The Minot State Beavers baseball team missed the playoffs in the NCAA Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference but infielder Jared Young has been given a plum to help cure his post-season blues.
Young, a 19-year-old Beavers second baseman from Prince George, made history on Tuesday when he was named to the All-Conference second team, the first Minot State baseball player to ever gain NCAA All-Conference status.
Young, a college rookie, emerged as one of the top freshmen in the Northern Sun Conference. He led Minot State with a .398 batting average (his .379 average within the conference was 11th-best overall) and 18 doubles (third in the NSIC), while striking out just 12 times in 44 games. He also totaled 35 RBI and 25 extra-base hits, including five home runs and two triples.
He started out at third base and made the switch to second base 20 games into the schedule.
Young played last year for the Okanagan Athletics of the B.C. Premier Baseball League. He's been invited to join Team Canada at the 2015 World Baseball Challenge, a six-team international tournament set for Prince George Citizen Field, Aug. 9-23.
Minot State joined the NCAA as a full member in 2012. This year the Beavers finished 12th out of 15 teams.
The Northern Sun Conference includes teams from Minnesota, South Dakota, North Dakota, Nebraska and Iowa. The Beavers compete against Bemidji State University, University of Mary, University of Minnesota-Crookston, University of Minnesota-Duluth, Northern State University, St. Cloud State University, Augustana College, Concordia University-St. Paul, Minnesota State University-Mankato, University of Sioux Falls, Southwest Minnesota State University, Upper Iowa University, Wayne State College and Winona State University.
