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The 2026 Times Baseball Player of the Year: Marquette’s Alec Novotney · Illinois Valley - Shaw Local

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  Speaker 1: The twenty twenty six Times Baseball Player of the Year,
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  Speaker 1: Marquette's Alec Navotny. Written by J. T. Penalty, This article
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  Speaker 1: is being read by an automated voice brought to you
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  Speaker 1: by Everlett. Just as Alec Nevotny's grade school years were
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  Speaker 1: coming to a close, his parents had a talk with
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  Speaker 1: him and his younger twin brothers to live closer to family,
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  Speaker 1: to enjoy a more rural lifestyle, and to allow their
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  Speaker 1: three boys to have the same small town slash small
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  Speaker 1: school experience they enjoyed as high schoolers. Josh and Sony
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  Speaker 1: Novotney were moving their family from Yorkville to LaSalle County
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  Speaker 1: and sending them to Marquette Academy. Me and by brothers,
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  Speaker 1: we'd always come to the Marquette basketball camps in the summer,
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  Speaker 1: and I played on a youth baseball team with some
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  Speaker 1: of the guys, Anthony Couch and Grant Dose and all them.
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  Speaker 1: Alec Novotny said of the move early in his eighth
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  Speaker 1: grade year, I knew a bunch of the kids and
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  Speaker 1: talk to them. My feelings about moving were probably fifty
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  Speaker 1: to fiftieth. It's safe to say one hundred percent worked
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  Speaker 1: out for both Novotny and Marquette. Now that his wildly
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  Speaker 1: successful high school career is at an end. Novotny is
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  Speaker 1: the twenty twenty six Times Baseball Player of the Year,
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  Speaker 1: an honor the recent Marquette graduate and future Valparaiso University
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  Speaker 1: player also won in twenty twenty five. The right hander
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  Speaker 1: was the unquestioned on the field leader of the Crusaders
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  Speaker 1: during a thirty eight to four season in which they
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  Speaker 1: followed up back to back class won A state championships
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  Speaker 1: with a third place finish in Class two A after
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  Speaker 1: getting bumped up by the isa's success adjustment policy. Despite
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  Speaker 1: his obvious physical skills and a deep baseball pedigree going
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  Speaker 1: back generations. I don't like to say it like this,
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  Speaker 1: but we've kind of built our lives around baseball, he
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  Speaker 1: said of his family. Novotny's success started with his love
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  Speaker 1: of America's pastime. His overall knowledge of the game. You
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  Speaker 1: can't teach that. It's pretty special, Marquette coach Todd Hopkins said.
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  Speaker 1: Obviously he got that at home with his dad, having
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  Speaker 1: played ball both at Marquette and later Division I Western Kentucky.
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  Speaker 1: But he kept studying the game. People will say, oh,
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  Speaker 1: that came natural to him, but you have to work
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  Speaker 1: to understand the game. You see that with some kids.
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  Speaker 1: When they understand the game and are also pretty good,
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  Speaker 1: they can take it to another level. Novotny did batting
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  Speaker 1: lead off for the Crusaders. He finished the twenty twenty
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  Speaker 1: sixth season with a point four to seven to two
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  Speaker 1: batting average, twenty eight extra base hits, including three home runs,
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  Speaker 1: and forty four runs batted in. When he was on
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  Speaker 1: the mound and not playing middle infield or outfield, Novotny
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  Speaker 1: compiled an eight to two record with a one point
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  Speaker 1: four to five earned run average, one hundred and five strikeouts,
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  Speaker 1: and just five walks issued over fifty eight innings pitched.
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  Speaker 1: His two losses came at the hands of twenty five
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  Speaker 1: win Class three A regional champion Sacred Heart Griffin one
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  Speaker 1: earned run surrendered and eventual two A state champion Saint
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  Speaker 1: Joe Ugden two earned runs allowed. Marquette followed up the
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  Speaker 1: loss to Sjo in the two A state semifinals with
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  Speaker 1: a four to one third place win over thirty win Freeberg,
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  Speaker 1: a ballgame in which Novotny led off with a double,
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  Speaker 1: scored the first run, and finished with two hits all
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  Speaker 1: the guys still talk every day, Novotny said of his
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  Speaker 1: Crusader's teammates. It wasn't what we wanted to do for
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  Speaker 1: our senior year, but it was still a pretty good ending,
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  Speaker 1: a lot better than almost anybody else can say. It
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  Speaker 1: closed out an amazing three year run that saw Marquette
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  Speaker 1: bring home three state trophies. What makes you kind of
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  Speaker 1: happy as you have a kid who number one is
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  Speaker 1: gifted but has a tremendous work ethic and just continued
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  Speaker 1: to work. Was never satisfied, Hopkins said of Novotny. Most
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  Speaker 1: kids get complacent when I look back at this ten
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  Speaker 1: to fifteen years from now, not just Alec, but that
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  Speaker 1: whole group. They never did. They d hungry. They just
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  Speaker 1: wanted to be better, be better, be better, no matter
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  Speaker 1: how much success they had or how many state titles
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  Speaker 1: they won. That's a great thing to have inside and
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  Speaker 1: it will carry them a long way in life. For Noviny,
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  Speaker 1: the next step on that journey will begin with another move,
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  Speaker 1: this one to Indiana. I went on my visit and
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  Speaker 1: I loved it, Novotny said of Valparaiso. I talked to
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  Speaker 1: some of the guys and the coaches, and I loved
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  Speaker 1: all the players and the coaches, and it's the Missouri Valley,
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  Speaker 1: so it's a really good conference, and I felt it
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  Speaker 1: was my best offer too. They offered me as both
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  Speaker 1: a pitcher and a position player, but obviously we'll see
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  Speaker 1: what happens in the fall.