Baseball | 6/5/2026 10:03:00 AM

The postseason awards continue to come in for Utah Tech junior 3B/RHP Ryan Kroepel, who on Friday morning was named the District 8 Player of the Year by the National College Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA).
 
In all, 15 Division I baseball student-athletes across nine districts were honored by the NCBWA on the organization's 28^th-annual awards list, with Kroepel serving as the lone two-way player in this year's class. 

A two-time first team all-Western Athletic Conference selection, Kroepel finished the 2026 season ranked in the WAC's top-20 in six offensive categories, which includes leading the conference in walks with a Utah Tech single-season record 51 free passes. 
 
Kroepel, who was also named as one of five national finalists for the 2026 John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Award earlier this week, started in all 59 games, with 53 of those starts coming at third base. The junior batted .312 overall, .358 in conference play, and finished the year ranked second in the WAC in HBPs (17 – school record), fifth in on-base percentage (.469), t-sixth in runs scored (56), t-14^th in RBI (47), and t-15^th in hits (67).

He hits safely in 46 of those starts with 18 multi-hit outings, and enjoyed a career long 37-game on-base streak during his junior campaign.
 
On the mound, Kroepel led the WAC with 10 saves and posted a 1-2 record with a 3.82 ERA and a 1.22 WHiP in 19 relief appearances. His 10 saves tied for the second-most on Utah Tech's single-season list, and also tied him for 18^th in the NCAA Division I season rankings. In addition, he finished with 31 strikeouts in 35.1 innings pitched. 
 
Kroepel was tabbed 2026 WAC Preseason Player of the Year and was voted to the conference's all-preseason team at both third base and at reliever. He began the season ranked as the 18th-rated third baseman by D1Baseball.com, and was included on the 2026 NCBWA Midseason Stopper of the Year watch list. 
 
In addition, Kroepel was tabbed as a Perfect Game College Midseason Third Team All-American as a two-way player back on April 1, and was named the national John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Week on March 10.
 
Utah Tech closed the 2026 season with a 35-24 overall record, an 11-win turnaround from a season ago. Utah Tech's 35 wins this year also marked the sixth time in the program's NCAA era that the Trailblazers had reached the 35-win plateau, and are the most victories in the program's brief time as a Division I member.