Penn State baseball catcher Matt Maloney was named the Big Ten Player of the Week, the conference announced Monday. Maloney’s honor comes after a stellar opening weekend, during which he helped the Nittany Lions win three of four games during their trip to Cary, North Carolina.

This is the first Player of the Week award that a Nittany Lion has won in nearly two years. The player to do it was Kyle Hannon when he won the award back in March of 2022.

The catcher was on fire all weekend, totaling 11 RBIs, five hits, and one home run. On top of his outstanding hitting, he also caught all three games that Penn State won this weekend, recording 31 putouts and four assists.

In the opening game of the season against Monmouth, Maloney knocked in four RBIs with the final two coming in the bottom of the ninth innings to tie the game at four. Maloney also contributed three of the team’s four runs scored in the 4-3 over Army the next day.

The Nittany Lions return to action with a series on the road at Stanford. The first game will start at 5:05 p.m. on Friday, February 23.