OKLAHOMA CITY – At the conclusion of an incredibly successful regular season and Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament, capturing the program's second league tourney title, the No. 18 MACU Baseball team raked in the All-SAC honors on Wednesday.
Ibrahim Gonzalez was named the league's Pitcher of the Year, Nick Hill was tabbed the Newcomer of the Year, nine players were placed on the two All-SAC Teams while three players garnered Gold Glove accolades.
Joining Gonzalez on the All-SAC First Team were junior first baseman Frankie Giacalone, junior outfielder Jalen King, and junior reliever Liam Taft.
Being tabbed to the Second Team were junior second baseman Cole Krepcik, junior designated hitter Adam Hanan, junior outfielder Sammy Hallada, and senior starting pitcher Fabian Hernandez.
The Evangels collected their most Gold Glove honors since joining the SAC as junior catcher Jahzeel Groetelaers earned the defensive accolade alongside Giacalone and Hill.
Since making his first appearance in relief on Feb. 7 and making his first start against Peru State on Feb. 12, Gonzalez quickly established himself as the ace of the program. The Vieques, Puerto Rico product finished the SAC Tournament with a 10-2 record and 1.83 ERA. Not only did his ERA and 10 wins lead the SAC, but they also currently rank as the second-lowest qualifying ERA in the nation and tied for the fourth-most victories.
Gonzalez became only the third pitcher in the NAIA Era (2007-present) at MACU to record 10 or more wins, joining Isaac Baez and Zane Robeaux who nabbed 10 apiece during the 2024 campaign. Gonzalez also wrapped up tourney play with 86 strikeouts, marking the third most in the league.
Gonzalez is the third Evangel to ever be named the SAC Pitcher of the Year, joining Keisy Portorreal (2018) and Isaac Baez (2024).
Hill has put together a historical season from the plate for the Evangels as he currently in the midst of one of the best power hitting campaigns in program history. Hill not only leads the SAC with 21 home runs, but he shattered the team's single season home run record that was set by Cristopher Munoz last season with 16.
The Lakewood, Calif. native is on the cusp of breaking two more MACU records as well as his 19 doubles is just two shy of Logan Gipson's program record of 21 set in 2018 and ranks as the second-most in the SAC. His 67 RBIs not only leads the league, but is also five away from tying Noel McGarry-Doyle's record set last season.
Hill has been an all-around solid hitter all season as he enters NAIA Tournament play with a .350 batting average, a .439 on-base percentage, and a .798 slugging percentage for a sensational 1.237 OPS.
It marks back-to-back seasons that an Evangel has collected the SAC Newcomer of the Year award after Munoz earned the acclaim last season.
Giacalone's sensational power-hitting season at the dish has been nothing to scoff at as well, as his 14 homers is the fourth most hit in the SAC this season and ranks tied for the fourth-most in MACU's single season record book.
Overall, the San Diego, Calif. product is posting a .327 batting average with 10 doubles, 46 RBIs, and 41 runs while frequently getting on-base with a team-high 32 walks and 13 hit-by-pitches for .467 on-base percentage and .637 slugging, equating to a 1.104 OPS.
Giacalone has been just as sensational with his glove as he has his bat, as his 341 putouts is the second-most by a MACU player in the NAIA Era, only 16 shy of tying Axel Poesman (357, 2018) for the record and his 26 double plays is only one away from tying the records held by Kevin Parsons (2012) and Carlos Medina (2025). Impressively, Giacalone has only committed one error all season for a downright incredible .997 fielding percentage.
Taking the reins of the team's center field position and hitting near the top of MACU's batting order all season, King has established himself as an excellent hitter and defender for the Evangels. Not only does his .397 batting average lead the team, but it also sits as the third-highest average in the SAC and is on-pace to be the ninth best in the NAIA Era at MACU.
With 59 runs, not only does King hold the top spot in the SAC, but is currently 11 away from matching D'Andre Gaines' record mark set last year while his 28 stolen bases is the second-most in the league and third-most in MACU's single season record book.
