Kirkwood Places 10 on All-Region Teams, Lundholm Named Deferensive Player of the Year

Per the ICCAC Website: "The 2026 Division II All-Region baseball teams were released Wednesday, showcasing the top performers from across the ICCAC. Accompanying the all-region teams, four special awards were handed out.

Leading off the special awards is Player of the Year George McIntyre. In his first year at Iowa Central, McIntyre led the conference in batting average (.505), on-base percentage (.647), slugging percentage (1.075), runs (68) and stolen bases (15). McIntyre is also second in the league in RBI (47) and total bases (100). In addition to his conference accolades, McIntyre leads the NJCAA in runs (118), total bases (189) and slugging percentage (1.056).

Iowa Central's Isaiah Brennan was named Pitcher of the Year after a year in which he posted a 3.86 ERA in conference games and went 4-1. Brennan allowed only 13 runs while recording 39 strikeouts, posting 11.57 strikeouts per game in conference. His conference WHIP was also excellent at 1.15, holding batters to a .231 batting average when Brennan was on the mound.

The Defensive Player of the Year award was won by Kirkwood's Blake Lundholm. In 27 conference games, Lundholm posted a .990 fielding percentage with 99 total chances, accounting for only one error in those games. Lundholm had 49 putouts and assists in conference play, making nine double plays.

Coach of the Year honors went unanimously to Iowa Lakes' Chris Witzke. The Lakers showed remarkable strength, resilience and unity throughout a season marked by unimaginable tragedy.

After a bus accident claimed the life of one of their teammates and hospitalized several others, the Lakers returned to the field and continued to compete with purpose under steady leadership. Witzke led Iowa Lakes to win 10 conference games, marking the program's highest conference win total since at least the early 2000s, and closed the regular season with a series sweep.

Kirkwood earned five all-region selections — the most of any school in the ICCAC. The list of Eagles includes pitchers Reid Burkle, Drew Zematis and Rafe McConnell, infielder Brady Blake and catcher Ty Andrews.

Burkle was third in the conference with two saves and had a 0.71 ERA in eight appearances. Zematis went 4-0 in conference play with a 1.19 WHIP and had one shutout. In McConnell's 12 conference appearances, he posted a 2.25 ERA with a WHIP of 1.06, allowing only a .203 batting average.

Blake was fifth in conference games in runs with 44 and slugging percentage at .792 this season. Andrews had 163 putouts in 175 chances this season with a .977 fielding percentage, while also being sixth in the conference with a batting average of .447 and 40 RBI.

Southeastern had four players named to First Team All-Region: pitchers Isaac Flamino and Kyler Kaczmarski, outfielder Kam Francois and infielder James Nydegger.

Flamino went 5-0 in six appearances during conference play and pitched 30 2/3 innings. He had the best ERA in conference play at 3.82 and a K/9 of 11.15. Kaczmarski had two complete games in six conference appearances, posting a 4-0 record. His 3.99 ERA ranked third in the conference.

Francois had the second-most hits in the conference with 47, the fourth-best on-base percentage (.577) and the fifth-best batting average (.448). Nydegger led the conference in sacrifice flies (7) and had 44 RBI, fourth best in the ICCAC.

Iowa Central also had four players voted onto the First Team All-Region list. The honorees include infielder Sawyer Stein, designated hitter Ben Jones and special award recipients Isaiah Brennan and George McIntyre.

Stein led the conference in three categories: home runs (16), RBI (61) and total bases (103). In addition, Stein leads the NJCAA with 100 runs batted in this season. Jones had the sixth-most home runs in conference play with 12 and was also sixth in conference with a slugging percentage of .906.

The final five spots are filled by players from DMACC, Ellsworth, Marshalltown, NIACC and Northeast.

From the Bears, Drew Owen earned First Team All-Region honors after he was fourth in hits with 46. He also hit 11 doubles this year while batting .451, fourth best in the league.

Panthers designated hitter Eric McGill got the nod with his 1.100 batting average. He hit 11 doubles and 12 home runs, finishing with the fifth-most bases in the conference at 88.

Cooper Fiskwold, from the Tigers, was in the top three in eight categories in conference play, highlighted by his second-best on-base percentage (.590) and runs (47). He also was third in the league in doubles (11), home runs (13), RBI (45), slugging percentage (1.033) and batting average (.478).

NIACC's utility player, Jacob Neutz, earned a First Team selection. He had the third-most home runs in the conference at 13 and was also fifth with a slugging percentage of .915.

Brady Fitzpatrick from Northeast was an obvious pick after leading the conference in hits (48), doubles (15) and stolen bases (15). He also racked up the third-most bases in the conference with 97, with the second-best batting average at .480."

Player of the Year: George McIntyre, Iowa Central
Defensive Player of the Year: Blake Lundholm, Kirkwood
Pitcher of the Year: Isaiah Brennan, Iowa Central
Coach of the Year: Chris Witzke, Iowa Lakes