BURNSVILLE, Minn. -- After a regular-season that featured statistical performances unlike any other in Viking history, the No. 19-ranked Augustana baseball team has been represented with seven all-conference selections the NSIC announced Tuesday afternoon. 

Sophomore righty Ryan Jares, junior catcher Will Olson, senior shortstop Sam Baier, junior infielder Jordan Barth and sophomore outfielder Carter Howell all earned First-Team All-NSIC honors while senior righty Max Steffens and senior lefty Koby Bishop earned Second-Team All-NSIC honors. 

Ryan Jares | Windsor, Colo.
A centerpiece to the Viking pitching staff, Jares has led the charge for Augustana in what has become the most prolific strikeout team in school history. During the conference season, the sophomore struck out 68 hitters in just 47 innings pitched to go along with his 2.11 ERA and 4-1 record. Overall, he surrendered just 11 earned runs with opponents hitting .195 against him. 

Jares earned his marquee win late in the season when he tossed a nine-inning shutout against then No. 11 Minnesota State. In the contest, Jares struck out 14 opposing hitters while putting the finishing touches on a Vikings' doubleheader sweep of the Mavericks. 

Will Olson | Omaha, Neb.
The Augustana backstop simply has not settled for singles this season. In conference games, Olson is tied for the league-lead in homers with 12 and owns three two-homer games and homered in three-straight games in the Vikings' series with Wayne State. 

Overall, the junior hit .358 in conference play with 25 runs scored, 38 hits, seven doubles, one triple, the aforementioned 12 homers, 35 RBIs, a .783 SLG% and a .449 OBP%. Behind the plate, Olson boasts a .996 fielding percentage and has gunned down 10 would-be base stealers. 

Sam Baier | Springfield, Minn.
"Slammin' Sammy Baier" was what SportsCenter referred to the Vikings' national champion shortstop as, after he launched an incredible seven home runs in a doubleheader against Bemidji State. After becoming the 25th player in NCAA history to hit four homers in a game in game one against the Beavers, also breaking the Augustana single-game record, Baier hit three more home runs in game two, easily earning him NSIC Player of the Week honors. 

During the conference season, Baier has been a key to the Augustana offense on the basepaths and with the bat. A perfect 18-for-18 in steals, the senior also hit .299 with 32 runs scored, 38 hits, four doubles, one triple, eight homers and 30 RBIs. 

Jordan Barth | Cold Spring, Minn.
The accolades continue to roll in for Barth in what is an already large trophy case acquired in his time at Augustana. The corner infielder has been rock-solid for the Vikings at the hot corners this year and has been a model of consistency at the plate. 

His offensive numbers within the conference season include a .342 average with 44 runs scored, 50 hits, 10 doubles, 10 homers, 42 RBIs (tops in the conference), a .616 SLG% and six steals. His biggest hit of the season came in game one of the Vikings' series with Winona State. Down one with a man on third with Augustana down to its last two outs, Barth launched a towering go-ahead two-run homer to right-center, propelling the Vikings to an eventual series win over the Warriors. 

Carter Howell | Moorhead, Minn.
The biggest base stealing threat in the NSIC also happened to have the most hits within the conference season in 2021 in Augustana's Carter Howell. The Viking leadoff man stole 21 bases in 22 attempts and notched 57 hits, six more than the next highest total. 

An offensive catalyst at the top of the lineup, Howell also proved that he could bat cleanup with the power numbers that he put up in 2021. Overall, he hit .419 with 41 runs scored, 11 doubles, one triple, eight homers, 31 RBIs, a .691 SLG% and a .497 OBP%. 

Exactly how good were Howell's hitting numbers during the season? From March 21 to April 6, Howell had a 13-game hitting streak, however, within the streak, the sophomore also had a nine-game streak of games with multiple hits. 

Max Steffens | DeWitt, Iowa
If the COVID-19 pandemic hadn't cancelled Steffens's senior campaign in 2020, an arm injury likely would have. The reigning NSIC Pitcher of the Year fought through the adversity, dominated the road to recovery and returned to ace form during the 2021 conference season. 

In seven conference starts, the senior went 6-1 with a 2.32 ERA and 42 strikeouts in 42.2 innings pitched. He surrendered just 11 earned runs and walked just four batters on the season, the second-lowest total in the conference with a minimum of 29 innings pitched. 

In 2021, Steffens has taken the mound in three series-deciding game-three starts and has delivered victories in all three of them: St. Cloud State, Minot State and Winona State. 

Koby Bishop | Fort Collins, Colo. 
Scoring runs against Koby Bishop in the 2021 conference season has been at a premium to say the least. In 41.2 innings pitched, Bishop has allowed just eight earned runs while striking out 53 opposing hitters. Opponents hit just .204 against the lefty and he has only been tagged for five extra-base hits, the second-lowest total in the conference. 

With five starts, Bishop owns a 5-1 record with three complete games pitched including two shutouts. On April 6, he threw a complete-game two-hitter against Minnesota Duluth, earning the win while allowing just two runs and followed the performance with a complete-game shutout against Northern State, earning that victory while allowing just four hits. After the Northern game, Bishop started and threw six scoreless in a win against Sioux Falls, before logging his most impressive performance of the season. 

On April 28, the senior southpaw twirled a shutout victory against then No. 11 Minnesota State with eight strikeouts in the Vikings' 1-0 victory. 

Up Next
The all conference honorees and the rest of the Vikings are set to take on the St. Cloud State Huskies in the second round of the NSIC Tournament Wednesday at 6 p.m. at Karras Park Home of Ronken Field.