D3BASEBALL.COM ALL-REGION TEAM
ABCA ALL-REGION TEAM
ARDEN HILLS, MINN.—A trio of Bethel University Royals landed All-Region honors from the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) and D3baseball.com.
2026 American Baseball Coaches Association All-Region Team (Bethel)
First Team: Seth Nelson
Third Team: Drew Girtz, Hayden Sperbeck
2026Â D3baseball.com All-Region Team (Bethel)
First Team: Seth Nelson, Hayden Sperbeck
Seth Nelson | Jr. | SS
This marks the first career trip to the all-region teams for Nelson, who transferred to Bethel prior to the 2025-26 season from Century College.
Among 20 MIAC contests, Nelson finished with a .444 (28-of-63) batting average, 26 runs scored, nine doubles, four home runs, 23 RBI, 12 walks, 13 hit by pitches, a .778 slugging percentage, and a .596 on-base percentage.
Over 38 games played, the Mahtomedi, Minnesota native accumulated a .365 (46-of-126) batting average, 45 runs scored, 11 doubles, 11 home runs, 44 RBI, a .714 slugging percentage, 26 walks, 17 hit by pitches, and a .520 on-base percentage.Â
Nelson crushed two home runs on a pair of occasions; a 13-7 win over Mass Dartmouth on March 18, and a 22-15 victory over UW-River Falls on March 25. Those were among the 15 multi-hit games Nelson finished with in 2026. In six of those contests, Nelson finished with three hits.Â
Defensively, Seth finished with a team-leading 123 chances at shortstop (other than the first baseman and catcher) and 78 assists from shortstop, where he committed just four errors en route to a .967 fielding percentage.
Nelson's Career Awards
Hayden Sperbeck | So. | OF
This is Sperbeck's first career trip to the all-region teams, which comes on the heels of being named to the 2026 MIAC Baseball All-Conference Team.
Across 20 MIAC games played, Sperbeck finished with a .429 (33-of-77) batting average, 25 runs scored, nine doubles, three home runs, 20 RBI, a .688 slugging percentage, 12 walks, five hit by pitches, and a .528 on-base percentage. Sperbeck's overall stat line consisted of a team-leading .400 (60-of-150) batting average as well as 13 doubles, two triples, five home runs, 37 RBI, a .613 slugging percentage, 22 walks, eight hit by pitches, and a .492 on-base percentage.
The Arden Hills, Minnesota native finished with 18 multi-hit games, which included a 5-for-5 performance that consisted of three runs scored, three RBI, and one double in an 18-4 (7 innings) win over Macalester on April 8.
Sperbeck's Career Awards
Drew Girtz | Sr. | P/OF
Girtz was named to the 2026 ABCA All-Region Third Team as an outfielder, which comes after being named to the 2026 MIAC Baseball All-Conference Team as a pitcher. This is the first career all-region nod for Girtz, who transferred to Bethel prior to the 2025-26 year from Crown.
The Ramsey, Minnesota was a stellar two-way player for the Royals in 2026. Over 11 pitching appearances, Girtz notched 60 strikeouts over 43.0 innings pitched, where he also accumulated a .238 opponent batting average, 38 hits, and one save. He had eight strikeouts and allowed just five hits over 5.0 innings of work in a 2-0 win over St. Olaf on April 25. Girtz finished with seven strikeouts on three occasions in 2026. This included a 3-2 victory over Northwestern on April 17, when he allowed just one hit in a 3.0 inning save.
As Bethel's leadoff hitter primarily from centerfield, Girtz finished with a .357 (56-of-157) batting average, 16 doubles, two triples, two home runs, 23 RBI, a .522 slugging percentage, and a .456 on-base percentage. Girtz had 17 multi-hit games, which included a 5-for-5 performance, one double, one triple, and three runs scored in a 13-4 win over Northwestern on March 24.Â
Girtz's Career Awards
The Royals finished the 2026 season with a 29-10 record.
