JACKRABBITS END LONG HOMESTAND WITH UNC

Friday, May 2

Brookings, S.D.

3 p.m.

South Dakota State University

Northern Colorado

Tickets

Photo by: Dave Eggen/Inertia

5/1/2025 11:24:00 AM | Baseball

Northern Colorado(16-26, 7-14 Summit) at South Dakota State (12-28, 8-12 Summit)

When	Friday-Sunday (three-game series) 3 p.m. Friday \| 1 p.m Saturday \| 1 p.m. Sunday
Where	Erv Huether Field \| Brookings, South Dakota
TV	Summit League Network powered by Midco Sports Plus Game 1 \| Game 2 \| Game 3
Radio	KJJQ 910 AM \| GoJacks.com/watch
Live Stats	GoJacksLive.com
Game Notes	South Dakota State \| Northern Colorado \| The Summit League
Social Media	Twitter \| Instagram \| #RAB5

The South Dakota State baseball team wraps up its longest homestand of the season with an opportunity for separation in the race for a Summit League tournament berth as it hosts Northern Colorado in a three-game weekend series.

First pitch for Friday's series opener at Erv Huether Field is set for 3 p.m. Central Time, followed by 1 p.m. games Saturday and Sunday. All three games will be available for viewing through the Summit League Network powered by Midco Sports Plus.

The Jackrabbits enter the weekend with a 12-28 overall record and an 8-12 mark in The Summit League. SDSU moved out of last place in the league standings after winning three of four games last weekend against North Dakota State to kick off the current seven-game homestand. The Jacks are 9-4 at Erv Huether Field this season.

Northern Colorado, meanwhile, fell into the bottom spot in the league standing after dropping two of three games on its home field last weekend against Omaha. The Bears are 7-14 against Summit League foes, but upped their overall record to 16-26 after posting a 9-7 comeback home win against Air Force on Tuesday.

THE SERIES: Friday's series opener between SDSU and Northern Colorado will mark the 78th meeting in a series that dates back to 1973. The Jackrabbits lead the all-time series, 41-36.

Since both teams moved from NCAA Division II and the North Central Conference to Division I in the mid-2000s, SDSU has held the upper hand in the series by a 31-25 count. However, UNC has dominated the series recently by winning all six matchups a year ago, scoring in double figures in each of the games, and then claiming two of the three games played in the first series this season, March 15-16 in Greeley, Colorado.

The two squads opened Summit League play by splitting a March 15 doubleheader with Northern Colorado taking the opener, 8-4, followed by a 12-7 Jackrabbit victory in Game 2. Bryce Ronken led SDSU at the plate in the twinbill, recording four hits in Game 1 and driving in a career-high five runs in the nightcap.

In the decisive game of the series, Northern Colorado rallied for seven runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to steal an 11-10 victory. SDSU used five different pitchers in the final frame to put out the fire after starter Caleb Duerr had limited the Bears to two runs over the first five frames.

UNC will be making its first-ever appearance at the current Erv Huether Field. Since joining The Summit League as an affiliate member in 2023 all six of the Jackrabbits' designated home games in the series have been played elswhere. In 2023, the Jacks and Bears played a three-game series between Bob Shelden Field in Brookings and Ronken Field in Sioux Falls, while the Jackrabbits' designated home series last season was moved to Papillion, Nebraska.

SHORT HOPS: Following are some quick notes regarding the South Dakota State baseball team heading into this weekend's series against Northern Colorado:

