Cholowsky Named Big Ten Player of the Year, Six Bruins Receive Honors

ROSEMONT, Ill. – Sophomore shortstop Roch Cholowsky was named Big Ten Conference Player of the Year and the league's Defensive Player of the Year to headline UCLA's list of All-Big Ten Conference honorees, announced Tuesday morning by league officials.

Six Bruins earned All-Conference honors, with one First Team selection, four Second Team recipients, and one All-Freshman Team honoree.

Roch Cholowsky becomes UCLA's first-ever Defensive Player of the Year and the program's first conference Player of the Year honoree since 1998.

Also a First Team All-Big Ten selection, Cholowsky capped off his regular season as the national leader in wins-above-replacement (WAR) with a staggering 5.85. UCLA's standout shortstop led the team with a .371 average, blasting 20 home runs and driving in 63 RBIs. He topped the conference in OPS (1.273), on-base percentage (.511), and finished first in slugging (.839), total bases (99), and runs scored (41) during conference play. His 20 home runs mark the most by a Bruin since Cody Decker hit 21 in 2009.

Cholowsky also solidified himself as one of the nation's premier defensive shortstops, posting a defensive-runs-saved (DRS) mark of 16.44 and a defensive WAR of 1.23, ranking second nationally in both categories. He committed just six errors all season while anchoring a UCLA defense that ranked 10th in the nation in fielding percentage (.981) and led the country in double plays (54).

Four Bruins earned Second Team All-Big Ten accolades. Junior right-hander Michael Barnett received his first all-conference nod after recording a league-best 10 wins. Across 15 appearances (10 starts), Barnett posted a 4.23 ERA over a team-high 66.0 innings, leading all UCLA starters. His standout performance came on March 22 against Indiana, where he tossed a season-best seven shutout innings and set a career high with 10 strikeouts. The Lafayette native also earned a spot on the conference's Sportsmanship Team.

First baseman Mulivai Levu earned Second Team honors after an impressive season at the plate, tallying 71 RBI, ranking 13^th nationally. One of just two Bruins (alongside Cholowsky) to start all 54 games, Levu hit .326 while launching 11 home runs. He also landed on the All-Defensive Team, committing just one error in 439 chances.

AJ Salgado joined the Second Team after hitting .323 with 12 home runs, becoming the first UCLA player since 2012 to record double-digit home runs (12) and stolen bases (11) in a single season. Fellow infielder Roman Martin rounded out the Second Team selections, batting over .300 while collecting seven home runs and 11 doubles.

Freshman right-hander Wylan Moss earned All-Freshman Team recognition in his debut season. Over 40.2 innings, Moss recorded a stellar 2.43 ERA, striking out 42 while issuing just 12 walks.

The Bruins have earned the No. 2-seed for its first-ever appearance at the Big Ten Baseball Tournament presented by IFS.ai. UCLA's journey begins with tomorrow's contest against No. 11-seed Illinois at 8 a.m. PT (10 a.m. CT). UCLA will then face No. 7-seed Michigan on Thursday, May 22 at 8 a.m. (10 a.m. CT) to wrap up pool play. All games will be broadcast on Big Ten Network.

2025 BIG TEN BASEBALL POSTSEASON AWARDS

PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Roch Cholowsky, So., SS, UCLA

PITCHER OF THE YEAR
Joseph Dzierwa, Jr., SP, Michigan State

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Roch Cholowsky, So., SS, UCLA

FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Jake Hanley, Fr., 1B, Indiana

COACH OF THE YEAR
Mark Wasikowski, Oregon

ALL-BIG TEN FIRST TEAM
SP — Cade Obermueller, Jr., Iowa
SP — Aaron Savary, Jr., Iowa
SP — Joseph Dzierwa, Jr., Michigan State +
SP — Grayson Grinsell, Jr., Oregon
RP — Will Rogers, Sr., Michigan
RP — Seth Mattox, Sr., Oregon
RP — Isaac Yeager, Jr., Washington
C — Alex Calarco, Sr., Maryland
1B — Jacob Walsh, Sr., Oregon
2B — Mitch Voit, Jr., Michigan
SS — Roch Cholowsky, So., UCLA
3B — Ethan Hedges, Jr., USC
OF — Korbyn Dickerson, So., Indiana
OF — Devin Taylor, Jr., Indiana
OF — Mason Neville, Jr., Oregon
UTL — Reese Moore, So., Iowa
At-Large — Ryan Cooney, So., Oregon (2B)
At-Large — Paxton Kling, Jr., Penn State (OF)

