CHICAGO – Just days removed from Missouri Valley Conference play set to begin, the conference announced its weekly awards Tuesday morning, with UIC junior Jake Busson earning MVC Newcomer of the Week honors, after a strong individual showing against Northwestern and UNC Greensboro across last week.

"I think Jake Busson looked at himself and made an honest assessment about where he was as a player," head coach Sean McDermott said. "This happened on Monday of last week, so he decided he needed to strikeout less and use the middle of the field more. What was impressive is he was able to make that change on the fly and implemented it at Northwestern. He had nothing but great at-bats. He then was able to replicate it all weekend too. He's made those adjustments, so I am super proud of him and obviously him being in the middle of our order means a lot to us. I am also proud of how he works on his defensive game as well."

Busson opened the week with a one-for-three showing against Northwestern (7-9-1, 1-2 Big Ten), collecting a pair of walks and an RBI single in the top of fifth enroute to a 3-3 tie game. The junior followed that up by batting .600 over the weekend series against UNC Greensboro (10-11, 0-0 SoCo.), highlighted by a four-for-four showing on Saturday.

He finished the week batting .538 with seven hits, six RBI and capped it off with his team-leading sixth home run of the season Sunday morning. He currently ranks second in the MVC.

Busson's impact has been immediate, leading the team in hits (20), RBI (18) and slugging percentage (.632). He ranks second on the team in batting average (.294) and holds a .953 fielding percentage.

Busson becomes the third member of UIC baseball this season to earn a weekly recognition. He is the second person to earn Newcomer of the Week honors, joining junior hurler Mason Lei, who won it on Feb. 24 and graduate student Zack Millsap, who won MVC Pitcher of the Week honors on Feb. 17.

The Flames are back at Curtis Granderson Stadium Wednesday, when they take on the Big Ten's Iowa (13-6, 0-0 Big Ten) for a 4:05 p.m. (CT) first pitch. The game will not be streamed, but the game will be available to listen to for free on the Flames Network with live stats available at UICFlames.com.

Fans interested in attending any UIC baseball home games can purchase their tickets on site at our ticket booth at gate one. Any group tickets or ticketing questions can be directed to the UIC Athletics Ticket Office by calling 312-413-UIC1 (8421) or e mailing athleticsticketing@uic.edu.

Wednesday's game will also be our St. Patrick's Day game where fans can go home with green UIC baseball hat and enjoy holiday-themed food at the concession stand.

For more information on UIC Athletics and UIC baseball, visit UICFlames.com. Fans can also follow the Flames on social media through X (@UIC_Baseball and @UICFlames) and Instagram (@uic_baseball and @uicflames).
 
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