Freshman third baseman Nolan Grawe had his 19-game hitting streak come to an end in the first game of an April 6 doubleheader against Oral Roberts. His streak is tied with Tyson Fisher (2006) and Matt Johnson (2016) for the Jackrabbits' longest single-season streak in the Division I era (since 2005). Grawe batted .355 (27-for-76) during his streak and surpassed Luke Ringhofer's previous freshman-record hitting streak of 17 games in 2015.
Jess Bellows holds the program's top overall hitting streak in the Division I era at 20 games, a feat he accomplished over the final nine games of the 2023 season and the first 11 games of the 2024 campaign.
Bellows recorded his 150th career hit with an infield single as part of a six-run seventh inning April 2 at Kansas and leads active Jackrabbit players with 163 career hits. He hit his first home run of the season in the April 11 series opener against Omaha. All three of Bellows' hits April 22 versus Northwestern went for extra bases — two doubles and a triple — and he notched the go-ahead, two-run single in the seventh inning of series-opening win over North Dakota State on April 25.
Sophomore shortstop Carter Sintek has recorded at least one hit in 33 of the 39 games he has played this season, putting together separate hitting streaks of nine (Feb. 27-March 16) and eight games (March 21-April 6, Game 1). Sintek posted his first career four-hit game April 17 at St. Thomas and hit safely in all four games of last weekend's series against North Dakota State, including homering for the second time this season in Game 1 of the April 26 doubleheader. Sintek currently ranks second on the team with a .338 batting average, .0003 points behind leader Nolan Grawe.
Sintek hit two triples in the second game of the March 15 doubleheader at Northern Colorado, becoming the fourth Jackrabbit with two triples in a game in the Division I era and the first since Stephen Turner in a 2008 game at Missouri State. Sintek's triples were the first three-baggers of the season for SDSU.
Senior utility player Adam Benes has excelled at the plate in games played this season at Erv Huether Field. In 12 home games, including nine starts, Benes is batting .438 (14-for-32) with all three of his home runs and 15 of his 16 RBIs this season coming in home contests. Benes hit a three-run home run to cap a four-run first inning in the April 27 series finale versus North Dakota State.
Freshman right-hander Caleb Duerr retired 12 batters in a row in one stretch of his March 16 start at Northern Colorado, doing so without a ball leaving the infield — four strikeouts and eight groundouts. Duerr currently leads the Jackrabbit pitching staff with three victories, although he had a personal two-game winning streak end last week against North Dakota State.
South Dakota State briefly broke out of its offensive doldrums by setting season highs for runs (20) and hits (17) in a 20-1, seven-inning victory over Northwestern (Iowa) on April 22. For the first time in the Division I era of Jackrabbit baseball (since 2005), SDSU hit two grand slams in the same game as Luke Luskey (fourth inning) and Dayton Franke (sixth inning) connected on the biggest of the big flies.
Franke has four home runs in his freshman campaign — two of which have been in pinch-hitting roles. His first collegiate home run came as a pinch hitter in the 10th inning of a March 1 game at Sacramento State and proved to be the winning run in a 12-11 victory. His other pinch-hit homer came in the April 13 series finale against Omaha.
Seven Jackrabbit pitchers combined to issue 15 bases on balls in the March 9 series finale at Saint Louis, a total that stands as the most in a game in program history at the Division I level, surpassing the previous mark of 13 set on seven different occasions.
Conversely, SDSU pitchers have combined to walk zero batters three times this season, including twice last week — versus Northwestern and in Game 2 of the doubleheader against NDSU.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: South Dakota State racked up three Summit League weekly awards during the month of April, the latest being third baseman Nolan Grawe as the Kwik Star Peak Performer of the Week for a string of impressive performances at the plate.

A freshman from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Grawe recorded multiple hits in each of the Jackrabbits' first five games in a busy week of action. He compiled a .480 batting average by going 12-for-21 with six runs batted in and seven runs scored.

Grawe opened the week by going 3-for-3 with an RBI and four runs scored in an April 22 home win against Northwestern (Iowa), followed by a 2-for-4 performance a day later against Creighton in which he hit his second home run of the season.

To open a four-game Summit League series against rival North Dakota State, Grawe went 3-for-5 with an RBI and two runs scored. He then tallied two hits in both games of an April 26 doubleheader, driving in a total of three runs.

Grawe also compiled a .536 on-base percentage and a .680 slugging percentage as he added a pair of doubles in the six games played during the week.SDSU claimed the Kwik Star Summit League Peak Pitcher of the Week each of the previous two weeks as reliever Dylan Driessen earned the honor April 14 and freshman right-hander Caleb Duerr was selected for the award on April 21.

