DICKINSON, ND (PlayNorthStar.com) – The North Star Athletic Association announced its postseason baseball awards Thursday evening at the Biesiot Activities Center on the campus of Dickinson State (N.D.). The NSAA Baseball All-Conference teams, postseason awards and Gold Glove team were voted on by the league’s coaches. The Champions of Character recipients were also announced.
The NSAA Baseball First-Team All-Conference consists of 17 recipients. The Second Team All-Conference has 19 selections. Bellevue (Neb.) landed a total of 12 selections to the All-Conference teams, with nine athletes being named to First Team and three athletes on the Second Team.
Kanta Kobayashi of Bellevue was selected as the North Star Athletic Association Baseball Player-of-the-Year, while his teammate Logan Grant was chosen as the league’s Newcomer-of-the-Year. Sam Tyrpa of Dakota State (S.D.) was selected as the conference’s Pitcher-of-the-Year. BU’s Duane Monlux was chosen as the NSAA Baseball Coach-of-the-Year after guiding his squad to their fourth consecutive regular-season title.
Each team has two honorable mention recipients to the NSAA Baseball All-Conference list.
Monlux recognized Mayville State’s (N.D.) head coach Scott Berry (who is retiring at the end of the season) at the conclusion of the awards presentation, thanking him for his long-time service to the baseball community.
The North Star Athletic Association Baseball Postseason tournament gets underway Friday morning at 10 a.m. (CT)/9 a.m. (MT) with Bellevue taking on Presentation (S.D.), followed by Mayville State playing host-team Dickinson State (N.D.) at 1 p.m. (CT)/12 p.m. (CT). Valley City State (N.D.) faces Dakota State (S.D.) at 5 p.m. (CT)/4 p.m. (MT) and concludes with Waldorf (Iowa) playing Viterbo (Wis.) at 8 p.m. (CT)/7 p.m. (MT).
The double elimination tournament runs through Monday with the championship game, with an if necessary game on Tuesday afternoon.
Below are the complete listings of All-Conference Teams selections, postseason awards and Gold Glove team:
2023 North Star Athletic Association Baseball All-Conference First Team
| Position | First Name, Last Name | Year | School | Hometown |
| C | Logan Grant | Sophomore | Bellevue (Neb.) | Chestermere, Alberta, Canada |
| C | Alan LaRocque | Senior | Mayville State (N.D.) | Great Falls, Mont. |
| 1B | Mathieu Sirois | Sophomore | Bellevue (Neb.) | Quebec City, Quebec, Canada |
| 2B | Drew Staley | Senior | Bellevue (Neb.) | Salt Lake City, Utah |
| 3B | Nick Grade | Sophomore | Bellevue (Neb.) | Kennewick, Wash. |
| SS | Damien Sanchez | Junior | Waldorf (Iowa) | Riverside, Calif. |
| INF | Dawson Cortese | Senior | Dickinson State (N.D.) | Laurel, Mont. |
| DH | Conner Barnett | Junior | Bellevue (Neb.) | Papillion, Neb. |
| OF | Kanta Kobayashi | Senior | Bellevue (Neb.) | Tokyo, Japan |
| OF | Jake Lacey | Sophomore | Bellevue (Neb.) | Gillette, Wyo. |
| OF | Mason Macaluso | Senior | Dakota State (S.D.) | Gilbert, Ariz. |
| OF | Walker Hultgren | Junior | Dakota State (S.D.) | Maple Grove, Minn. |
| SP | Sam Tyrpa | Sophomore | Dakota State (S.D.) | Excelsior, Minn. |
| SP | Dustin Schorie | Junior | Bellevue (Neb.) | Chandler, Ariz. |
| SP | Luke Guest | Sophomore | Dakota State (S.D.) | Fort Collins, Colo. |
| SP | Blake Crippen | Junior | Bellevue (Neb.) | Hillsboro, Ore. |
| RP | JD Kirchner | Junior | Dakota State (S.D.) | Lennox, S.D. |
