STORM LAKE, Iowa (May 12, 2026) - The American Rivers Conference has announced its 2026 All-Conference Baseball team with Buena Vista landing a trio of players on the Second Team. Juniors Ean McDaniel and Koleson Evans, along with sophomore Cooper Sobeck, are all selected for the first time in their careers.

McDaniel was the primary ace of the pitching staff this season. The righthander made six starts during conference play and posted a 2-4 record in those games with a 4.50 ERA. He was near the top of all pitchers across the league with 36.0 innings pitched, struck out 30 batters and walked 17. He pitched a season-high 8.0 innings in his final outing of the year during a 10-5 BVU victory at Simpson College in what was the final series of the year. He also got league play started with a strong 7.0 innings pitched against the University of Dubuque where he also struck out seven and allowed just two runs.

Evans turned himself into one of the most improved pitchers across the league this season. He led the Beavers with 11 appearances against A-R-C foes and was second on the team behind McDaniel with 30.2 innings pitched. He also led the way with 41 strikeouts and walked only seven betters in those games. Early in the season, he had eight punch outs and no walks over 4.0 innings of work against Loras College and late in the season recorded strikeouts and no walks over 4.1 innings at Nebraska Wesleyan. He was 2-2 in conference play with a 2.05 ERA as opponents hit only .138 against him.

Sobeck was the team's primary left fielder for the year, and during league play led BVU with 98 official at-bats and was second with a .337 average which also was top-15 in the league. His 33 hits in those games tied for the fifth-most across the A-R-C. Among that hit total were six doubles to go along with a conference-high five triples. After going 0-for-5 in the A-R-C opener,  Sobeck went on to post an eight-game hit streak that saw him go 20-for-38 (.526) during that span with a pair of doubles and three triples. Included during that stretch, was a 5-for-7 performance in the middle game of the series against Loras with a double, two RBI and two runs scored. He followed that game up with a pair of triples and three runs scored at home against Central College.

Buena Vista tied with Wartburg for the most players on the Second Team. The Beavers went 6-18 during conference play and 10-28 overall.