Driessen pitched 3 1/3 hitless and scoreless innings for the save in the Jackrabbits' 7-5 victory over Omaha on April 11. The Omaha native tied a season high with six strikeouts, while walking two and hitting one batter.

A native of West Fargo, North Dakota, Duerr pitched the first 6 2/3 innings of the Jackrabbits' 3-0 victory at St. Thomas on April 18 that is the team's lone shutout of the season. He scattered six hits, struck out three, walked one and hit a batter en route to his third win of the season. Duerr's outing is the longest by any SDSU pitcher this season.

Left-hander Reece Arbogast was the first Jackrabbit pitcher to earn the league's weekly pitching award as he was honored on March 3.

PRESEASON POLL: South Dakota State was picked to finish fifth in the 2025 Summit League baseball race, according to a preseason poll conducted among the league's head coaches that was announced in February.

The Jackrabbits are coming off a 2024 season in which they posted a 20-29 overall record, including an 11-17 mark in Summit League play.

Defending league tournament champion Oral Roberts collected three first-place votes to take the top spot in the poll with 22 points. St. Thomas (19 points), Omaha (18) and North Dakota State (17) each received one first-place vote to hold spots 2-4, followed by SDSU with eight points and Northern Colorado with six.

The four-team Summit League Baseball Championship is set for May 21-24 in Omaha, Nebraska.

In addition, SDSU shortstop Carter Sintek was named a Summit League Player to Watch and reliever Dylan Driessen was selected as a Summit League Pitcher to Watch.

A sophomore from Bennington, Nebraska, Sintek started 23 games in the first half of the 2024 season before being sidelined the remainder of the year for medical reasons. He batted .283 (26-for-92) with seven extra-base hits (2 doubles, 3 triples, 2 home runs) and nine runs batted in, while posting eight multi-hit games.

Driessen, a junior from Omaha, Nebraska, averaged 12.98 strikeouts per nine innings last season, tallying 62 K's in 43 innings of work. The right-hander made a team-high 25 appearances, finishing the 2024 campaign with a 3-3 record and one save.

SUMMIT LEAGUE SUCCESS: South Dakota State has been a consistent winner in The Summit League since it became a league member more than a decade ago. Now in its 17th season as a member of The Summit League, the Jackrabbits have compiled a 234-203 (.535 winning percentage) record in regular season conference games.

SDSU has posted a .500 or better record in league play 10 times and has qualified for the four-team postseason tournament 13 out of the 15 years it has been eligible.

The Jackrabbits shared a Summit League regular season title in 2010 and won the league's postseason tournament in 2013.

FACILITY IMPROVEMENTS: South Dakota State's Erv Huether Field has a new look in 2025 thanks to a renovation project that has converted the Jackrabbits' home baseball venue to a fully synthetic turf playing surface.

The privately financed project, which was done in conjunction with similar improvements at the adjacent Jerald T. Moriarty Field for softball, was announced in August 2024. The facility was formally dedicated April 11, prior to the Jackrabbits' game that day against Omaha.

"This upgrade is an absolute game changer in recruiting and developing great players," head coach Rob Bishop said. "We will be able to play more home games in addition to having more consistent practice conditions in the fall and spring."

An SDSU alum, who has chosen to remain anonymous, provided the lead gift. Two baseball alumni and their families — Charles and Linda Elhoff, and Jimmy and Amber May — also provided substantial gifts to move the project forward.

YOUTH MOVEMENT: Three true freshmen found their names on the lineup card for the Jackrabbits in their Opening Day game at Pacific on Feb. 21.

On the infield, Keagen Jirschele (second base) and Nolan Grawe (third base) earned starting assignments, while Nicholas Werk patrolled left field. Jirschele drove in the only run of the game for the Jackrabbits with a sixth-inning single.

Fellow freshmen Dayton Franke (designated hitter/first baseman) and Owen Siegert (outfield) also started games in the series.

