SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - The Indiana State baseball team received numerous awards prior to the start of the 2012 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament, highlighted by junior Jeremy Lucas becoming the first student-athlete in program history to earn the MVC's Joe Carter Player of the Year award.

Junior Dakota Bacus also earned a specialty award, being named the MVC's Newcomer of the Year, while head coach Rick Heller received the Dan Callahan MVC Coach of the Year award. The MVC announced this February that the league's annual coach of the year award would be renamed to honor former Southern Illinois head coach Dan Callahan. Callahan spent 16 years as the head coach of the Salukis before losing his long battle with cancer in November of 2010.

Bacus becomes the fourth student-athlete to be named the Newcomer of the Year, joining Tim Brewer (2005), Clint Barmes (2000) and Rick Angell (1998). Heller is the third coach in ISU history to receive the Dan Callahan MVC Coach of the Year award, joining Bob Warn (1979, 1983, 1984) and Lindsay Meggs (2009).

Lucas earned three separate awards from the MVC, being named Joe Carter Player of the Year, First Team All-MVC and to the All-Defensive Team. The West Terre Haute, Ind., and West Vigo High School product, started all 21 games behind the plate for ISU in league play, hitting .361 (26-for-72) with six doubles, two home runs, 15 RBIs, 19 runs scored and a .505 on-base percentage. Behind the plate, Lucas recorded 143 putouts and totaled 23 fielding assists without committing an error.

Bacus was also named First Team All-MVC along with his Newcomer of the Year award, going 4-1 with a 2.00 ERA in MVC action while throwing a pair of complete games in his seven starts. The Moline, Ill., and Southeastern Community College transfer, led ISU to the regular season MVC championship last Thursday, throwing a complete game in ISU's 6-3 victory over Missouri State.

Junior Rob Ort was the third Sycamore to earn First Team All-MVC status, his second straight season earning the honor. The Newburgh, Ind., and Castle High School product, led ISU with 22 RBIs in MVC play, totaling six doubles, one triple and four home runs. Ort was also 3-for-3 in stolen base attempts.

Senior Kyle Burnam and sophomores Sean Manaea and Tyler Wampler all earned Second Team All-MVC plaudits. Burnam was second on the team with a .309 batting average in conference play, tying for third on the team with 21 hits while leading the team with six sacrifice hits. Manaea went 2-0 with a 2.30 ERA in seven starts, striking out 54 batters in 47 innings. Wampler started all 21 games at shortstop for ISU, totaling 17 hits at the plate and a team-leading 59 fielding assists on defense.

Senior Jon Hedges and freshman Landon Curry rounded out the awards for the Sycamores, both being named Honorable Mention All-MVC. Hedges tied for third on the team with 21 hits in league play, tying for the team lead with six doubles while also hitting two home runs and driving in 17 runs. Curry also tied for third on the team with 21 hits in MVC action, scoring 13 runs and ranking third on the team with a .288 batting average.

Indiana State's eight All-MVC awards tied with Illinois State for the second-most in the league, one behind Missouri State's nine.

The top-seeded Sycamores begin their postseason run at 1:30 p.m. (ET) on Tuesday, taking on #8 Creighton. For a full tournament preview, click here.

First Team All-Conference
1B - Chris Serritella, Southern Illinois
2B - Kevin Medrano, Missouri State
SS - Eric Stamets, Evansville
3B - Zac Johnson, Illinois State
C - Jeremy Lucas, Indiana State
DH - Johnny Coy, Wichita State
UT - Austin Montgomery, Southern Illinois
OF - Eric Aguilera, Illinois State
OF - Rob Ort, Indiana State
OF - Jordan Sivertsen, Southern Illinois
SP - Dakota Bacus, Indiana State
SP - Joe Bircher, Bradley
SP - Nick Petree, Missouri State
RP - Kenny Long, Illinois State
RP - Tyler Burgess, Missouri State

Second Team All-Conference
1B - Brock Chaffin, Missouri State
2B - Chris Godinez, Bradley
SS - Tyler Wampler, Indiana State
3B - Brent Seifert, Missouri State
C - Luke Voit, Missouri State
DH - Brock Harding, Southern Illinois
UT - Anthony Bemboom, Creighton
OF - Kyle Burnam, Indiana State
OF - Spiker Helms, Missouri State
OF - Kevin Kaczmarski, Evansville
SP - Cody Forsythe, Southern Illinois
SP - Cameron Maldonado, Southern Illinois
SP - Sean Manaea, Indiana State
RP - Todd Eaton, Southern Illinois
RP - Cale Elam, Wichita State

Honorable Mention
1B - Jon Hedges, Indiana State
2B - Kevin Tokarski, Illinois State
SS - Erik Harbutz, Wichita State
C - Matt Mirabal, Illinois State
DH - Keenen Maddox, Missouri State
UT - Dayne Parker, Wichita State
OF - Landon Curry, Indiana State
OF - Micah Green, Wichita State
OF - Chad Hinshaw, Illinois State
OF - Mike Tauchman, Bradley
OF - Ty Wiesemeyer, Illinois State
SP - Kyle Lloyd, Evansville
SP - Kyle Freeland, Evansville
SP - Cody Schumacher, Missouri State
SP - Josh Smith, Wichita State
RP - Justin Hauer, Illinois State

All-Defensive Team
1B - Nick Judkins, Creighton
2B - Kevin Medrano, Missouri State
SS - Eric Stamets, Evansville
3B - Chance Ross, Creighton
C - Jeremy Lucas, Indiana State
OF - Mike Gerber, Creighton
OF - Kevin Hall, Wichita State
OF - Chad Hinshaw, Illinois State
P - Nick Petree, Missouri State

Specialty Awards
Joe Carter MVC Player of the Year: Jeremy Lucas, Indiana State
MVC Pitcher of the Year: Nick Petree, Missouri State
MVC Newcomer of the Year: Dakota Bacus, Indiana State
MVC Freshman of the Year: Tyler Burgess, Missouri State
MVC Defensive Player of the Year: Eric Stamets, Evansville
Dan Callahan MVC Coach of the Year: Rick Heller, Indiana State