(LEBANON, Ill., June 1)—McKendree College senior shortstop Brian Dinkelman (Irvington, Ill./Centralia) has been selected as the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Baseball Player of the Year for the 2006 season. The honor was announced Thursday afternoon with the release of the NAIA All-America teams.
In addition, senior pitcher Lance Marcum (Centralia, Ill./Centralia) joined Dinkelman as an NAIA first-team All-America honoree. It marks the first time in McKendree history that the baseball program has had two first-team All-America selections in the same year.
"This is certainly fantastic news for our program," said McKendree head baseball coach Jim Boehne. "Brian and Lance have played baseball together since they were young, excelled in high school together and were the cornerstone for our program the last few years. This is a great way for them to close out their collegiate careers."
Dinkelman wrapped up his four-year career at McKendree in record-setting fashion, claiming five NAIA career records during the 2006 season. Dinkelman
(right) became the organization's all-time leader in hits (373), doubles (96), runs scored (303), total bases (670) and assists (679). In addition to his national achievements, Dinkelman holds or shares 25 McKendree baseball records.
"I never really expected to receive an honor like this," said Dinkelman. "To be named a national player of the year is something special. It's not something I set out to do, because I would rather see our team be successful. I wish we could have advanced farther (in the playoffs) this year."
On the year, Dinkelman led McKendree with a .462 batting average, 38 walks, 26 stolen bases, 82 runs scored, 92 hits, 34 doubles, 17 home runs and 65 runs batted in. Dinkelman was named the American Midwest Conference Player of the Year for the third consecutive year, and was selected as the NAIA Region V Player of the Year for the second time in the last three seasons. He was a four-time first-team All-Conference and All-Region honoree. Dinkelman has earned first-team NAIA All-America honors in two of the last three years, sandwiched around second-team All-America accolades in 2005.
"This award caps a great career for Brian," said McKendree head baseball coach Jim Boehne. "When you look at Brian, you can see he has all the great attributes – he was our best player and had the tools to play the game well. But he was also the hardest worker on our team, and he made himself into the player that he is today. It's the reason he is receiving this award. We're proud of what he has accomplished, and we will definitely miss him in our program. He's a pretty special player and person."
Marcum
(left) established 11 McKendree pitching records of his own during his four-year career. He is the Bearcats' all-time career leader with 38 victories, 38 complete games, 11 shutouts, 377 2/3 innings pitched and 361 strikeouts. This season, Marcum was 11-2 with an earned-run average of 2.27. In 91 innings pitched, he struck out a team-high 88 batters. Marcum had 11 complete games in 13 starts in 2006. He posted at least 10 victories in each of his final three seasons as a Bearcat.
"I'm excited and really surprised about this honor," said Marcum. "It's a great award to receive, but there were other guys on our staff that were just as deserving of the honor, if not more so. I think I'm more excited for Brian, because he truly deserved to be the player of the year."
This is the second consecutive year that Marcum has earned NAIA first-team All-America honors. He was the NAIA Region V Pitcher of the Year for the second straight season, sharing the 2006 honor with Scott Deen of Culver-Stockton College. Marcum was named the AMC Pitcher of the Year in each of his last three seasons, and was a three-time All-Region selection.
"Lance was our leader on the mound the last three years," said Boehne. "He led by example, and backed it up with his effort every time. Lance is another player who progressed through our program and worked hard to put himself in this position. Lance is another great young man who deserves this honor."
The McKendree College baseball team finished the 2006 season with an overall record of 47-11. The Bearcats were 17-3 in AMC play, and captured the league's regular-season and tournament championships. McKendree was ranked as high as No. 7 in the NAIA poll, which is the highest rating in the program's history.
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