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Leon Named MVP, Cloyd Top Pitcher on All-NCC Baseball Team

  Chad Leon of Nebraska-Omaha was named the league's Most Valuable Player and Tyler Cloyd of Nebraska-Omaha was tabbed as the Most Valuable Pitcher to highlight the All-North Central Conference baseball team announced today by the conference office.

  Leon led the league in walks (16), on-base percentage (.623) and hitting (.458) and finished tied for third in doubles (5). Cloyd led the league in strikeouts (42) and shutouts (2), ranked second in innings pitched (33.2), tied for third in wins (4), tied for fourth in complete games (2) and fifth in opponent batting percentage (.209). Tyler's brother, Troy, was the league's Most Valuable Pitcher in 2005.

  North Dakota's Troy Wasiloski and Minnesota State's Matt McMurtry are only three-time repeat selections to the elite squad.

  Dean Bowyer of Minnesota State tallied Coach of the Year honors. It is the tenth time, but the first time since 1999, that Bowyer, in his 29th year at Minnesota State has been honored by his peers. He led Minnesota State to the second seed in the NCAA Central Region tournament that begins Thursday in Emporia, Kan. The Mavericks, who have appeared in 9 of the last 11 NCC Championship games, won both the NCC regular-season standings and NCC Championship tournament.

  Honors were voted on by the NCC coaches.

2006 All-North Central Conference Baseball Team

                                                                                            NCC Stats

Name                      School                           Pos       Yr.      Avg.          HR       RBI      Hometown

Dane Allen               Minnesota State               IF          Sr.       .418            2         16       Trenton, Fla.     

Bryan Frew              Nebraska-Omaha             IF          So.       .435            2         11       Grand Island, Neb.

Ryan Greene            Minnesota State               IF          Sr.       .294            6         20       Cambridge, Minn.

Chris Gulsvig            North Dakota                   IF          So.       .393            2         12       Bismarck, N.D.

Alex Johnson           Minnesota Duluth             IF          Sr.       .344            0         11       Forest Lake, Minn.

Troy Wasiloski^        North Dakota                   IF          Sr.       .400            5         19       Fergus Falls, Minn.

Greg Aker*               Minnesota Duluth             OF         Sr.       .288            2         13       Superior, Wis.

Mark Dolenc             Minnesota State               OF         Jr.       .364            4         17       Eagan, Minn.

Chad Leon*              Nebraska-Omaha             OF         Sr.       .458            3         10       Tampa, Fla.

Mike Loberg             Augustana                       OF         Jr.       .436            3         17       Andover, Minn.

Jason Fairchild*        North Dakota                   C           Sr.       .351            3         12       Bemidji, Minn.

Gary Walz*              Augustana                       DH         Sr.       .414            8         29       Rapid City, S.D.

Nick Fellman            Minnesota State              RP         So.       1-1, 1.17 ERA, 8 saves      Eagan, Minn.

Tyler Cloyd               Nebraska-Omaha              P          Fr.       4-0, 2.14 ERA, 42 Ks        Bellevue, Neb.

Matt McMurtry^        Minnesota State               P          Sr.       6-0, 4.04 ERA, 33 Ks        North Platte, Neb.

Nick Russell             Nebraska-Omaha              P          Sr.       3-1, 2.55 ERA, 26 Ks        Omaha, Neb.

Dane Secott             Minnesota State               P           Jr.       5-0, 2.53 ERA, 38 Ks        West Lafayette, Ind.

* - indicates second year on All-NCC team, ^ - indicates third year on All-NCC team

Coach of the Year: Dean Bowyer, Minnesota State                    

Most Valuable Pitcher: Tyler Cloyd, Nebraska-Omaha  Most Valuable Player: Chad Leon, Nebraska-Omaha

By Schools: Augustana (2), Minnesota Duluth (2), Minnesota State (6), Nebraska-Omaha (4), North Dakota (3).

By Class: Senior (10), Junior (3), Sophomore (3), Freshman (1)      

Honorable Mention: Augustana: Bryce Ahrendt, Travis Pugliese, Nate Schwartz; Minnesota Duluth: David Olson, Tony Doherty; Minnesota State: Pat Ottum, Dan Woodall, Adam Sudbeck, Ben King, Jon Bjelland; Nebraska-Omaha: Lyle Lafountain, Evan Porter, Marc Centofante, Min Sung, Shawn Smith, Derrick Kendrick, Blake DeNoyer, Tim Huber, Josh Lundin; St. Cloud State: Dan Skog, Nate Swan.