The Gophers baseball team picked up two nice wins Tuesday, 24 hours before their first Big Ten tournament game: conference MVP and Coach of the Year.
Conference coaches selected Minnesota junior outfielder/pitcher Matt Fiedler as Big Ten Player of the Year, and head coach John Anderson was named the unanimous Big Ten Coach of the Year.
Fiedler becomes the eighth Gopher to claim Player of the Year honors, the first since Luke Appert in 2003. Fiedler ranks second in the Big Ten in hits (82), third in batting average (.383) and sixth in slugging percentage (.542). On the mound, Fiedler is 7-2, including a 4-0 record in Big Ten games.
Anderson was named the Coach of the Year for the sixth time, the most in Big Ten history. Anderson, who last earned the award in 2010, coached the Gophers to their 23rd Big Ten title.
The top-seeded Gophers open their Big Ten tournament action Wednesday at 5 p.m. against Iowa in Omaha, Neb.
Illinois' Cody Sedlock earned Pitcher of the Year, and Nebraska's Chad Luensmann won Freshman of the Year.
Also announced Tuesday were the All-Big Ten teams, and joining Fiedler on the first team were catcher Austin Athmann, a unanimous selection, and second baseman Connor Schaefbauer.
