Baseball Wednesday, May 11, 2022 NWC Athletic Communications

Schuchart and Watson Highlight GPAC All-Conference Baseball Teams

Eight Raiders garner All-GPAC honors by the league office

SIOUX CITY, Iowa – After pulling two upsets in the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) tournament, the Northwestern College baseball team garnered postseason honors for eight student-athletes, highlighted by Second Team honorees in Colton Schuchart and Mo Watson. Sophomore third baseman Sam Stanford garnered GPAC Gold Glove honors for his play at the hot corner.

COLTON SCHUCHART – SECOND TEAM (RELIEF PITCHER)
Freshman relief pitcher Colton Schuchart (Jourdanton, Texas) came on with a bang this season in the Red Raider bullpen. He quickly became a reliable and dominant arm as he was often called on in tight situations, leading the team in saves with four.

"Colton had one of the best seasons I've ever seen from a bullpen pitcher. He completely changed our bullpen and pitching staff with his intensity and performance," noted head coach Brian Wede. "He brings a lot of guys confidence because of his presence and it is noticeable. His ability to get swings and misses is a game changer at the back of the bullpen!"

Throwing 29.1 innings on the season, the Texas native led the team in ERA out of the bullpen with a 2.45 and held a 2-2 record. He made 16 appearances and struck out 51 batters in his 29 innings of work, resulting in a 5:1 strike out to walk ratio. Per nine innings of work, the freshman punched out 15.8 batters and surrendered just 10 walks.

The Second Team honor marks his first-career All-Conference accolade.

MO WATSON – SECOND TEAM (DESIGNATED HITTER)
Sitting tied for second on the team in home runs (6), Mo Watson (So., Ankeny, Iowa) was a clutch hitter all season long for the Red Raiders. He led the team in OPS, sitting just under 1.000 at .949. He recorded 35 hits in 109 at-bats, including five doubles, two triples, and six home runs. He held a slugging percentage of .569, which led the team as the only Raider to eclipse .500 in the category, plus a .380 on-base percentage.

"Mo really came on once he started getting regular at-bats and it became obvious he's one of the best hitters in the conference," said Wede. "He had some of the biggest hits of the season for us and I am really proud of the way he continued to work and stay confident while waiting for his chances."

Watson is tallying his first-career All-GPAC honor.

KIP CULLINAN – HONORABLE MENTION
Junior Kip Cullinan (Urbandale, Iowa) was on a tear before his season came to a grinding halt due to an injury. He was leading the team in multiple offensive categories entering league play, including RBIs, home runs, hits, doubles, and batting average.

"Kip was having one of the top-10 offensive seasons in NWC history before getting hurt. He led our team in RBI and missed 21 of our 49 games. It was neat to see him recognized and shows the respect people have for him as a player," says Wede. "His ability to hit against any level of pitcher separates him from a lot of guys, and he never gives away at-bats. He competes extremely well in the box!"

In his 28 games played, the junior hit a whopping .381, recording 32 hits, eight doubles, six home runs, and 29 RBI. He was slugging .690 with an on-base percentage of .455.

Cullinan is a two-time All-Conference performer after being named an Honorable Mention performer a season ago.

SAM STANFORD – HONORABLE MENTION // GOLD GLOVER (3B)
"Sam was a rock for us. He just hits."

Sam Stanford (So., Los Angeles, Calif.) led the Raiders with a .349 batting average this season, recording team-highs in hits (59), doubles (11), and on-base percentage (.391). In his team-high 169 at-bats this season, Stanford recorded the team's lowest strike out mark at just 17. Additionally, he drove in 26 runs.

"It's not always the prettiest but he gets the barrel to the ball and gets hits. To hit .350 is difficult. His defense was on another level this season," said Wede. "He had a tough start defensively, then was the best I've seen in our league for a long time at third base! He's a really good player who still has room to be even better, which is fun to think about!"

Defensively, Stanford becomes the first Raider third baseman since Ben De Boer in 2019 to win a Gold Glove award at the hot corner. He held a .938 fielding percentage – recording 94 assists in 129 attempts, including 27 putouts. He only had eight errors on the season.

The Second Team honor marks Stanford's second All-Conference honor in as many seasons. In 2021, he was an Honorable Mention performer.

