Baseball | 05.28.2025

MARSHALL, Minnesota (May 28, 2025) – Lubbock Christian baseball players Brevin McCool and Ryan Markwardt were honored on All-American Teams by the Division II Conference Commissioners Association, and McCool was named the Ron Lenz National Player of the Year.
 
Along with his player of the year honor, McCool was named a First Team All-American at Third Base. Markwardt was an Honorable Mention All-American.
 
The CCA All-America and All-Region baseball teams, which are selected by College Sports Communicators (CSC) from schools playing Division II baseball, were first established in 2007. This is the ninth year in which the program is solely sponsored by the Division II Conference Commissioners Association.
 
This is the second national player of the year honor for McCool, who also earned the award from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. He has also been named the D2CCA and NCBWA South Central Region Player of the Year, Lone Star Conference Player of the Year and LSC Academic Player of the Year. He was also named the LSC and regional Hitter of the Week four times this season and the National Hitter of the Week once.
 
McCool is the third Chaparral in program history to earn National Player of the Year honors, joining Kerry Richardson (1986) and Keith Hart (1998).
 
In his final season at Lubbock Christian, McCool hit .406 and added in 47 walks for a .507 on-base percentage. McCool hit 31 home runs this year, breaking the LSC single-game, single-season and career home run records in the process. He added in 15 doubles and four triples for a .936 slugging percentage and 205 total bases while driving in 84 runs and scoring 76 more. He tied LCU's single-season home run record, which was set by Barry Wilkins in 1987 and then tied by Hart in his player of the year season. His 61 career round-trippers have him tied for second all-time in Chap history, and his 57 career doubles are tied for the eighth most. McCool's 233 RBI are the fifth-most by a Chap in a career, and he is also tied for first all-time with 18 sacrifice flies.
 
Markwardt also had a stellar senior season, earning All-Region First Team and Pitcher of the Year honors from both the NCBWA and the D2CCA as well as All-LSC First Team and Pitcher of the Year. Twice this season he was named the LSC and South Central Region Pitcher of the Week, he earned National Pitcher of the Week honors once, and earned a spot on the LSC All-Tournament team after a complete game against St. Edward's in the semifinal round.
 
In 16 starts this season, he pitched 86.2 innings with an ERA of 3.53. He tossed four complete games and three shutouts while striking out 89. Opponents hit just .253 against him during the year. His 235 career strikeouts in three seasons at LCU put him tied for the eighth-most all-time in program history.
 
Lubbock Christian finished the 2025 season 34-23 overall, finishing fourth in the Lone Star Conference standings with a 30-18 league record. The Chaps reached the NCAA Tournament for the third consecutive season and sixth time in program history.