DeKALB | The season is long over, but for NIU baseball, the post-season accolades continue to accumulate.

Matt German and Mark Badgley will begin their respective professional careers with the Philadelphia Phillies and Florida Marlins.

Reliable stalwarts in the NIU bullpen for coach Ed Mathey, the duo was able to avoid the amateur draft and sign as free agents because of their status as fifth-year seniors.

As a crafty-left handed closer, German set the mark for career saves at NIU with 26, and was 5-2 with 13 saves and a 1.76 ERA in a MAC leading 34 appearances.

The Marmion product entered the national spotlight as the lone MAC player named a NCBWA All-American, second team, and the first player in the history of NIU baseball to receive such prodigious recognition.

German also brought home first-team All-MAC and All-MAC Tournament honors, and won or saved 31 of the 57 NIU wins over the past two seasons by using a slider that mystified opposing hitters.

A rubber arm allowed Badgley to rack up the NIU mark for appearances with 119, and gave Mathey the comfort of having a swing man that served as both starter and short reliever on the pitching staff.

The McHenry native started 11 of 23 games in 2007, was 4-4 with a 4.27 ERA, and rang up 83 strike outs with a fast ball that frequents the mid 90s.

“I think it is awesome,” Mathey said. “I am so proud of what they have accomplished. As soon as our last game was over there were scouts there that said they wanted to get things going with German and ‘Badge’. It took some of the sting and disappointment away because those two had worked so hard and deserve good things.”

Another senior, Scott Simon, signed with the Southern Illinois Miners from the Frontier Independent league. The first baseman ended his career as the MAC’s all-time hits leader with 318 and is NIU’s career leader in hits, doubles, RBI’s, games played and at-bats.

In five games for the Miners, Simon is batting .077 in 13 at-bats with a double, a run scored and one walk.

As the careers of German, Simon and Badgley came to a close, a new star was born and should be a rock in the NIU lineup for the next few years.

Jordin Hood earned first-team freshman All-American honors from Ping! and from Louisville Slugger.

Hood hit .294, with six homeruns, 29 RBI, and had 11 stolen bases.

“We felt he would be good player,” Mathey said about Hood. “But when we played Miami and their two aces which both were drafted threw him nothing but breaking balls and change-ups, I knew he could be something special to get that kind of respect.”

The No. 1 starter for NIU, junior right-hander Trevor Feeney, was drafted in the 39th round by the Kansas City Royals.

Feeney was 6-7 with a 4.30 ERA and has a year of eligibility remaining.

In the Mathey era, six players have been drafted, and 16 have signed contracts to play professional baseball.