Tyler Tscherter and Cameron Bannister

The NICL West Division’s all-conference baseball team is reminiscent of the way the season went — dominated by West Marshall.

The undefeated NICL West champions had seven all-conference first-team selections as voted on Saturday by the league’s coaches, four of them unanimously after the Trojans went 12-0 for the second time in the last three years.

West Marshall gained at least a share of the NICL West title for the fifth year in a row and won this season’s championship by a comfortable five-game margin. Head coach Jerod Brown was voted the Coach of the Year a fourth time (2013, 2015, 2017, 2019), and the conference MVP suffered his only pitching loss this summer to the Trojans.

Gladbrook-Reinbeck junior pitcher/shortstop Tyler Tscherter was voted as the NICL West’s Most Outstanding Player after leading the league in a number of statistical categories, including home runs, defensive assists and pitching victories.

Tscherter is 6-1 overall and went 5-1 in the NICL West, sustaining his lone loss in the conference finale at West Marshall. In league play, Tscherter had 29 assists and just one error in the field, leading all non-catchers or first basemen with a .977 fielding percentage. On the mound he was 5-1 with 60 strikeouts in 37 1/3 innings pitched and a 1.13 earned run average. At the plate, Tscherter batted .514 with one double, two triples, nine home runs and 29 RBIs.

He’s the first conference MVP from Gladbrook-Reinbeck since Scott Benson earned the honor in 2009. Tscherter was the only Rebel on the first team, gaining his second such selection after being a second-team pick two years ago and honorable mention as an eighth-grader.

West Marshall’s seven first-team selections were from a variety of age groups, as three seniors, three sophomores and one freshman were chosen. Voted unanimously were senior second baseman Cameron Bannister, who earned his fourth all-conference honor and his second first-team selection; senior outfielder Jake Tollefson, who was promoted from back-to-back years on the second team; and sophomore third baseman Brayden Evertsen, who earned his first all-conference laurel.

Bannister batted .429 with league-bests of 24 runs scored and 10 stolen bases. He also pitched 18 1/3 innings without allowing an earned run (only one earned run), striking out 27 while surrendering just nine hits. Tollefson hit .400 with 20 runs, four doubles, five homers and 18 RBIs at the top of the Trojan lineup. Eversten hit .459 with four doubles, one homer and 10 RBIs.

Senior left-hander Nat Markle was a dominant 4-0 on the mound for West Marshall, posting a 0.55 ERA with 26 strikeouts in 25 1/3 innings. Opponents batted just .144 against him in conference play as he earned his first all-conference honor. Sophomore first baseman Ryan Reyerson batted .378 with four doubles and 16 RBIs, moving up from a pair of honorable mentions, and freshman shortstop Kinnick Christensen hit .488 with 19 runs scored, eight doubles and 16 RBIs for his first all-league accolade.

The only other returning all-conference selection on the first team was East Marshall junior Zach Jacobson, who was a unanimous choice as well. Jacobson batted .485 with six doubles and nine RBIs, and on the mound he was 4-0 with a 1.83 and 46 strikeouts in 30 2/3 innings.

Jacobson was joined by his batterymate, sophomore catcher Wesley Hamor, on the first team. Aside from West Marshall, the Mustangs were the only team to have more than one first-team all-conference selection. Hamor batted .353 in league play and threw out five would-be base-stealers from behind the plate.

South Hardin senior outfielder Tanner Lawrence and Grundy Center freshman utility Brayden Sawyer rounded out the first team.

BCLUW’s top selections came from the second team, where senior shortstop Jack Garber, senior third baseman Koty Kruse and sophomore outfielder Noah Gallentine were honored. Gallentine led the Comets with a .286 batting average in conference play, scoring eight runs. Garber batted .258 with a double, a home run and six RBIs, while Kruse hit .235 with one home run and a team-leading nine RBIs. Garber’s nine stolen bases tied for second in the conference as well.

NICL West Division Baseball

All-Conference Teams

(* — denotes unanimous selection)

Most Outstanding Player — Tyler Tscherter, jr., Gladbrook-Reinbeck

Coach of the Year — Jerod Brown, West Marshall

FIRST TEAM

Tyler Tscherter, jr., P, Gladbrook-Reinbeck

Nat Markle, sr., P, West Marshall

Wesley Hamor, so., C, East Marshall

Ryan Reyerson, so., 1B, West Marshall

*Cameron Bannister, sr., 2B, West Marshall

Kinnick Christensen, fr., SS, West Marshall

*Brayden Evertsen, so., 3B, West Marshall

*Jake Tollefson, sr., OF, West Marshall

*Kaden Davis, so., OF, West Marshall

Tanner Lawrence, sr., OF, South Hardin

*Zach Jacobson, jr., UT, East Marshall

Brayden Sawyer, fr., UT, Grundy Center

SECOND TEAM

Cade Spieker, sr., P, South Hardin

Luke Starr, jr., P, AGWSR

Brody Roder, jr., C, AGWSR

Josh Larsen, sr., C, West Marshall

Cullen Eiffler, jr., 1B, Gladbrook-Reinbeck

Ben Macy, so., 2B, AGWSR

Jack Garber, sr., SS, BCLUW

Koty Kruse, sr., 3B, BCLUW

Noah Gallentine, so., OF, BCLUW

Gabe Jones, jr., OF, West Marshall

Austin Knaack, sr., OF, Grundy Center

Jackson Kiburis, sr., UT, Gladbrook-Reinbeck

Marshall Day, sr., UT, Grundy Center

HONORABLE MENTION

Wyatt Benning, so., AGWSR; Treye Teske, jr., BCLUW; Kam Hoskins, sr., East Marshall; Keagan Giesking, so., Gladbrook-Reinbeck; Jensen Clapp, jr., Grundy Center; Colton Haley, sr., South Hardin; Ben Kielman, so., West Marshall.

——

Final Conference Standings

, W, L

West Marshall, 12, 0

Gladbrook-Reinbeck, 7, 5

Grundy Center, 7, 5

East Marshall, 5, 6

South Hardin, 4, 6

AGWSR, 4, 7

BCLUW, 1, 11