UCLA’s Roch Cholowsky, John Savage win major Big Ten awards

A UCLA baseball team that rolled through its Big Ten Conference schedule, winning its first 25 games, was rewarded accordingly on Monday.

Junior shortstop Roch Cholowsky was selected the Big Ten’s Player of the Year, John Savage was named the Coach of the Year and the Bruins placed a conference-high seven players on the first team.

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Widely expected to be the first player taken in the Major League Baseball draft next month, Cholowsky became only the third player to be selected the Big Ten’s Player of the Year in back-to-back seasons, joining Minnesota’s Luke Appert (2002-03) and Michigan’s Barry Larkin (1984-85).

USC ace Mason Edwards, who has compiled an 8-0 record with a 1.49 earned-run average, was selected Pitcher of the Year. Nebraska shortstop Dylan Carey was named Defensive Player of the Year and Nebraska outfielder Drew Grego was selected Freshman of the Year.

Cholowsky, who hit .330 and led the conference with 21 home runs while playing superb defense, also was selected to the Big Ten’s first team alongside UCLA ace Logan Reddemann, closer Easton Hawk, versatile reliever Wylan Moss, first baseman Mulivai Levu, outfielder Will Gasparino and third baseman Roman Martin.

The other members of the first team were Edwards, USC pitcher Grant Govel, Oregon pitcher Tanner Bradley, Minnesota catcher Weber Neels, Michigan second baseman Colby Turner, Oregon third baseman Drew Smith, Indiana outfielder Hogan Denny, Washington outfielder Jackson Hotchkiss, Penn State utilityman Michael Anderson and Nebraska’s Carey.

Savage was a unanimous selection as conference coach of the year after guiding UCLA to a historic season in which the Bruins became the first No. 1 college baseball team to keep that designation from the start to the end of a regular season. UCLA also notched a program-record 48 wins in the regular season while winning its first 25 Big Ten games and finishing with a 28-2 conference record.

USC pitcher Adam Troy and outfielder Jack Basseer were named to the all-conference second team alongside UCLA catcher Cashel Dugger. UCLA pitcher Cal Randall was part of the third team and UCLA’s Dugger, Levu, Gasparino and West were named to the all-defensive team alongside USC’s Govel.

UCLA pitcher Zach Strickland and USC counterpart Diego Velazquez were selected to the all-freshman team.

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