KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association announced new Athletes of the Week from the eighth week of the 2026 baseball season. Three student-athletes from three different institutions earned MIAA Athlete of the Week honors in week eight with Northwest Missouri’s Jeremiah Cabuyaban named the Hitter of the Week, and Emporia State’s Quinton Chindamo and Pittsburg State’s Ty Blecha named Co-Pitchers of the Week.
MIAA HITTER OF THE WEEK: Jeremiah Cabuyaban, Northwest Missouri
Jeremiah Cabuyaban led the Bearcats offense through four MIAA contests last week. The senior first baseman batted .500 with four home runs, totaled a league-best 12 RBI and scored eight runs as Northwest finished 2-2 on the week. He homered in all four games. Cabuyaban went 1-for-4 with a homer in Northwest’s 11-7 loss at No. 8-ranked Central Missouri last Wednesday (March 18). He then opened the MIAA series against Washburn 2-for-5 with a home run and four RBI, helping the Bearcats to a 15-6 win. In game two’s 10-9 loss to the Ichabods, Cabuyaban went 3-for-3 with a home run, a double and four runs scored. In game three, Cabuyaban knocked in six runs as he went 2-for-4 with a home run and a double, leading Northwest to a 20-16 victory and the MIAA series win over Washburn.
CO-MIAA PITCHER OF THE WEEK: Quinton Chindamo, Emporia State
Quinton Chindamo got the Sunday start against NM Highlands and delivered a career-best performance. The freshman pitched 6.0 innings and allowed just two hits, while striking out a career-high nine batters. In 19 at-bats, opponents hit just .105 against Chindamo in the Hornets’ 4-1 win.
CO-MIAA PITCHER OF THE WEEK: Ty Blecha, Pittsburg State
Ty Blecha tossed a complete-game three-hit shutout in No. 1/2 Pittsburg State's 11-0 victory over Central Oklahoma on Sunday (Mar. 22). The redshirt junior left-hander limited the Bronchos to five base runners in the contest and aided his cause by inducing a pair of double play grounders. He registered one strikeout and limited UCO's offense to a .143 average. Blecha picked up the win in his third start of the season. He's 2-1 on the year with a 3.29 ERA in 27.1 innings of work.
NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:
MIAA HITTERS
Eric Bacon, Pittsburg State
Bacon hit .526 on the week with six extra-base hits and 10 RBI while helping No. 1/2 Pittsburg State to a 3-1 record. The Emory, Texas native smacked three doubles, a triple and two home runs while slugging 1.105 for the week. He also scored six runs and swiped a pair of bases. Bacon went 4-for-5 with two doubles, a homer and three RBI in the Gorillas’ 12-8 win over Central Oklahoma last Friday (Mar. 20). He closed out the week with a 3-for-4 day with three runs scored, a home run and three RBI in Pitt State's 11-0 run-rule victory over the Bronchos on Sunday (March 22). For the season, Bacon is hitting .457 with 48 runs scored, 11 doubles, four home runs and 46 RBI.
Miguel Cantu, Missouri Western
Miguel Cantu put together a dominant four-game stretch at the plate, hitting .588 (10-for-17) while driving in 10 runs and scoring eight times. He tallied four doubles, one triple, and two home runs, showcasing both power and gap-to-gap ability. Cantu also drew three walks and added a stolen base, finishing with an impressive .609 on-base percentage and a 1.294 slugging percentage. He recorded a hit in all four games, including three multi-hit performances, highlighted by a 3-for-4 outing with three RBI against Northeastern State. Cantu consistently produced in key moments, driving in multiple runs in three of the four contests and providing a major spark in the Griffons’ lineup.
Logan Myers, Emporia State
Logan Myers hit 10-for-19 (.526) last week, leading the Hornets to five straight wins. The junior second baseman scored 11 runs and tallied four doubles and seven RBI while posting four multi-hit games to push his season average to .442. Myers went 2-for-5 with a walk and two runs scored in Emporia’s 10-8 midweek win against Missouri Western. Myers opened the weekend series against NM Highlands 3-for-4 with a double, a walk, two RBI and three runs scored. He then reached base seven times in eight plate appearances in the Hornets' doubleheader sweep on Saturday (March 21). He capped the weekend with an RBI in the 4-1 win on Sunday afternoon. With his four doubles and four walks last week, Myers now ranks ninth in program history in career walks (87) and career doubles (37) in just his junior season.
MIAA PITCHERS
Sawyer Allen, Central Missouri
Sawyer Allen earned the victory on the mound in No. 8 Central Missouri's 3-2 win over Arkansas-Fort Smith last Saturday (March 22). The senior leftie tossed six innings and allowed just one unearned run on four hits with eight strikeouts and zero walks on 83 total pitches. He is now 3-0 on the season.
Cole Evans, Missouri Western
Cole Evans delivered a dominant outing on the mound against the RiverHawks, throwing 6.0 innings to earn the win in a 14-2 victory while allowing just two runs (one earned) on seven hits. He did not issue a walk and struck out 10 batters, showcasing strong command and swing-and-miss ability throughout the start. Evans finished with a 1.50 ERA on the day, throwing 101 pitches to secure the win.
ALSO NOMINATED:
HITTERS – Antonio Avila [Fort Hays State], Brayden Luikart [Missouri Southern], Jackson Dillingham [Northeastern State], Andrew Ramirez [Rogers State], Ian Luce [Washburn], Kaiden Ashton [Central Missouri]
PITCHERS – Spencer Hatch [Rogers State], Gabe Perry [Missouri Southern], Karter Beving [Fort Hays State]
WEEK ONE HITTER: Derek Woolwine, Fort Hays State
WEEK ONE PITCHER: Colby Deaver, Emporia State
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WEEK TWO HITTER: Landin Midgett, Pittsburg State
WEEK TWO PITCHER: Cole Evans, Missouri Western
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WEEK THREE HITTER: Drake Lee, Central Oklahoma
WEEK THREE PITCHERS: Braxton Jones, Central Oklahoma & Colby Deaver, Emporia State
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WEEK FOUR HITTER: Noah Steele, Emporia State
WEEK FOUR PITCHER: Colby Deaver, Emporia State
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WEEK FIVE HITTER: Noah Steele, Emporia State
WEEK FIVE PITCHER: Colby Deaver, Emporia State
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WEEK SIX HITTER: Cole Kreisel, Central Missouri
WEEK SIX PITCHER: Gavin Williams, Central Missouri
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WEEK SEVEN HITTER: Andres Contreras, Rogers State
WEEK SEVEN PITCHER: Owen Schneider, Missouri Southern
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WEEK EIGHT HITTER: Jeremiah Cabuyaban, Northwest Missouri
WEEK EIGHT PITCHERS: Quinton Chindamo, Emporia State & Ty Blecha, Pittsburg State