When D3baseball.com and the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) released their annual All-Region teams on Tuesday (May 27), four members of the UW-Oshkosh baseball team were named all-region five times.
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Zach Taylor (Long Grove, Ill./Stevenson) earned second team honors from both organizations,
Carter Stebane (Brillion/Brillion) was named to the first team by the ABCA,
Jake Surane (Lincolnshire, Ill./Stevenson) earned his third second team mention from the ABCA, and
Connor Brinkman (New London/New London) was named third team all-region by D3baseball.com.
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Taylor started all 51 of UW-Oshkosh's games at first base. He hit a team best .392 at the plate with additional team highs in on-base plus slugging (1.058), hits (80), doubles (19), total bases (119), and walks (27). He put up a .989 fielding percentage with just four errors and helped turn 32 double plays. His 80 hits rank third in Division III this season and his 19 doubles sit 14th. Between April 23 and May 23, Taylor, a first team all-conference selection, recorded at least one hit in all 19 games including five games with at least four hits led by a 5-for-5 performance at UW-Stevens Point on April 27.
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This season, Stebane led the WIAC and ranked 26th in the nation in stolen bases at 31. He was successful on all but two attempts. On the season, the All-WIAC Honorable Mention recorded a .328 batting average with a .930 OPS across 51 starts. In 204 at-bats, he had 67 hits including 11 doubles, two triples, and eight home runs, scoring 53 runs and registering 43 RBIs. Playing shortstop in all of UW-Oshkosh's games, Stebane submitted a .941 fielding percentage with 22 double plays.
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The UW-Oshkosh career leader in at-bats (801), hits (284), doubles (64), and stolen bases (89), Surane also ranks in the top-three in WIAC history in each statistical category. The starting center fielder recorded 75 hits this season, the 17th-most in Division III this year. His program season record of 224 at-bats helped him notched a team best 52 RBIs. He had a .335 batting average with an .894 OPS, 15 doubles, three triples, and five home runs with 51 runs scored while stealing 20 bases on 22 attempts and posting a .988 fielding percentage with two errors.
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Brinkman became the all-time leader for UW-Oshkosh and the WIAC in innings pitched (309.1) and tied former Titan Troy Cota (1982-85) for most program wins at 27 this season. He threw 84 innings this season, posted a 3.75 ERA with a 7-3 record with a save across 13 appearances and 12 starts. Brinkman stuck out 72 batters and held opponents to a .223 batting average against 26 walks. He threw the ninth complete game of his career against UW-Platteville on March 27 with nine innings out shutout work before making his first appearance out of the bullpen since 2022 at UW-Whitewater on April 10. He allowed one hit in the ninth inning of the Titans' 6-3 win to earn a save.
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UW-Oshkosh (35-16), ranked 25th in the nation by D3baseball.com and 21st by the ABCA, won 35 games for the first time since 2007 and made its 26th appearance in the Division III Championship. The Titans won a regional title for the 18th time in program history when they defeated the University of Chicago (Ill.), 10-2, to secure the Saint Peter, Minnesota Regional crown. They faced UW-Whitewater in the Super Regional and forced game three with a 5-2 win in game two on May 24 before the Warhawks won the two-team tournament. The Titans set team records in at-bats (1,835), hits (588), stolen bases (114), and innings pitched (440.0) this year.