We selected the 33 players - one automatic bid from each team and 16 at-large bids - seeded them and placed them into a bracket. However now it's your turn to vote who should win The Ball State Daily New's player of the year award. Starting with the play-in game, each issue of the Daily News will be a new round of the tournament, with the championship game being April 24.
Below are the regions and seedings:
The Bryan Bullington Region
No. 1 Patrick Durbin - Named to the All-MIVA first team on Wednesday, outside attacker Patrick Durbin leads the conference averaging 4.28 kills per game. Durbin, a senior, had a career-high 29 kills in a five-game win against IPFW on March 21 and had a match-high 22 kills in a four-game win against then-No. 8 Ohio State.
No. 2 Kyle Henye - After deciding to return for his senior season instead of signing a contract with the Minnesota Twins, closer Kyle Henye leads the Cardinals with 1.16 ERA and seven saves. In addition, Heyne set the school record for most career saves with his first save of the season in a win 3-2 win against the University of Alamaba-Brimingham on Feb. 23.
No. 3 Darius Hill - Tight end Darius Hill finished the 2007 season with 65 receptions and 926 receiving yards. In addition, he set a single-season school record with 11 touchdowns, including two touchdown receptions against both Buffalo and in the International Bowl against Rutgers. Hill was also named an John Mackey Award semi-finalist.
No. 4 Elizabeth Milian - With 14 wins this year, Elizabeth Milian leads the softball team in victories. The sophomore has two shutouts this season and a 2.33 ERA. She also leads the team with 147.1 innings pitched and three saves. At the plate, Milian has a .256 batting average three home runs and 24 RBIs. She also leads the team with 10 doubles and three triples.
No. 5. Ethan Pheister - Setter Ethan Pheister is third in the conference averaging 12.17 assists per game and was named to the All-MIVA second team on Wednesday. In the Cardinals' four-game win against No. 7 UCLA on Feb. 29, former men's volleyball coach Don Shondell called him the best player on the court. Also, Pheister had 75 assists in a win against IPFW on March 21, third most during the rally-scoring era.
No. 6 Brittany Kelly - In her second collegiate tournament, freshman Brittany Kelly shot the school-record for lowest 18-hole round score with 3-under-par 69 at the MAC Tournament Preview Sept. 10. Kelly leads the team in average score and won the Thunder Golf Invitational on Aug. 25 and the Longwood University Invitational on April 1.
No. 7 Julie DeMuth - Julie DeMuth was second on the women's basketball team in scoring averaging 11.58 points per game and scored at least 10 points in 17 games during the 2007-08 season. She also averaged almost seven rebounds per game and became the fourth player and in program history to have 900 career rebounds. In addition, DeMuth was named to the Academic All-MAC team.
No. 8 Sophie Quist - Playing as the team's No. 1 singles player in all but two meets this season, sophomore Sophie Quist is 4-12. Her last win was March 3 against Memphis' No. 1 singles player Ashley Murdock 6-4, 6-2. Quist opened the spring season winning three of her first four singles' matches.
Bonzi Wells Region
No. 1 Peyton Stovall - Men's basketball guard Peyton Stovall became the 24th player in Ball State history to reach the 1,000 point mark in his career this season. The senior gained accolades for his work on and off the court, including being named second team All-senior All-American by the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award.
No. 2 Brandon Crawford - Defensive end Brandon Crawford blocked a field goal as time expired against Navy to send the game into overtime, leading to a Ball State victory. The sophomore, who made the All-MAC third team, had 60 tackles on the season and a team-best eight sacks. He also led the team with four forced fumbles.
No. 3 Brooke MacGillivary - In her first year as a starter, Brooke MacGillivary was second in the MAC in goals scored with 15. The forward and midfielder had four multi-goal games and earned the MAC's offensive player of the week three times. The sophomore was one of 12 Cardinals named to the All-Academic squad by the National Field Hockey Coaches Association and one of three to make first team all-MAC.
No. 4 Abby Gross - With 18 career round-trippers, Abby Gross is Ball State softball's all-time career home run leader. This season the senior, who has started every game, has three home runs, a .290 batting average and a team-high 40 RBIs. The catcher also has a .992 fielding percentage behind the plate.
No. 5 Anthony Newell - With 16.9 points per game, Anthony Newell led the men's basketball team in scoring this season. The junior also led the team with eight rebounds per game and 10 blocks. He started all 21 games he played in and was second on the team in average minutes played with 35.4, behind Peyton Stovall's 35.7.
No. 6 Annie Aiello - Annie Aiello was one of two players in the MAC to earn All-Regional honors by Soccerbuzz this year. The midfielder was named to the Third Team All-Great Lakes Region, the third Cardinal to ever receive the honor. The junior was also a First Team All-MAC selection with five goals, all of which came off of five penalty kicks, a Ball State record.
7. Todd ChamberlainTodd Chamberlain - Outside attacker Todd Chamberlain set a career-high this season with 251 kills and his 2.89 kills per game average is top-15 in the MIVA. In addition, he had a season-high 19 kills in a win against the Pacific, helping the Cardinals win their first game on the West Coast in more than four years. Chamberlain was named to the 2008 All-MIVA second team.
No. 8 Erica Gilkerson - With career highs on beam and floor against Illinois-Chicago, Erica Gilkerson helped lead the Cardinals to their one win of the season and then won the MAC gymnast of the week award. She had a 9.800 on beam and 9.875 on floor, both of which earned her first place honors. The senior also had a 9.700 or better five times on vault.
