GREELEY, Colo. - Coaches, fans and players at Northern Colorado have known for some time how much senior Kevin Sandberg has meant to the Bears program. Today it was learned he had the respect of the other coaches in the region as well as he was named to the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) All-Midwest Region Second Team as a designated hitter.

The ABCA Midwest Region consists of Division I teams in Colorado, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Texas.

Sandberg, an Aurora, Colo., native, was named the second team designated hitter after hitting .351 with 20 home runs, 13 doubles and 64 RBI in his final season. His 20 home runs tied the school's single season record and he leaves the team owning the career records in at bats, hits, runs batted in, doubles and total bases.

"This is a great honor for Kevin," said Head Coach Kevin Smallcomb. "He worked hard throughout his career at Northern Colorado and it pays off with awards like this."

The Northern Colorado baseball team posted a record of 18-35 in its final season as an independent team. Next year, the Bears will compete in the Great West Conference.

First Team
1B: Matt Vern, TCU
2B: Mike Brownstein, New Mexico
SS: Brian Marquez, New Mexico State
3B: Tony Thompson, Kansas
C: J.T. Wise, Oklahoma
OF: Ryan Enos, Dallas Baptist
OF: Jamie Johnson, Oklahoma
OF: Brian Cavazos-Galvez, New Mexico
DH: Jason Krizan, Dallas Baptist
SP: A.J. Morris, Kansas State
SP: Kyle Gibson, Missouri
SP: Buddy Baumann, Missouri State
RP: Austin Wood, Texas

Second Team
1B: Chris Richburg, Texas Tech
2B: Brodie Greene, Texas A&M
SS: Ryan Goins, Dallas Baptist
3B: Brayden Drake, Missouri State
C: Jeff Farnham, New Mexico State
OF: Brady Shoemaker, Indiana State
OF: Neil Medchill, Oklahoma State
OF: Ben Carlson, Missouri State
DH: Kevin Sandberg, Northern Colorado
SP: Mark Serrano, Oral Roberts
SP: Chance Ruffin, Texas
SP: Taylor Jungmann, Texas
RP: Ryan Duke, Oklahoma