In all, Jackrabbit freshman position players have combined for 144 starts so far this season, with Grawe leading the way with 38 starts. In addition, freshman right-hander Caleb Duerr has made a team-high eight starts on the mound for the Jackrabbits in 2025, while Jirschele (2) and Drew McDowell (2) have each been the starting pitcher in other contests.

At least two true freshmen have been in the starting lineup for every game so far this season for the Jackrabbits, including five in the second game of the April 6 doubleheader at Oral Roberts and again for the April 22 home contest against Northwestern (Iowa).

TWO-WAY PLAYERS: Freshmen Owen Siegert and Keagen Jirschele have seen action in both the field and on the mound for the Jackrabbits during the 2025 season.

Siegert has started 34 games in the outfield and has responded by batting .317 (38-for-1120) with three home runs, 22 runs scored and 24 runs batted in while leading the team with 10 stolen bases. He posted a four-hit game April 12 against Omaha in posting the 12th three-double game by a Jackrabbit in the Division I era.

The Melbourne, Iowa, native also made his collegiate pitching debut in the Sacramento State series, recording one out in a relief outing during the Feb. 26 series opener.

He returned to the mound March 18 at Creighton, tossing 1 1/3 scoreless innings.

Jirschele has been the Jackrabbits' starting second baseman in 25 games and has compiled a .209 batting average (18-for-86). As part of an eight-game hitting streak that ended April 13, he tallied three hits in an April 6 twinbill at Oral Roberts, including hitting his first collegiate homer for the lone SDSU run of Game 2.

A native of Wausau, Wisconsin, Jirschele tossed 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief in the Feb. 26 series opener against Sacramento State and has made five other appearances in relief, including 1 2/3 scoreless innings April 2 at Kansas. He also has made two starts on the mound — in the opening game of a March 22 home doubleheader versus St. Thomas and in the April 23 matchup against Creighton in Sioux Falls.

In addition, junior Matthew Werk has seen limited action both as a position player and pitcher this season. Werk started at second base in the second game of a Feb. 22 doubleheader at Pacific (Calif.) and later made his collegiate pitching debut in the March 9 series finale at Saint Louis.

LUSKEY LEADS AT THE PLATE: Luke Luskey got off to a quick start in 2025 and has remained the Jackrabbits' top offensive performer throughout the year.

A sophomore from Green Isle, Minnesota, Luskey batted .571 (8-for-14) with a .929 slugging percentage during a season-opening four-game set at Pacific. He recorded three-hit games in both the series opener and finale while notching one hit in the middle two games of the series.

To begin the season, Luskey reached base safely in the first 15 games and had an overall streak of 21 games dating back to 2024 come to an end in the March 18 game at Creighton.

Luskey currently leads the team — and Summit League — in four offensive categories: home runs (14), runs batted in (52), total bases (103) and slugging percentage (.691), while raking second among Summit players in OPS (on-base + slugging) (1.092). He also leads the Jackrabbits with 34 runs scored, while sharing the team lead with nine doubles.

Luskey recorded a career-best eight RBIs April 22 against Northwestern (Iowa). After plating a run with an infield single in the second inning, Luskey notched seven RBIs in the fourth inning on a three-run home run and grand slam.

For his career, Luskey has hit 22 home runs and driven in 83 runs in only 85 games.

POWER SURGE: The Jackrabbits have dramatically increased their power numbers in recent years, leading The Summit League in home runs two of the last three seasons.

In 2022, SDSU finished the 2022 season with a league-leading 62 home runs in 45 games — an increase of 34 home runs from the previous campaign. The Jackrabbits homered in 26 of their last 28 games, which included a school-record streak of 18 consecutive games with a homer from March 19-May 6, 2022.

The 2023 squad connected on a school-record 89 home runs in 52 games. Only the College World Series-qualifying squad from Oral Roberts hit more home runs among league schools that season with 98, but needed 14 more games to do so.

