Rodriguez, Thompson, Bogenpohl Earn Year-End Team Awards

SPRINGFIELD – Nick Rodriguez, Brandt Thompson and Caden Bogenpohl earned Missouri State Baseball’s team awards this season as voted on by their teammates. Rodriguez was named the A.E. “Ted” Willis Most Valuable Player, Thompson earned the Dave Dickensheet Outstanding Pitcher Award, and Bogenpohl is the Danny Cook Rookie of the Year.
 
Nick Rodriguez – A.E. “Ted” Willis Most Valuable Player
Rodriguez led the Bears with a .332 average to go with 14 home runs and 48 RBI as the first-team all-Missouri Valley Conference second baseman. He slugged .582 with a .432 on-base percentage thanks to 41 walks, and also stole 10 bases while being the only Bear to start every game. In 27 conference games, Rodriguez batted.410 with a .500 on-base percentage, both ranking second in the league behind only the MVC Player of the Year. The junior reached safely in 55 of 57 games, including the final 38 of the year, and opened the season with a 16-hit streak.
 
Brandt Thompson – Dave Dickensheet Outstanding Pitcher
Thompson is the fourth multiple-time winner of the Dickensheet Award since it began in 1992, joining Scott Geitz, Brad Ziegler and Nick Petree. He also became the first MSU starting pitcher since Petree to earn consecutive first-team all-MVC honors this season. In 2024, Thompson ranks in the top six in the MVC in WHIP (1.16), ERA (3.78), strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.41), opponent average (.234), strikeouts (75) and innings (78.2). The senior right-hander ended the season with a 5-2 record with winning decisions against Southern Miss, Arkansas State, Indiana State, Bradley and UIC.
 
Caden Bogenpohl – Danny Cook Rookie of the Year
Bogenpohl set Missouri State freshman records for home runs (20) and walks (53), breaking the marks held by Ryan Howard and Spencer Nivens, respectively. He is the 12^th Bear to hit 20 long balls in a season, while his walk total ranked second overall behind only Dylan Becker’s total of 55 in 2015. An honorable mention all-MVC selection, Bogenpohl hit .293 with a .639 slugging percentage and team-high .446 OBP on the year, driving in 45 while scoring a team-best 62 runs. He also had a trio of two-homer games and led off three different games with a home run.
 
Missouri State’s annual team awards are named in honor of three former Bears who made significant contributions to the University’s athletics programs. Ted Willis was an MSU football letterman in 1918, and the Bears’ team MVP award carries his name through a plaque donated by his widow in memory of his long-standing interest and support of MSU athletics. The Bears’ top rookie honor is named for Danny Cook, a standout third baseman for the Bears from 1966 through 1969 who died of leukemia in 1989. Finally, Dave Dickensheet is a Missouri State Athletics Hall of Famer who pitched for the Bears from 1979 through 1982 before succumbing to cancer in 1991.