Valparaiso University baseball senior outfielder Alex Ryan (Lake Mills, Wis. / Lakeside Lutheran) was named to the Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete First Team, while senior outfielder Carson Husmann (Hanna, Ind. / South Central [Bradley]) was named to the MVC Scholar-Athlete Second Team as the league announced its academic honors on Wednesday.

Ryan, a 2023 Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete First Team honoree and 2022 MVC Scholar-Athlete Honorable Mention performer, posted a 3.92 GPA in finance and business administration. He robbed two home runs in his career – April 28, 2023 at Missouri State and exactly a year later on April 28, 2024 at UIC, taking away a grand slam in a play that ranked No. 4 on SportsCenter’s Top 10 that evening. He led Valpo in batting average at .301 while making 50 starts this season. He hit nine home runs during his senior season while reaching base at a .402 clip and slugging .538. He posted a .322 batting average in league play while collecting 14 extra-base hits including six home runs to compile a .611 MVC-only slugging percentage. Ryan drilled two home runs on March 16 at nationally-ranked Campbell. He is starting a position with Generac this summer after wrapping up his career as a three-year starter for the Beacons.

Husmann, who owns a 3.94 GPA toward his master’s of business administration after graduating from Bradley with a 3.52 GPA, played in 45 games and made 43 starts while slugging nine home runs and driving in 32 this season. He enjoyed a two-homer game on April 28 at UIC including a grand slam and hit 32 career home runs.

Both players also received College Sports Communicators Academic All-District honors this week.  

MVC Baseball Scholar-Athlete First Team

Logan Chambers, Missouri State

Carson Garner, Murray State

Brodey Heaton, Belmont (BASEBALL SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR)

Reece Lawler, UIC

Daniel Pacella, Illinois State

Jacob Pennington, Murray State

Adam Pottinger, Indiana State

Jack Rando, Belmont

Joe Ruzicka, Belmont

Alex Ryan, Valparaiso

Donovan Schultz, Evansville

Mike Sears, Indiana State

Mark Shallenberger, Evansville

Mathieu Vallee, Southern Illinois

MVC Baseball Scholar-Athlete Second Team

Jake Allgeyer, Southern Illinois

Aidan Foeller, Southern Illinois

Luke Hayden, Indiana State

Cameron Holycross, Indiana State

Brendan Hord, Evansville

Carson Husmann, Valparaiso

Dominic Listi, Indiana State

Cal McGinnis, Evansville

Judah Morris, Illinois State

Timmy O’Brien, Bradley

Zack Stewart, Missouri State