SDSU hit at least one home run in each of its first nine games of the 2023 season and had an 11-game home run streak later in the campaign. Overall, the Jacks hit a home run in 38 of 52 contests in 2023, including a season-best seven homers two times.

The Jackrabbits finished the 2023 season ranked 29th among NCAA Division I teams with an average of 1.71 home runs per game and 40th with a .505 slugging percentage.

SDSU returned to the top of the pack in home runs in 2024 by hitting 80 round-trippers — 30 more than the next-closest league opponent, Oral Roberts. Summit League Player of the Year Cael Frost connected on a school-record 21 home runs to lead both SDSU and the conference, while Dawson Parry (15) and Jordan Sagedahl (10) also notched double figures in home runs en route to all-league recognition.

However, all three of those players have moved on, leaving sophomore Luke Luskey as the Jackrabbits' top returning home run hitter.

The first baseman/designated hitter came on strong late in the season to finish with eight home runs, highlighted by a pair of two-home run games in the final two weekends of the 2024 campaign. He has already exceeded that home run total from a year ago, upping his season total to 14 after hitting four in a three-game span against St. Thomas and Northwestern (Iowa). In fact, both of Luskey's home runs April 22 versus Northwestern were hit in the same inning as he first connected on a three-run homer before capping an 11-run inning for the Jackrabbits with a grand slam.

Luskey has now homered in five of seven Summit League series so far this season.

SDSU showed signs of breaking out of an early season power funk by hitting five home runs in their series-closing win at Sacramento State on March 1. The Jacks enter the week with 32 home runs after hitting three in last weekend's four-game series against North Dakota State.

RONKEN MAKES RED-HOT RETURN: After missing seven games due to injury, Bryce Ronken returned the lineup last week and played a key role in the Jackrabbits' series win over North Dakota State.

In four games as the team's designated hitter, Ronken batted .538 (7-for-13) with two doubles and six runs batted in. He went 4-for-5 and drove in three runs as the Jackrabbits rallied in the late innings for an 8-6 victory in Game 2 of an April 26 doubleheader.

A Sioux Falls native, Ronken has made a move to the outfield during the 2025 season. He split time between third base, designated hitter and outfield a year ago, putting up solid offensive numbers by ranking third on the team with a .313 batting average (35-for-112) and a .545 slugging percentage as 14 of his 35 hits (7 doubles, 2 triples and 5 home runs) went for extra bases.

Ronken recorded four extra-base hits in an early series at Sacramento State, notching a pair of doubles in the Feb. 27 game, then hitting a pair of solo home runs in the Jacks' first victory of the season in the series finale on March 1.

In a March 15 doubleheader at Northern Colorado, Ronken went 7-for-10 at the plate, notching a 4-for-4 effort with a double in the opener and then going 3-for-6 with a pair of doubles and a career-high five RBIs in Game 2.

Ronken currently leads the team with 26 walks while sharing the team lead with nine doubles. He has reached base safely in 19 consecutive games, matching Nolan Grawe for the longest streak by a Jackrabbit so far this season.

BACK END OF THE BULLPEN: South Dakota State boasts two of the top power arms in The Summit League within its relief corps.

Senior Alex Clemons and junior Dylan Driessen both entered the season ranked in the top four in program history for strikeouts per nine innings pitched and have traded the third and fourth spots throughout the first half of the 2025 campaign.

Driessen regained the No. 3 spot after striking out a season-high six batters over three innings en route to picking up his first victory of the season in the Jackrabbits' March 25 game against Southwest Minnesota State.

In three appearances in last weekend's series against North Dakota State, Driessen tallied eight strikeouts over 4 1/3 innings while notching a win and two saves. He enters this weekend with an average of 12.95 strikeouts per 9 innings after tallying 140 in 97 1/3 career innings pitched The Omaha native reached the 100-strikeout mark for his career in his season debut Feb. 23 at Pacific, striking out a pair of batters in 2 1/3 innings.