MASON POREPP – HONORABLE MENTION
Mason Porepp (So., Pleasant Hill, Iowa) was third on the team in batting average (.311) and was one of four Raiders to notch 40+ hits on the season (41). He was tied for second in doubles with nine, while also recording one triple and one home run. On the bases, he was a threat to be reckoned with, stealing seven bases in his 11 attempts.

"Mason really worked hard to fix some things that opponents exposed during his freshman season and he had a great year for us," noted Wede. "He became one of our most reliable hitters at the end of the year, and was a big piece of our success during that time. He is good at all phases of the game and will keep getting better."

Porepp is garnering his first-career All-Conference honor.

BRETT SHELTON – HONORABLE MENTION
The ace of the Northwestern starting rotation, Brett Shelton (So., Clive, Iowa) lands Honorable Mention honors for the Raiders this season. He led the staff with five wins to his name this season, holding a 3.42 ERA in 12 games started. He threw a whopping seven complete games, including one shut out.

"Brett really belongs on a team and I wish the GPAC coaches would see what I see every day. When Brett is on the mound we have a high chance to win, and he always faces the other team's best arm," says Wede. "His command and stuff make him really difficult to string base runners together on. He's top-5 of arms no one in our league wants to face and should have been recognized that way."

It marks back-to-back seasons that Shelton has been honored as an Honorable Mention All-GPAC performer for Coach Wede and company.

DREW DYKSTRA – HONORABLE MENTION
Drew Dykstra (Fr., Urbandale, Iowa), as a two-way player for the Red Raiders, was tabbed an Honorable Mention starting pitcher this season to cap off his phenomenal freshman campaign. On the mound, he tossed 45.2 innings and had an ERA of 5.12 with a 3-3 record. He had 53 strike outs, while opponents hit .267 off him.

"Drew had an outstanding freshman season as a two-way guy. We put him in a lot of high-pressure spots and he really excelled! As a pitcher, he was arguably our second-best and he really held our outfield defense together playing a high-level center field," notes Wede. "At the plate, he started and finished the year strong and did some things typical freshman don't do."

For the freshman, this marks his first-career All-Conference accolade in his first season in a Red Raider uniform.

BRADY ROBERTS – HONORABLE MENTION
A staple in the Raider starting rotation, Brady Roberts (Urbandale, Iowa) caps off his junior season with Honorable Mention honors. The junior was tied for second on the team with three wins this season, throwing an even 56 innings on the bump. He made 11 starts of his 13 appearances, recording a share for the team-lead with 66 strike outs.

"Roberts was one of our work horses all year as a starter. He was a little inconsistent, which cost him a chance to be First or Second Team, but when he's on he's as good as anyone," notes Wede. "He continues to get better as a pitcher because of his dedication to the work it requires."

It's the second straight year Roberts has been tabbed an Honorable Mention All-GPAC performer.

Head Coach Brian Wede has now coached 66 All-Conference performers that have landed First or Second team honors – 26 First Team and now 40 Second Team. Under his guidance, Northwestern baseball has seen at least six athletes earn conference honors.

Don't forget to follow Northwestern College Athletics on Facebook @nwcraiders, Twitter @nwcraiders, and Instagram @nwcraiders! #RaidersStandOut

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Players Mentioned

#21 Kip Cullinan: 1B; Junior; L/L

#15 Brady Roberts: RHP; Junior

#5 Brett Shelton: RHP; Sophomore

#24 Sam Stanford: INF; Sophomore; R/R

#25 Mo Watson: C; Sophomore; R/R

#3 Mason Porepp: OF; Sophomore; R/R

#13 Drew Dykstra: P/OF; Freshman; L/L

#32 Colton Schuchart: LHP; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#21 Kip Cullinan
: Junior; L/L
: 1B

#15 Brady Roberts
: Junior
: RHP

#5 Brett Shelton
: Sophomore
: RHP

#24 Sam Stanford
: Sophomore; R/R
: INF

#25 Mo Watson
: Sophomore; R/R
: C

#3 Mason Porepp
: Sophomore; R/R
: OF

#13 Drew Dykstra
: Freshman; L/L
: P/OF

#32 Colton Schuchart
: Freshman
: LHP