2023 North Star Athletic Association Baseball All-Conference Second Team
| Position | First Name, Last Name | Year | School | Hometown |
| C | Ryan McDaniel | Junior | Dakota State (S.D.) | Firestone, Colo. |
| C | Jaden Babiuk | Sophomore | Valley City State (N.D.) | St. Albert, Alberta, Canada |
| 1B | Tradd Richardson | Sophomore | Bellevue (Neb.) | Frenchtown, Mont. |
| 1B | Blake Warner | Junior | Viterbo (Wis.) | Hastings, Minn. |
| 2B | Davis Churchman | Senior | Waldorf (Iowa) | Ankeny, Iowa |
| 3B | Marcus Hughes | Junior | Mayville State (N.D.) | Thompson, N.D. |
| SS | Balas Buckmaster | Junior | Dickinson State (N.D.) | Anchorage, Alaska |
| INF | Zach Meyer | Junior | Waldorf (Iowa) | Gilbert, Ariz. |
| INF | Kendal Hofer | Junior | Viterbo (Wis.) | Washington, Ill. |
| DH | Jared McCorrister | Senior | Mayville State (N.D.) | Boissevain, Manitoba, Canada |
| OF | Thomas Capllonch | Junior | Waldorf (Iowa) | Kailua, Hawaii |
| OF | Anthony Lind | Freshman | Bellevue (Neb.) | Omaha, Neb. |
| OF | Jeremy Green | Sophomore | Dakota State (S.D.) | Houston, Texas |
| OF | Kole Jessamine | Sophomore | Mayville State (N.D.) | Abbotsford, B.C., Canada |
| SP | Grant Svikulis | Senior | Dakota State (S.D.) | Melbourne, Australia |
| SP | Alexandro Celiceo | Senior | Bellevue (Neb.) | Chula Vista, Calif. |
| SP | Hunter Magnuson | Sophomore | Valley City State (N.D.) | Wilmar, Minn. |
| SP | Ryan Meyer | Junior | Waldorf (Iowa) | Gilbert, Ariz. |
| RP | Gabe Lundbeck | Sophomore | Dickinson State (N.D.) | Park City, Utah |
2023 NSAA Baseball Postseason Awards
Player-of-the-Year: Kanta Kobayashi – Bellevue (Neb.)
Pitcher-of-the-Year: Sam Tyrpa – Dakota State (S.D.)
Newcomer-of-the-Year: Logan Grant – Bellevue (Neb.)
Coach-of-the-Year: Duane Monlux – Bellevue (Neb.)
2023 North Star Athletic Association Baseball Gold Glove
| Position | First Name, Last Name | Year | School | Hometown |
| C | Ryan McDaniel | Junior | Dakota State (S.D.) | Firestone, Colo. |
| 1B | Mathieu Sirois | Sophomore | Bellevue (Neb.) | Quebec City, Quebec, Canada |
| 2B | Drew Staley | Senior | Bellevue (Neb.) | Salt Lake City, Utah |
| 3B | Nick Grade | Sophomore | Bellevue (Neb.) | Kennewick, Wash. |
| SS | Damien Sanchez | Junior | Waldorf (Iowa) | Riverside, Calif. |
| LF | Jake Lacey | Sophomore | Bellevue (Neb.) | Gillette, Wyo. |
| CF | Kanta Kobayashi | Senior | Bellevue (Neb.) | Tokyo, Japan |
| RF | Anthony Lind | Freshman | Bellevue (Neb.) | Omaha, Neb. |
| P | Blake Crippen | Junior | Bellevue (Neb.) | Hillsboro, Ore. |
2023 North Star Athletic Association Baseball All-Conference Honorable Mention
Bellevue (Neb.): Easton Brinton (SP), Teron Williams (RP)
Dakota State (S.D.): Chris Burke (SS), Nicholai Arbach (SP)
Dickinson State (N.D.): Derrick Calvillo (C), Kobe Krenz (INF/P)
Mayville State (N.D.): Braxton Greenberg (SP), Alexandro DeCaro (RP)
Presentation (S.D.): Ethan Leech (1B), Evyn Booth (OF)
Valley City State (N.D.): Drew Nixon (OF), Adam Thompson (2B)
Viterbo (Wis.): Gavin Daniel (OF), Anthony Sanchez (SP)
Waldorf (Iowa): Ryan Webster (OF), Atticus Smith (C)
2023 North Star Athletic Association Baseball Champions of Character Recipients
Bellevue (Neb.): Nathan Sprenger
Dakota State (S.D.): Hakeem Yatim
Dickinson State (N.D.): Jacob Clinton
Mayville State (N.D.): Preston Edinger
Presentation (S.D.): Ethan Leech
Valley City State (N.D.): Ryan Reynolds
Viterbo (Wis.): Conley O’Keefe
Waldorf (Iowa): Al Toulouse