A native of Bettendorf, Iowa, Clemons currently stands fourth with an average of 12.35 K's/9 innings after also fanning 129 batters in 94 career innings. He has 24 strikeouts in only 17 innings of work so far this season, including notching three K's in two perfect innings during his most recent outing, April 22 versus Northwestern (Iowa).

Clemons also has moved into seventh place on the SDSU career chart for appearances with 67.

Eli Sundquist, who pitched for the Jackrabbits from 2020-23 is the current school record holder with an average of 13.99 K's/9 innings. He is currently pitching at Minnesota.

GOBLE BOUNCES BACK: Senior pitcher Jake Goble has been on the path this season to regaining the form that he displayed during a breakthrough 2023 campaign.

A right-hander from Rapid City, Goble leads the team with 44 strikeouts. His K total has been racked up in 41 2/3 innings across 10 appearances (one start) thus far in 2025. In his latest outing, in the second game of an April 26 doubleheader against North Dakota State, Goble was credited with the win after tying a career high with eight strikeouts. He limited the Bison to two runs over a season-best 6 1/3 innings.

In seven outings against Summit League opponents, Goble has compiled a 2.72 earned run average over 36 1/3 innings. In five of his outings, including April 19 at league-leading St. Thomas, Goble logged at least 5 2/3 innings in each appearance. He fanned seven and did not walk a batter in the first game of the March 15 twinbill at Northern Colorado, while tallying four K's in both his March 21 and April 19 appearances against St. Thomas.

Over his last five outings, covering 25 innings, Goble has not issued a walk.

Goble earned honorable mention all-Summit League honors as a sophomore after leading the team with 58 1/3 innings pitched and a 4.32 earned run average while sharing the team lead with five victories and 11 games started. He also was named to the all-tournament team at the Summit League Baseball Championship after a solid start in an elimination game against North Dakota State as the Jacks advanced to the title game.

In 2024, Goble pitched through an up-and-down season in which he posted a 3-8 record.

MADISON ADJUSTS TO RELIEF ROLE: After serving as the Jackrabbits' starting pitcher on Opening Day, newcomer Ty Madison has been effective as a reliever in recent weeks.

Madison pitched in three of the Jackrabbits' six games last week, including two scoreless appearances in the weekend series versus North Dakota State. He kept the Bison off the board in one inning of work in the first game of an April 26 doubleheader, then came back the next day with three scoreless frames and was credited with the win as SDSU claimed the series finale, 9-6, striking out three and allowing only one hit and one walk.

A right-hander from Omaha, Nebraska, Madison previously pitched at Des Moines Area Community College, where he made a combined 14 starts and went 8-5 during the 2023 and 2024 seasons. Madison posted a 4-3 record in 2024, striking out 35 batters in 37 1/3 innings over eight starts as DMACC advanced to the NJCAA Division II World Series.

Madison made starts in each of the first two series of the season before moving to the bullpen in March. He leads the team with 16 appearances and has not allowed a run in five of his last seven outings.

STRIKEOUT RECORD: South Dakota State set a single-game school record with 21 strikeouts in its 10-inning victory at Sacramento State on March 1.

Five Jackrabbit pitchers combined to set the record, with relievers Jake Goble and Alex Clemons each tallying six strikeouts. Dylan Driessen notched five strikeouts in his relief outing, while Arlen Peters got things started with three strikeouts. Jude Sundquist came on to record a strikeout for the final out of the game.

The previous record of 18 strikeouts was set on three occasions in extra-inning contests:

vs. Oral Roberts • May 8, 2010 (11 innings, Game 1 of doubleheader);
vs. Western Illinois • May 12, 2018 (14 innings);
at Oral Roberts • March 25, 2022 (14 innings).

FAMILY AFFAIR: Two sets of brothers help make up the 2025 roster for the South Dakota State baseball team.

Both brotherly combinations came to fruition this season as Colin Gibson and Nicholas Werk joined their older brothers, Jayden and Matthew, respectively, on the squad.

