PORTLAND, Ore. – The greatest baseball season in Montana State University Billings history will continue this week when the Yellowjackets host the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships, and MSUB will be led by newly-titled GNAC Coach of the Year Rob Bishop and two-time Player of the Year Brody Miller along with eight other all-conference selections announced Monday.
 
The Yellowjackets (27-21, 22-10 GNAC) had six players on the first-team all-conference squad, two on the second-team and one on honorable mention. Joining Miller on the first team were pitchers Brady Muller and Tanner Johnson, shortstop Corey Morris, center fielder Luke Reinschmidt, and designated hitter Trevor Nix.
 
Senior catcher Conner Holbrook and sophomore left fielder Casey Merritt were each second-team selections, and sophomore right fielder Myles Berkram was an honorable mention pick.
 
"We talk all the time about how the guys that put in work and put the team first will get rewarded after the season is over, and this is just a great example of that," said MSUB head coach Rob Bishop. "These guys are all-in for us, helping us win games, and helping us get better. It is fitting that they all get to have an individual award at the end of the season."
 

Miller, the 2014 GNAC Player of the Year and All-American, is currently batting .360 with 14 home runs, 18 doubles, 59 RBIs and 46 runs scored. He leads the GNAC in home runs, RBIs, and total bases (128), ranks second in doubles, walks (34), and slugging percentage (.677), ranks third in runs scored (46), and fifth in hits (68) and on-base percentage (.457). He was unanimously selected as the Player of the Year.
 
He is the second player to win GNAC Player of the Year twice, joining Jamie Nilsen of Central Washington who also won the award in back-to-back years (2007-08). It is also his second-straight season as a first-team all-GNAC representative. He was twice picked as the GNAC Player of the Week, and earned National Collegiate Baseball Writers' Association West Region Player of the Week earlier this season.
 
"Brody had a great year last year, and had a better year this year," Bishop said. "Playing with that tag of All-American and GNAC Player of the Year puts on more pressure and makes it more difficult but Brody handled that well. Teams pitch around him, and try to make someone else beat them, and he's handled that every weekend."
 
Close behind Miller statistically is Reinschmidt, who is also a repeat selection on the GNAC first team. Reinschmidt, a unanimous first-team selection, is batting a team-best .380 with 10 home runs and 56 RBIs. He leads the GNAC in hits (73), runs scored (47), and stolen bases (11), ranks second in total bases (123), triples (4), and RBIs, ranks third in home runs, and slugging percentage (.641), and fourth in on-base percentage (.464).
 
"My opinion was that Luke and Kasey Bielec (CWU) in our league would make great competition with Brody for Player of the Year," Bishop said. "Luke was terrific in every area; extra base hits,

speed, defense, a great team guy, and he just produces for our team. He is a great player deserving of first team, and I am looking forward to seeing what happens at the regional and national level for him."
 
Two of MSUB's starters landed on the first team as Muller made his second appearance (2013) and Johnson was honored in his first season with the 'Jackets. Muller is tied for the second-most wins in the GNAC with six on the season, and has struck out a conference-high 74 while walking just 25 in 73 innings. He was also a unanimous first-team pick, and was picked as the GNAC Pitcher of the Week Monday.
 
Johnson leads MSUB in ERA with a mark of 3.99, and has 54 strikeouts and six victories in 65 1/3 innings pitched. He earned GNAC Pitcher of the Week honors two weeks ago after a 9-inning, 3-hit shutout of Northwest Nazarene.
 
"Both Tanner and Brady are just so consistent going out in nine-inning games for us," Bishop said. "They have been getting deep into their games, regardless of whether they felt well or had great stuff that day. Both of those guys are just warriors, and saved our bullpen every time they went out. To see them on the first team list is really gratifying."
 
Morris is a top-10 hitter in the GNAC, carrying a .358 batting average while getting on base at .410 and scoring 23 runs. Morris has also been outstanding defensively at shortstop with a .954 fielding percentage and has not made an error in his last 70 chances.
 
Nix is No. 3 on the team in home runs with four on the season, and he has added 26 RBIs and 10 doubles while batting .333 for the 'Jackets. He was the third Yellowjacket of the season to receive NCBWA West Region Player of the Week honors, after picking up six hits and driving in eight to help MSUB to a 3-1 series win over Northwest Nazarene.
 

"Both Corey and Trevor have had big years offensively, as both were in the middle three hundreds for the entire year," said Bishop. "Both guys gave us great competitive at bats. Trevor has been good everywhere we have put him. Corey's been a rock defensively, and I am proud and happy for both of those guys."
 
Holding a .347 batting average while catching 29 games for the Yellowjackets, Holbrook has been vital in terms of handling MSUB's pitching staff and coming through in the clutch. He has twice had walkoff base hits this season, and has added two home runs and 23 RBIs.
 
"Conner is definitely the unsung hero on team," said Bishop. "There isn't anyone I would rather see at the plate than him in a big spot. He always gives us a big at bat, competes like crazy, and if he's dealing with an injury or is sick like he was this weekend, you're never going to hear a squeak out of him. He shows up and does the job, is a great guy to have in the clubhouse, and is a guy that unifies the guys around him."
 
Each having breakout seasons in the outfield, Merritt and Berkram stepped into key roles batting consecutively at No. 9 and No. 1, respectively in MSUB's lineup. Merritt batted .397 in conference games and has scored 23 runs in 30 starts in left field. Berkram is batting .310 while getting on base at a clip of .420 for MSUB.
 
"Casey and Myles both picked up the slack after Bret Bitow broke his hand," said Bishop. "Both guys had seen limited time in their first 20 games, but had played a role and were fantastic in that role. When they got inserted into the everyday lineup, both just stepped up big. They gave us huge offensive production that really helped put us on a bit of a streak, and get momentum moving in our direction early on in conference play."
 
Bishop becomes the first GNAC Coach of the Year not from Western Oregon, as he led the Yellowjackets to breaking the Wolves' streak of 13-straight regular season titles. Bishop and the 'Jackets earned GNAC Team of the Week honors after sweeping Northwest Nazarene in four games on the road earlier this season.
 
In his fifth season at MSUB, Bishop also won his 500th career game earlier in the season, as he carried 414 wins with him after a 10-year stint at Miles Community College. He received 4 of 4 votes from the other GNAC Coaches, making him a unanimous selection for the honor.
 
"This award comes along with a first-place regular-season title," Bishop said. "I have always said that good coaches have good players, and I couldn't be prouder of our guys we've recruited and the kind of people they are. Having nine guys on the all-conference team and nine guys on the academic all-conference team just tells you where we're at. The guys we have here are solid human beings who will be good at whatever choose to be the rest of their lives."
 
The Yellowjackets will host the 2015 GNAC Baseball Championships, running Thursday and Friday at Dehler Park in Billings, Mont. MSUB is scheduled to play the No. 3 seed Northwest Nazarene at 4 p.m. Thursday and the No. 2 seed Western Oregon at 7 p.m. that evening.