+ unanimous selection

ALL-BIG TEN SECOND TEAM
SP — Cole Gilley, Sr., Indiana
SP — Reece Beuter, Sr., Iowa
SP — Michael Barnett, Jr., UCLA
SP — Max Banks, Sr., Washington
RP — Luke Broderick, Jr., Nebraska
RP — Michael Vallone, Gr., Purdue
RP — Brodie Purcell, So., USC
C — Daniel Rogers, Gr., Iowa
C — Weber Neels, Jr., Minnesota
1B — Logan Sutter, Sr., Purdue
1B — Mulivai Levu, So., UCLA
2B — Ryan McKay, So., Michigan State
SS — Chris Hacopian, So., Maryland
3B — Roman Martin, So., UCLA
OF — Vytas Valincius, Sr., Illinois
OF — Trevor Cohen, Rutgers
OF — AJ Salgado, Sr., UCLA
UTL — Jack Porter, So., Penn State
At-Large — Jake Hanley, Fr., Indiana (1B)
At-Large — Benny Casillas, Gr., Michigan (SS)

ALL-BIG TEN THIRD TEAM
SP — Kyle McCoy, So., Maryland
SP — Jason Reitz, Jr., Oregon
SP — Caden Aoki, Sr., USC
RP — Zach Bates, So., Illinois
2B — Abbrie Covarrubias, So., USC
SS — Maddox Molony, So., Oregon
3B — Owen McElfatrick, Jr., Northwestern
OF — Ben Wilmes, Sr., Iowa
OF — Anson Aroz, Jr., Oregon
OF — AJ Guerrero, Sr., Washington
UTL — Dominic Hellman, Jr., Oregon
At-Large — Jacob Schroeder, Gr., Illinois (C)
(no C, 1B because of second team ties)

ALL-DEFENSIVE TEAM
P — Caden Aoki, Sr., USC
C — Jacob Schroeder, Gr., Illinois
1B — Mulivai Levu, So., UCLA
2B — Mitch Voit, Jr., Michigan
SS — Roch Cholowsky, So., UCLA
3B — Ethan Hedges, Jr., USC
OF — Korbyn Dickerson, So., Indiana
OF — Paxton Kling, Jr., Penn State
OF — Malakhi Knight, Sr., Washington

ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM
Jake Hanley, Fr., 1B, Indiana
Cooper Malamazian, Fr., SS, Indiana
Will Moore, Fr., 3B, Indiana
Jaixen Frost, R-Fr., 3B, Iowa
Tate Carey, Fr., SP, Michigan
Brayden Jefferis, Fr., OF, Michigan
Devin Nunez, Fr., UTL, Nebraska
Burke-Lee Mabeus, Fr., C, Oregon
Yomar Carreras, Fr., SS, Rutgers
Landon Mack, Fr., SP, Rutgers
Justin Shadek, R-Fr., SP, Rutgers
Wylan Moss, Fr., RP, UCLA
Andrew Johnson, Fr., RP, USC
Augie Lopez, Fr., UTL, USC

SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD
Payton Hutchings, Sr., RP, Illinois
Grant Holderfield, Jr., RP, Indiana
Max Burt, Fr., C, Iowa
Jacob Orr, Sr., UTL, Maryland
Cole Caruso, Sr., 3B, Michigan
Sam Busch, Sr., 1B, Michigan State
Jack Spanier, So., SS, Minnesota
Dylan Carey, Jr., SS, Nebraska
Tyler Ganus, Gr., UTL, Northwestern
Will Carpenter, Sr., 3B, Ohio State
Ryan Cooney, So., 2B, Oregon
Cole Wagner, Gr., 1B, Penn State
Michael Vallone, Gr., RP, Purdue
Joe Mazza, Sr., RP, Rutgers
Michael Barnett, Jr., SP, UCLA
Andrew Lamb, So., UTL, USC
Malakhi Knight, Sr., OF, Washington

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Cholowsky Named Big Ten Player of the Year, Six Bruins Receive Honors

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Cholowsky Named Big Ten Player of the Year, Six Bruins Receive Honors

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