A catcher, Jayden Gibson was limited to one game last season due to injury after previously playing at Western Illinois and Parkland College (Ill.). Colin Gibson turned in an All-America season as a shortstop at the junior college level in 2024 at Dakota County Technical College (Minn.).

The Werk brothers hail from Madison Lake, Minnesota, and were standouts at nearby Mankato East High School. Matthew Werk has lettered as a reserve infielder each of the last two seasons, while Nicholas was the Opening Day left fielder for the Jackrabbits.

Adding to the family connections on this year's squad, senior pitcher Owen Bishop is the nephew of Jackrabbit head coach Rob Bishop.

NEWSTROM JOINS COACHING STAFF: Michael Newstrom joined the South Dakota State baseball coaching staff in the fall of 2024 and will oversee the Jackrabbit pitchers.

Most recently, Newstrom spent the 2024 season as a pitching assistant at Cal State University Bakersfield. The Roadrunners improved in nearly every statistical category from the previous year, including a drop in team earned run average by a full run.

A native of Puyallup, Washington, Newstrom also coached three seasons in collegiate summer leagues. He spent the 2021 season as pitching coach and first base coach for the Souris Valley Sabre Dogs. The team based in Minot, North Dakota, went on to win the Expedition League championship with a 47-18 record.

He moved on to work with the pitching staff of the Willmar (Minn.) Stingers of the Northwoods League during the 2022 and 2023 summer seasons. The Stingers finished the 2022 campaign with a 48-20 record, followed by a 26-8 mark in 2023 en route to playoff appearances both years after winning half-season division titles. Six players he worked with advanced to the Cape Cod League and six more were selected in the Major League Baseball Draft.

Newstrom pitched four seasons (2018-2021) at Washington State University, primarily as a reliever. The left-hander set the single-season school record with 34 appearances his senior season and ranks eighth all-time in appearances for the Cougars with 76.

Following his playing days at WSU, Newstrom began his coaching career as a student assistant and took on multiple roles under head coaches Brian Green and Anthony Claggett, including bullpen coach, scouting and analytics, camp instruction and serving as the program's director of operations. He helped develop individual routines for Cougar pitchers, specializing in mechanics and recovery/training.

In each of his two seasons on staff, the Cougar pitching staff established new single-season strikeout records with 473 in 2022 and 518 in 2023.

COACH BISHOP: Rob Bishop, who has guided college baseball teams to more than 700 victories, was named head baseball coach at South Dakota State University on Aug. 1, 2016. Bishop is the ninth head coach in program history and the fourth in the Division I era of Jackrabbit baseball.

Through eight-plus seasons with the Jackrabbits, Bishop holds a 170-230 record at SDSU, including a 103-99 mark in Summit League regular season games.
He recorded his 100th win with the Jackrabbits on April 3, 2022, as SDSU posted a 2-1 victory at St. Thomas.

In his first season, Bishop's 2017 squad returned to the winning side of the ledger with a 26-24 overall mark, including an 18-12 record for a third-place finish in The Summit League standings. SDSU won its opening-round game in the Summit League Baseball Championship, 6-5, over second-seeded North Dakota State.

In 2018, SDSU overcame a slow start to post a winning record in league play at 14-13 and went on to reach the title game of the Summit League Baseball Championship. The Jackrabbits finished with an 18-32 overall record while playing only six home games.

SDSU bounced back in 2019, posting a 28-22 overall record that included a second-place mark of 19-10 in Summit League play. The Jackrabbits won or split nine of the 10 league series in regular season play en route to making an appearance in the four-team Summit League Baseball Championship for the 10th time in 11 years.

The 2020 season was canceled just before the start of Summit League play, with SDSU posting a 5-12 record in the first month of the season. The Jacks recorded wins at Minnesota, Air Force and Kansas State the final week of the pandemic-shortened campaign.

When play resumed in the spring of 2021, the Jackrabbits posted a 15-32 overall record and suffered their first losing season in league play since 2016, but managed to earn the fourth and final spot in the Summit League Baseball Championship.

