By Jim Henry

Two MIAA baseball players have been named NCAA Division II players of the year by Wayne Cavadi of ncaa.com.

Pittsburg State left fielder Dagen Brewer is the co-offensive player of the year, and Emporia State’s Colby Deaver is the pitcher of the year

Brewer, a senior from Topeka, won the MIAA triple crown with a .442 batting average, 26 home runs and 107 runs batted in.

His 107 RBI is a new D2 record, and he was only one behind the D2 national leader in homers. His batting average ranked seventh in the nation.

Brewer shares the award with Charlie Bussey III, a junior right fielder from Francis Marion who also had a historic season.

Bussey’s .489 batting average was the best among all three NCAA divisions, and he set a D2 record with 113 runs scored. He became just the third player in D2 history with at least 100 hits and 100 runs in a season.

Deaver, a sophomore right-hander from Blue Springs, Mo., ranked top-10 nationally in the pitching triple crown categories.

He led Division II with a 1.50 earned run average, was tied for eighth with 11 victories (in 13 decisions) and was 10thh with 102 strikeouts. The national leaders had 13 victories and 117 strikeouts.