Wheeling, W. Va. – With the conference tournaments wrapped up across the country, it is time for the postseason awards to begin. The first of those were released on Wednesday as the National Collegiate Baseball Writer's Association released their annual All-Region honorees. Wheeling Baseball's Braden Killens was among the players honored, earning Honorable Mention NCBWA All-Region Honors.
2024 was another historic year for Braden Killens, as he continued to cement himself in the program's history. He finished the year second on the team in hitting with a .341 batting average, while also being the team's most productive hitter. He broke the single-season home run record, which he set last year, hitting 16 home runs and tied the single-season RBI record with 54 runs driven in. Along with being a leader for Wheeling, Killens was one of the most productive players in the conference as well, sitting second in RBI, third in home runs, seventh in slugging percentage (.709), and ninth in hits (59). It is the second career NCBWA All-Region honor for Killens and the first of the postseason for the Wheeling University Baseball team.
For his efforts during the season, Killens was named First Team All-MEC for the first time in his career and gave him his second career All-MEC honor. Along with his single-season recods, Killens also broke some career records as well with still another year in the red and black ahead of him. With his 16 home runs this season, Killens broke the single-season home run record, sitting at 28 through two seasons in a Cardinal uniform. He broke the old record of 22 held by former Cardinal Jacob Murray and looks to continue to build on that number. He also became the first Cardinal in program history to reach the 100 career RBI mark, beating out former Cardinal Patrick Ammar, for the career RBI record.
Braden Killens is the 10th Wheeling University student-athlete to earn All-Region honors this season, and the first of the spring season. Wheeling University Track & Field athlete Moses Koroma was the last Cardinal to be honored with All-Region awards, winning a United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-Region honor.
The Wheeling University Baseball team continues its off-season as they look to continue to grow for 2025.
