Valparaiso University senior Sam Stewart (Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln-Way East) received the Horizon League’s top honor on Tuesday, as the league announced that Stewart has been named the Horizon League Player of the Year in voting by the league’s head coaches. In addition, classmate Jorgi Calombaris (Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln-Way East) joined Stewart as a First Team All-League selection, while sophomore Carly Trepanier (Manteno, Ill./Manteno) earned a Second Team All-League spot for the second straight year.

Stewart has enjoyed one of the top seasons in program history and is among the nation’s best in numerous categories. She enters this week’s Horizon League Championship atop the league in eight different offensive categories, including all three Triple Crown categories – batting average (.395), home runs (15) and RBIs (46). Stewart currently ranks sixth nationally in walks (1.00/game), seventh in on-base percentage (.562), 10^th in slugging percentage (.851) and 13^th in home runs/game (0.34).

Stewart is coming off of one of the most impressive weekends of play possible in her final series at the Valpo Softball Complex. She reached base in all 11 plate appearances over her final three home games, a streak which is the best in program history and already is tied for seventh-longest in NCAA history. Along the way, she set Valpo’s single-season records for home runs and walks, marks which now stand at 15 and 44, respectively.

Calombaris joined her longtime neighbor and classmate as a First Team All-League selection after putting together the best season of her career this year. She stepped up in Horizon League play, hitting .345 in league-only action with 12 runs scored and 18 RBIs. Calombaris ranks among the top-10 in the league in league-only play in hits, RBIs, doubles and total bases. Overall, she is hitting .285 this year with 24 runs scored, 22 RBIs and a team-best 10 doubles. Calombaris has been a rock defensively at third base as well, committing just five errors this year and tallying 127 assists – second in the Horizon League and seventh in a single season in program history.

Trepanier repeated as a Second Team All-Horizon League honoree with her strong performance from the leadoff spot as a sophomore. Trepanier is hitting .364 overall, good for second on the team, and leads the team and ranks second in the league with 60 hits. She has swiped a team-best 15 bases, which ranks fourth among league players, and also ranks among the league’s top-six in runs scored, on-base percentage, batting average and total bases.

Stewart is just the second player in Valpo program history to earn league Player of the Year honors and the first to earn the accolade outright, as Kaitlyn Ranieri was tabbed the Horizon League co-Player of the Year in 2014. In addition, the Crusaders had multiple players receive First Team All-League honors for the first time since 2012.