INDIANAPOLIS – On Tuesday, the Horizon League announced its 2023 season awards including its All-Conference selections with six student-athletes from the Milwaukee baseball team earning recognition.

With six honorees, Milwaukee has its most selections since the 2019 campaign, when the Panthers had seven recognized that season. The six selections for the Panthers are the third most among the Horizon League teams, trailing just Wright State and Northern Kentucky.   

Highlighting the selections was Milwaukee's first-team honoree at the third base position, Aaron Chapman, his first All-Conference recognition.
 
The Panthers had four representatives on the league's second team including catcher Jack Thelen, second baseman Mark Connelly, starting pitcher Riley Frey, and reliever Sam Mathews. For Frey, it is his third consecutive spot on the Horizon League second team dating back to his rookie season in 2021. Thelen, Connelly and Mathews earn their Panther debuts on the all-conference teams.
 
Rounding out Milwaukee's six honorees was newcomer Carson Hansen, who was selected to the conference's All-Freshman team.
 
Chapman becomes Milwaukee's first position player to earn All-Conference First Team honors since the 2019 season, when the team had three selections to the top team. On the season, he led the Panthers with a .333 batting average in 50 games during his final season with Milwaukee. He led the team with 64 hits, while also totaling 11 doubles and a team-high seven home runs.
 
Chapman also led the team with 34 runs scored and was third on offense with 24 RBIs and led the team with 96 total bases. He finished the season fourth in the Horizon League in batting average and was tied for fifth in total hits. He was also 31st in NCAA Division I in 'toughest to strikeout' having struck out just once every 11.3 at bats in 2023.
 
Thelen becomes Milwaukee's first backstop to earn All-Conference recognition since 2019, when former teammate Tyler Bordner was a first team honoree. Thelen was third on the team in on-base percentage at .353 with a team-high 24 walks while also hitting .240 at the plate with 35 hits including five doubles and six home runs. Thelen scored 24 runs in his 49 games this season, while also driving in 19 runs.
 
Within the Horizon League, Thelen was the top defensive catcher with a .995 fielding percentage, while he was third in the league in putouts with 358 and tops in the conference in total chances with 411. A threat to opposing baserunners, Thelen caught a league-best 25 base stealers in 63 chances.
 
Connelly earns his all-conference nod following a season in which he hit .299 with 60 hits in 201 at bats. He led Milwaukee with 34 RBIs and was tied for second on the team with 17 extra-base hits including a team-best 13 doubles. He was the only Panther to start in all 53 of the team's games in 2023 during his final season with the program.
 
Like Chapman, Connelly was also tough to strikeout and heads into postseason play ranked 15th among all Division I athletes as he strikes out once every 13.4 at bats. Connelly led the team in hit by pitches with 10 while also walking 14 times for a season on-base percentage of .372.
 
Frey was Milwaukee's top arm on the staff as he not only led the team but led the Horizon League with 83 innings pitched in his 14 starts and 15 overall appearances. He struck out a league-best 81 batters, with 32 of those strikeouts coming via called third strike. He posted a 5.10 ERA and had a WHIP of 1.58, while holding opponents to a .303 batting average.
 
The left-hander had 11 starts of at least six innings, including both starts against Oakland, Wright State, and Youngstown State this season. He also tied his career-best with 10 strikeouts coming in the team's home win over Wright State and is currently 107th in all of Division I with his cumulative strikeout total.
 
One of the many vital arms out of Milwaukee's bullpen, Mathews continues his decorated career with a second team All-Conference nod at the reliever position. In a team-high 34 appearances on the mound, he tossed 34 innings and pitched to a 2.65 ERA with 23 strikeouts over his outings.
 
Mathews walked just eight batters on the year and held opponents to a .235 batting average against. He recorded two wins and two saves on the year and was a part of two Milwaukee shutouts on the season. His 34 appearances in 2023 place him third among all pitchers in Division I.
 
Rounding out the Panthers recognized by the Horizon League was Hansen, who earns a spot on the All-Freshman Team. It's the third-straight season Milwaukee has had an athlete on the All-Freshman team with Justin Hausser garnering recognition in 2022, and both Frey and James Severson in 2021.
 
On the year, Hansen was one of the team's primary reserves having appeared in 22 games, including 13 starts. He hit .309 on the year with 17 hits in 55 at bats, including one double and one triple to go along with 10 RBIs and six runs scored. He had six stolen bases on the year including three against Carroll on April 10.
 
Each of the league's two All-Conference team is comprised of 14 positions, one for each field positions, a DH/Flex position, an At-Large selection, and four pitchers. There is no position breakdown for the All-Freshman team, as a total of six were recognized this season.
 
Earning the conferences individual awards were Noah Fisher of Northern Kentucky as Player of the Year while Wright State's Sebastian Gongora and Alex Sogard won pitcher and coach of the year honors.
 
Oakland's Brandon Decker was named the league's top reliever, while Youngstown State's Matt Thompson earned Freshman of the Year accolades.
 
All six of the Horizon League's baseball programs will be in action in the upcoming Horizon League Championship, which will begin on Wednesday with the fifth-seeded Panthers taking on fourth-seeded Youngstown State. The 3-6 matchup will feature Northern Kentucky and Purdue Fort Wayne later in the day with the two winners advancing to take on Wright State and Oakland in the double-elimination portion of the bracket.