SDSU used a powerful offense to return to the Summit League tournament in 2022 after posting a 13-9 record in league play. The Jackrabbits, who doubled up the opposition in home runs by a 62-30 count, played only 12 home games in posting a 22-23 overall mark.

The Jackrabbits continued their offensive prowess in 2023 by setting a school record with 89 home runs in 52 games. SDSU played only one true home game but managed a 24-28 overall record and another winning season in Summit League play with a 13-11 mark. That momentum carried over to the four-team league postseason tournament, where the Jackrabbits made a run to the title game.

SDSU hit a Summit League-best 80 home runs in 2024 and also led the circuit with a .492 slugging percentage in 2024, but missed the four-team league tournament for the first time since 2012 after posting a 20-29 overall record and an 11-17 mark in conference play.

Overall, Bishop holds a 719-552-1 record (.566 winning percentage) as a collegiate head coach. He earned his 700th career victory in the Jackrabbits' 11-7 win at North Dakota State on April 6, 2024.

Individually, Jackrabbit players have been honored as all-Summit League performers 41 times during Bishop's tenure, including seven all-league selections in 2024. Outfielder Cael Frost became the first Jackrabbit baseball player to be honored as Summit League Player of the Year and was joined on the all-league first team by Cade Stuff (second baseman), Dawson Parry (designated hitter), Jordan Sagedahl (utility) and Nic McCay (starting pitcher). Outfielder Reece Anderson and freshman first baseman Luke Luskey were second-team honorees in 2024.

In addition, Bishop has mentored a handful of Jackrabbit players who have pursued professional careers. Catcher Luke Ringhofer was selected in the 22nd round of the 2017 Major League Baseball Draft by the Baltimore Orioles and relief pitcher Chris Halbur was offered a free agent contract by the Los Angeles Dodgers after Bishop's first season in Brookings. In 2019, left-handed pitcher Brady Stover was a 31st-round pick of the Washington Nationals, but opted to return to the Jackrabbits for his senior season.

Shortstop Gus Steiger signed with the Cincinnati Reds following an abbreviated 2020 MLB Draft and pitcher Ryan Bourassa signed as a free agent with the Atlanta Braves organization after the 2023 season.

Prior to becoming head coach at SDSU, Bishop spent six years at NCAA Division II member Montana State University-Billings, where he led the Yellowjackets to back-to-back Great Northwest Athletic Conference regular season titles in 2015 and 2016, attaining the program's first-ever 30-win season with a 30-20 record in 2016.

Previously, Bishop spent 10 years at Miles City Community College in Montana, where his teams won MonDak conference championships every year. His squads also claimed five consecutive junior college region titles and a Northwest District championship in 2007 to advance to the NJCAA Division II College World Series.

Bishop's teams won at least 30 games in all 10 seasons, including four with 40 wins. He ended his tenure at Miles City with a 377-151 overall record. He also served as athletic director the last five years of his tenure at Miles City.

Bishop served as a graduate assistant at SDSU under head coach Mark Ekeland during the 1998 and 1999 seasons. In his first year as a head coach, Bishop led Huron University to the South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference title in 2000 with a 38-18 record.

A 1994 graduate of Jamestown College, Bishop earned NAIA All-America honors during the 1992 and 1994 seasons as an infielder.

THE ROSTER: The 2025 SDSU baseball roster features 40 players from 10 different states and one Canadian province. Of the 40 players, 13 are from Minnesota, seven are from Nebraska and South Dakota, five are Iowa natives and two hail from Montana. Colorado, North Dakota, Texas, Washington, Wisconsin and Manitoba are represented by one player each.

By class, one is a graduate transfer, 11 are seniors and 10 are juniors. The sophomore class consists of four players and there are five redshirt freshmen, while nine are incoming freshmen.

UP NEXT: The Jackrabbits will play their final road series of the season, traveling to Omaha for a three-game set May 9-11. The Friday-night series opener is set for 6 p.m. at Tal Anderson Field on the University of Nebraska at Omaha campus.

-GoJacks.com-