded a season-high four strikeouts against Rockford on April 15.

Kasik collects his second All-Conference recognition after being named to the 2023 All-NACC first team. Kasik recorded the third-best batting average on the team with .345. Starting in all 40 games, he scored the most runs on the team with 43, recorded the second-most hits with 59, and collected 28 RBIs. In the NACC, he ranked second in putouts, fourth in fielding double plays, and eighth in hits. As the Cougars' reliable first baseman, he led the team with 317 putouts was a part of 23 double plays.
 
Honorable Mention
Picking up his third All-Conference accolades is B. Mahler, receiving second team honors in 2024 and honorable mention in 2023. As one of CUC's main catchers, playing in 29 games with 24 starts, Mahler recorded 153 putouts along with 22 assists, posting a fielding percentage of .967. He also caught 10 runners stealing, ranking fourth in the NACC. At the plate, he recorded a batting average of .290, 29 hits, 18 runs scored, and 19 RBIs.

Boswell recorded the fifth best batting average on the team with a .317. With 39 starts in 40 games, he has been the Cougars' primary second baseman all year, leading the team with 76 assists and the second-most fielding double plays with 18. With 44 hits, he's smashed his first career home run in the win over North Park on March 24. In the NACC, he ranked eighth in sacrifice flies with five.

Ferraro started in eight of his nine appearances on the mound for CUC this season. He posted the second-best ERA on the team with 3.83, pitching 44.2 innings. Ferraro recorded a 4-4 record, recording one shutout. The shutout came against Dominican on March 26, where Ferraro pitched all seven innings with a career-high eight strikeouts on 26 batters faced. In the NACC, he ranked ninth in ERA.
 
What's Next
The Cougars are making their way through the NACC Tournament, as they fell earlier this morning to No. 6 Edgewood, 4-1. CUC's season is still alive though, as the squad will play tomorrow at 10 am up in Milwaukee, Wis. The Cougars will face the loser No. 4 Benedictine and No. 5 Marian, who play at 1 pm on Thursday, May 8. Coverage can be found at cucougars.com/coverage.