Five Hoosiers Earn Big Ten Honors
5/8/2024 10:00:00 AM | Softball
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. –––– The Big Ten Conference announced their 2024 softball postseason honors on Wednesday morning and five Hoosiers were recognized.
Indiana junior Sarah Stone was named First Team All-Big Ten with junior Taylor Minnick and freshman Aly VanBrandt being named Second Team All-Big Ten. VanBrandt and freshman Alex Cooper were also named to the All-Freshman Team with Cooper being honored on the All-Defensive team, too.
Senior Brooke Benson earned the Big Ten's Sportsmanship Award.
This is Stone's second time being recognized to an All-Big Ten Team and her first time being on the first team after earning second team honors in 2023. Stone's 2024 campaign featured her charting a .311 batting average on 50 hits with seven doubles, ten home runs and 42 RBI.
Twice Stone has charted two home runs in the same game this season, doing so in wins against Mercer (March 16) and at Michigan State (April 5). She earned Big Ten Player of the Week honors during the week of April 1-7.
Minnick and VanBrandt each had standout seasons to earn All-Big Ten Second Team accolades.
This is Minnick's second all-conference selection, making the first team a season ago. Minnick leads the team in batting average (.374), hits (61), doubles (12), RBI (53) and walks (33) along with hitting ten home runs. Her 53 RBI are the third-most in the Big Ten this season.
In a 5-4 win over Minnesota (April 14), Minnick had two home runs, including the walk-off to seal a series sweep.
VanBrandt has put together a highly impressive freshman campaign to earn Second Team and All-Freshman team recognition. Her .364 batting average ranks second on the team. She also has charted 51 hits, 31 runs, 12 stolen bases with a .414 on-base percentage.
Cooper also had a stellar freshman debut, playing lockdown defense at third base and providing offensive firepower to earn both All-Freshman Team and All-Defensive Team honors. She had two walk-off performances, having a two-home run game in a 5-3 win over Notre Dame (April 16), including the walk-off grand slam. In addition, she hit a walk-off single to bring in the final two runs in a 6-5 win over Wisconsin (April 26).
The freshman logged 37 hits, 26 runs, five home runs and 32 RBI in her first season. She earned Big Ten Co-Freshman of the Week for the week of April 15-21.
Benson rounds out Indiana's honors with her sportsmanship award, serving as a great example of leadership and dedication to her team all season and throughout her career.
The Fishers, Ind. native has been a constant presence at shortstop at Indiana and is hitting .304 at the plate with 42 hits, 26 RBI, six home runs and 44 runs scored along with 13 stolen bases.
FULL LIST OF INDIANA'S BIG TEN HONORS
First Team All-Big Ten
Sarah Stone | Junior | Infielder | Bedford, Ind.
Second Team All-Big Ten
Taylor Minnick | Junior | Outfielder | Bloomington, Ind.
Aly VanBrandt | Freshman | Utility | Ottawa Lake, Mich.
All-Freshman Team
Alex Cooper | Freshman | Utility | Mooresville, Ind.
Aly VanBrandt | Freshman | Utility | Ottawa Lake, Mich.
All-Defensive Team
Alex Cooper | Freshman | Utility | Mooresville, Ind.
Sportsmanship Award Honoree
Brooke Benson | Senior | Infielder | Fishers, Ind.
Indiana junior Sarah Stone was named First Team All-Big Ten with junior Taylor Minnick and freshman Aly VanBrandt being named Second Team All-Big Ten. VanBrandt and freshman Alex Cooper were also named to the All-Freshman Team with Cooper being honored on the All-Defensive team, too.
Senior Brooke Benson earned the Big Ten's Sportsmanship Award.
This is Stone's second time being recognized to an All-Big Ten Team and her first time being on the first team after earning second team honors in 2023. Stone's 2024 campaign featured her charting a .311 batting average on 50 hits with seven doubles, ten home runs and 42 RBI.
Twice Stone has charted two home runs in the same game this season, doing so in wins against Mercer (March 16) and at Michigan State (April 5). She earned Big Ten Player of the Week honors during the week of April 1-7.
Minnick and VanBrandt each had standout seasons to earn All-Big Ten Second Team accolades.
This is Minnick's second all-conference selection, making the first team a season ago. Minnick leads the team in batting average (.374), hits (61), doubles (12), RBI (53) and walks (33) along with hitting ten home runs. Her 53 RBI are the third-most in the Big Ten this season.
In a 5-4 win over Minnesota (April 14), Minnick had two home runs, including the walk-off to seal a series sweep.
VanBrandt has put together a highly impressive freshman campaign to earn Second Team and All-Freshman team recognition. Her .364 batting average ranks second on the team. She also has charted 51 hits, 31 runs, 12 stolen bases with a .414 on-base percentage.
Cooper also had a stellar freshman debut, playing lockdown defense at third base and providing offensive firepower to earn both All-Freshman Team and All-Defensive Team honors. She had two walk-off performances, having a two-home run game in a 5-3 win over Notre Dame (April 16), including the walk-off grand slam. In addition, she hit a walk-off single to bring in the final two runs in a 6-5 win over Wisconsin (April 26).
The freshman logged 37 hits, 26 runs, five home runs and 32 RBI in her first season. She earned Big Ten Co-Freshman of the Week for the week of April 15-21.
Benson rounds out Indiana's honors with her sportsmanship award, serving as a great example of leadership and dedication to her team all season and throughout her career.
The Fishers, Ind. native has been a constant presence at shortstop at Indiana and is hitting .304 at the plate with 42 hits, 26 RBI, six home runs and 44 runs scored along with 13 stolen bases.
FULL LIST OF INDIANA'S BIG TEN HONORS
First Team All-Big Ten
Sarah Stone | Junior | Infielder | Bedford, Ind.
Second Team All-Big Ten
Taylor Minnick | Junior | Outfielder | Bloomington, Ind.
Aly VanBrandt | Freshman | Utility | Ottawa Lake, Mich.
All-Freshman Team
Alex Cooper | Freshman | Utility | Mooresville, Ind.
Aly VanBrandt | Freshman | Utility | Ottawa Lake, Mich.
All-Defensive Team
Alex Cooper | Freshman | Utility | Mooresville, Ind.
Sportsmanship Award Honoree
Brooke Benson | Senior | Infielder | Fishers, Ind.
Players Mentioned
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