KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan baseball program has handed out its 2026 team awards, with
Tanner Mally named the Team MVP,
Ricky Kidd selected as the Pitcher of the Year,
Turner Doran voted the Relief Pitcher of the Year and
Michael Maloney tabbed as the Defensive Player of the Year, as voted on by their teammates.
Mally claimed Team MVP honors after having spent the last three months as the national leader in batting average. The junior closed out the campaign with a .446 mark, the highest average by a Western Michigan player since Bill Guerrant led the country with a .467 batting average in 1965. Mally is second in NCAA Division I with a .554 on-base percentage and paced the Broncos with a program single-season record 87 hits. Among his accolades to date are ABCA All-Region, All-MAC First Team, All-MAC Defensive Team and Midseason All-American honors, as well as a spot among the nation's best players as a semifinalist for the Dick Howser Trophy.
Kidd was voted the Pitcher of the Year after turning into Western Michigan's most reliable starter throughout the year. The right-hander did not endure a loss after Opening Weekend against Pittsburgh, and turned in an 8-1 overall record with a 4.08 ERA in his team-leading 79.1 innings. He took his game to another level in conference play, going 7-0 and tying for the league lead in wins, ranking second in ERA (2.96) and third in innings pitched (67.0) on the way to an All-MAC First Team selection.
Western Michigan's first All-Region First Team selection since 2017, Doran was selected as the team's Relief Pitcher of the Year for the second year in a row. The right-hander racked up a conference-leading 10 saves, which tied for the second-most in a season in program history. Overall, Doran posted a 3.06 ERA and fanned 34 in his 32.1 innings of work across 23 appearances. He wrapped up his time at WMU with 14 career saves, the fourth-most in program history.
Maloney added WMU's Defensive Player of the Year award to a growing number of accolades from this season which includes MAC co-Defensive Player of the Year, All-MAC First Team and ABCA All-Region honors, as well as a spot among the nation's top shortstops as a semifinalist for the Brooks Wallace Award. Maloney posted a .977 fielding percentage at shortstop, helping WMU turn 21 double plays and finish second in the MAC and 33rd in the nation with a .978 fielding percentage, which was just a few percentage points behind the program's single-season record.