King was huge in the outfield for MACU, finishing the SAC tourney with 100 putouts and committed only two errors for a .981 fielding percentage while making diving plays look nearly routine.
After being thrown into the closer role and getting his first save in a high profile fashion against No. 12 Missouri Baptist on Feb. 7, Taft ran with it and put together one of the most legendary seasons for a closer in program history.
Entering the NAIA Tournament, the Bakersfield, Calif. native owns the program's single season record for saves with 12, not only making it the most in the SAC, but also sits as the third-most in the NAIA. Taft's season has overall been remarkable, as he closed out the SAC Tourney play with a 2.37 ERA, making it on-pace to be the sixth-lowest ERA of any MACU pitcher that's thrown at least 20 innings. He's also held the opposition to a sensational .197 batting average against him with a stellar 1.11 WHIP.
Another piece of MACU's sensational infield, Krepcik has played a huge role with his bat and his glove for the Evangels in his first season with the program. Coming up huge for MACU in the SAC Championship game with four hits, five RBIs, and five runs, Krepcik enters the NAIA Tournament with a solid .351 batting average with nine doubles, two triples, and three homers for 41 RBIs and 35 runs.
The Deer Park, Wash. product has also been great defensively, posting 79 putouts and 100 assists with a .973 fielding percentage while his 22 double plays is the sixth-most in MACU's single season record book.
Hitting in the cleanup spot for the last half of the season, Hanan has hammered the ball for MACU, hitting for a .329 batting average with nine doubles, nine homers, 40 RBIs and 33 runs scored, also drawing 13 walks and 11 hit-by-pitches for a .411 on-base percentage.
Hanan made his mark in MACU's record book against Oklahoma Panhandle State on Apr. 10 when he hammered three homers and finished with nine RBIs to place him squarely at the top of each category in MACU's single game lists.
Another staple of MACU's outfield, Hallada has been one of the key components for the Evangels at the top of their batting order and defensively in left field. A native of West Lafayette Ind., Hallada's 55 runs this season places him as one of the top three in the SAC, sitting only behind his teammates in King (59) and Hill (56). His four triples rank as the fourth most in the SAC and third in MACU's single season record book along with the sixth most stolen bases in the league (21).
Occupying one of the four starting pitcher spots on the All-SAC Second Team, Hernandez continued to establish himself as one of the best starting pitchers in program history, especially with his performances in the second half of the season.
The Samana, Dominican Republic product wrapped up SAC Tournament with a 4-2 record and a 4.16 ERA, leading the league in strikeouts with 94 over 71.1 innings of work while his ERA was the fifth-best in the SAC amongst all qualifying pitchers.
Hernandez played a massive role in punching MACU's ticket to the SAC Championship game when he only allowed two runs, one earned on only two hits, two walks, and a career-high 12 strikeouts in a complete nine-inning performance in the team's 4-2 win over Nelson in the elimination game.
One of three Gold Glovers for the Evangels, Groetelaers has put together a legendary performance from behind the plate this season. On-top of recording the fifth-most putouts (312) in single season history for MACU, he's also thrown out an astonishing 19 runners trying to steal, currently just one shy of matching Kieran Bradford's 2009 record while his 39.6 percent runners caught stealing percentage also ranks as the second-best in MACU's record book only behind Zachary Stark's 2024 mark of 40 percent.
In a defensively demanding position, the Willemstad, Curacao native has only committed four errors all season for a .989 fielding percentage.
Mid-America Christian enters the NAIA Tournament with a 39-13 overall record after capturing the program's second SAC Tournament title with the first coming in 2024. The Evangels finished second in the SAC regular season standings with a 20-7 league mark and currently rank No. 18 in the NAIA while receiving one of the SAC's two automatic bids to the NAIA Tournament.
The Evangels will find out where they will be heading in the NAIA Tournament this afternoon with the Selection Show airing at 4 p.m. CST on the NAIA's YouTube channel.
