MAC baseball awards roundup: Taylor named pitcher of the year, Bischel earns coach of the year
Not only is Central Michigan baseball heading back to the NCAA Tournament, but many of its players have earned All Mid-American Conference honors.
Redshirt freshman pitcher Andrew Taylor took home MAC Pitcher of the Year, as well as MAC Freshman Pitcher of the Year, while head coach Jordan Bischel took home Coach of the Year.
Three Chippewas were named first team All-MAC, two were chosen to the second team and two made the conference's all-defensive team.
Bischel earned Coach of the Year for the second season in a row. Under Bischel, the Chippewas finished 40-16 with a 31-9 record in conference play. CMU earned 40 wins for the second-straight season and earned a program best 30 conference wins in 2021.
Taylor was named first team All-MAC in addition to his individual honors. He finished his first full season with an 11-3 record. The Caledonia native etched his name in the single-season record book, ranking second in strikeouts (120) and third in wins (11) and earned run average (1.21).
Heading into the NCAA Tournament, Taylor is coming off a one-hit, eight inning shutout against Toledo. The shutout was his second in a row and of the season. Taylor led the conference in ERA and wins while finishing second in strikeouts to Ball State's Chayce McDermott.
Joining Taylor with first team All-MAC honors were junior second baseman Mario Camilletti and senior outfielder Zach Gilles.
Camilletti, a transfer from Oakland, set the program record for walks (60) and held a conference best .512 on-base percentage. He earned a .330 batting average with 15 doubles, two home runs and 43 runs batted in.
Gilles led the Chippewas in batting average at .36. He was second in the conference in stolen bases (21) behind only Western Michigan's Connor Charping. For his career, Gilles ranks top 10 in a variety of categories and is the program leader in games played.
The Chippewas had a pair of second-team honorees in junior starting pitcher Jordan Patty and junior reliever Grant Frazer.
Patty, from Midland, finished the season 9-2 with a 2.58 ERA. Over the course of the season, Patty broke the program record for consecutive scoreless innings -- settling the new mark at 41 1/3. He also threw a perfect game, retiring all 21 Miami (Ohio) batters he faced April 30.
Frazer, who hails from Oconto, Wisconsin, finished second on the team in ERA at 2.43. In 17 games, he was 2-4. He struck out 21 batters in 33 1/3 innings and allowed just three earned runs in conference play.
Gilles and fellow outfielder Chase Rollin earned MAC All-Defensive team honors. Rollin, a junior from Beal City, finished the season with a .979 fielding percentage after making just two errors. He made a series of highlight plays patrolling left field for the Chippewas.
Here are all the MAC honorees:
Coach of the Year: Jordan Bischel, CMU
Freshman Pitcher of the Year: Andrew Taylor, CMU
Freshman Player of the Year: Kyle Gurney, C, Bowling Green
Player of the Year: Chris Meyers, 1B, Toledo
Pitcher of the Year: Andrew Taylor, CMU
Defensive Player of the Year: Chase Sebby, C, Ball State
1st Team All-MAC
C: Connor Charping, Western Michigan
1B: Chris Meyers, Toledo
2B: Mario Camilletti, CMU
SS: Drew Devine, Western Michigan
3B: Nathan Rose, Bowling Green
OF: Zach Gilles, CMU, Ben Carew, Kent State, Cam Touchette, Kent State
SP: Andrew Taylor, CMU, John Baker, Ball State, Sam Bachman, Miami (Ohio), Joe Rock, Ohio
RP: Eddie Kutt IV, Ohio
DH: Mike Monahan, Eastern Michigan
At-Large: Taylor Hopkins, Eastern Michigan
2nd Team All-MAC
C: Jake Dunham, Northern Illinois
1B: Sean O'Keefe, Western Michigan
2B: Noah Navarro, Ball State
SS: Michael McNamara, Kent State
3B: Ryan Peltier, Ball State
OF: Nick Powell, Ball State, Kam Smith, Northern Illinois, Collin Matthews, Kent State
SP: Luke Albright, Kent State, Jordan Patty, CMU, Chayce McDermott, Ball State, Davis Feldman, Eastern Michigan
RP: Grant Frazer, CMU
DH: Cole Andrews, Miami (Ohio)
At-Large: Justin Miknis, Kent State
All-Defensive Team
C: Chase Sebby, Ball State
1B: Adam Furnas, Bowling Green
2B: Will Vogelgesang, Miami (Ohio)
SS: Michael McNamara, Kent State
3B: Jimmy Allen, Western Michigan
OF: Zach Gilles, CMU, Chase Rollin, CMU, Ben Carew, Kent State
P: John Baker, Ball State