Brad Maynard Region
No. 1 Nate Davis - En route to leading Ball State to its first bowl game since 1996, sophomore quarterback Nate Davis threw for a school record 3,376 yards, breaking the previous mark of 2,377 yard by Neil Britt in 1983. Davis was named second team All-MAC and also set school records in passes with 429, completions with 245 and touchdown passes with 27.
No. 2 Ali Bishel - In the cross country season, Ali Bishel represented Ball State at the NCAA Championships with a 52nd place finish out of 253 participants. Bishel finished in 21:12, the fastest of any MAC athlete at the meet. Her awards in the fall included a spot on the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country All-Region Team, First Team All-MAC selection and Academic All-MAC selection. In track, Bishel broke a school record in the 5,000 meter run with a time of 16:21.66.
3. Ian PecklerIan Peckler - In his senior season libero Ian Peckler led the conference, and was fifth in the nation, averaging three digs per game. He was also one of three Cardinals named to the All-MIVA first team. In addition, Peckler had a season-high 21 digs in a four-game win against then-No. 15 IPFW, and on April 11 he become one of two players in the program history to have more than 1,000 career digs.
No. 4 Dante Love - Dante Love reached triple-digit receptions this season, the second time the feat has been accomplished in Ball State history. The junior led the Cardinals' football team with 100 catches, 1,398 yards and had 10 touchdowns, second best on the team. Love's accomplishments led to him being one of three Cardinals named as an All-American by the College Sports Report.
No. 5 Emily Rein - After Ball State won its second consecutive MAC regular season championship, Emily Rein was one of four Cardinals to earn a spot on the Academic All-MAC team. The junior also made the second team All-MAC and led the team in scoring with six goals, five assists and 17 points on the season.
No. 6 Alyssa Rio - One player from the women's volleyball team played in all 109 of its games: Alyssa Rio. The freshman led the team with an average of 5.58 digs per game. The defensive specialist was fourth in the conference in digs and had the third most sets and fifth most digs on the season for Ball State.
No. 7 Lisa Maertin - Sophomore Lisa Maertin of the women's swimming and diving team qualified this season for the NCAA Diving Zones, a precursor to the NCAA Championships. The one Ball State athlete at the event, Maertin finished 38th with a 184.8 in the 3-meter diving. She also took sixth in the 3-meter diving at the MAC Championships.
Play-in game Kolbrin Vitek - With five wins this season, freshman Kolbrin Vitek leads the baseball team in wins and has a perfect record. He has a 4.32 ERA and a team-best 48 strike outs this season. He also plays as a designated hitter and has a 3.22 batting average and three home runs. Vitek has won a MAC West pitcher of the week award in March.
Play-in game Ryan Franklin - The best performance at the MAC championships by a men's swimmer was by Ryan Franklin. The senior finished third among the MAC swimmers witha a time of 57.72 in the 100-yard breaststroke. He also finished eighth in the 200-yard breaststroke and 13th in the 200-yard individual medley. He also garnered one MAC swimmer of the week award.
The Sally Northcroft Region
No. 1 Rachael Murphy - The Cardinals' goalkeeper had 10 shutouts last season for the MAC champion soccer team. The shutouts, which were a Ball State record, and her 0.53 goals against average, which is second in Cardinal history, were both best in the conference. Murphy went on a streak of seven games and 664 minutes without allowing a goal, both Ball State records.
No. 2 Chris Miller - Continuing the tradition of "Punter U," punter Chris Miller was named a 2007 All-American in December. Miller averaged 45.8 yards per punt, third best in the nation, and 22 of his 56 punts landed inside the opponent's 20-yard line. Miller was a finalist for the Ray Guy Award and was named to the Playboy Preseason All-American Team in June.
No. 3 Matt McCarthy - Entering the season as a Preseason All-MIVA Player, middle attacker Matt McCarthy finished the regular season third in the conference with 114 blocks. McCarthy's .426 attack percentage is fourth-best in the MIVA and ninth in the nation. In addition, he was named to the All-MIVA first team on Wednesday for the first time in his career.
No. 4 Porchia Green - Porchia Green concluded the 2006-07 season on the All-MAC first team after leading the Cardinals with a 13 point per game average. In addition, the guard had a team-high 6.9 rebounds per game average and averaged more than 35 minutes per game. She also scored at least 10 points in 21 of 29 games this season.
No. 5 Bryant Haines - Starting in every game, linebacker Bryant Haines had a team-high 125 tackles and was the only player on the Cardinals to have more than 100 tackles. Of the tackles, nine were for a loss of yards and he had one sack. Haines received second-team All-MAC honors and won the MAC defensive player of the week award in September after had a team-high 12 tackles against Eastern Michigan.
No. 6 J.D. Gasparovic - After starting the season primarily on the bench, middle attacker J.D. Gasparovic worked his way into the starting line-up and named the 2008 MIVA Freshman of the Year. Gasparovic started 18 matches and led the MIVA with a 1.46 blocks per game average. He also won the MIVA player of the week award after hitting more than a .600 attack percentage in two consecutive matches.
No. 7 Jose Perdomo - Junior Jose Perdomo has won six matches as the team's No. 1 singles players and overall is 8-13 in singles play this season. Perdomo won the MAC Player of the Week award on Tuesday after winning his singles match against No. 71 Western Michigan and Buffalo. Also, he had two wins at the ITA All-American Championship during the fall season.
No. 8 Brian Mauer - Junior Brian Mauer leads the men's golf team with a 74 stroke per round average. At the Earl Yestingsmeier Invitational, Mauer finished a team-best eighth place and shot a 65 during one round, which is tied of the lowest Ball State round this year. Mauer has finished in the top-15 three times this season.
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