No. 4 South Dakota State (16-34) at Summit League Baseball Championship
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After a roller-coaster regular season, the South Dakota State baseball team will attempt to piece it all together in postseason action at this week’s Summit League Baseball Championship in Omaha, Nebraska.
The fourth-seeded Jackrabbits enter the four-team, double-elimination tournament with a 16-34 overall mark after completing league play with a 12-18 record. After missing out of on postseason play a year ago and struggling the first month of the 2025 season, the Jackrabbits surged in the second half of the league campaign to qualify for the league tournament for the 14th time in 16 years of eligibility at the Division I level.
SDSU is slated to face top-seeded Oral Roberts in the opening round of the tournament at noon Wednesday at Tal Anderson Field on the University of Nebraska at Omaha campus. The Golden Eagles, 34-20 overall and 21-9 in league play, secured the top seed and a share of the Summit League regular season title with St. Thomas after sweeping a four-game series at SDSU last weekend.
Second-seeded North Dakota State and No. 3 Omaha round out the championship field.
The tournament runs through Saturday, with all games available for viewing online through the Summit League Network powered by Midco Sports Plus. Radio broadcasts of all of SDSU’s games will be carried locally on KJJQ 910 AM and at GoJacks.com/watch
Following is a complete tournament schedule:
Wednesday, May 21
Game 1: No. 4 South Dakota State (16-34, 12-18) vs. No. 1 Oral Roberts (34-20, 21-9), noon
Game 2: No. 3 Omaha (19-28, 12-16) vs. No. 3 North Dakota State (17-31, 13-15), 6 p.m.
Thursday, May 22
Game 3: Loser G1 vs. Loser G2, noon
Game 4: Winner G1 vs. Winner G2, 6 p.m.
Friday, May 23
Game 5: Winner G3 vs. Loser G4, 4 p.m.
Saturday, May 24
Game 6: Winner G4 vs. Winner G5, 1 p.m.
Game 7: If necessary, 30 minutes after conclusion of Game 6
VERSUS THE FIELD: South Dakota State went a combined 7-11 against the three other teams competing in the Summit League Baseball Championship during the 2025 regular season. The Jackrabbits won the regular season series against Omaha, 4-2, while splitting their six games against North Dakota State, 3-3. SDSU didn’t fare as well against Oral Roberts, dropping all six games between the two squads so far this season.
SHORT HOPS: Following are some quick notes regarding the South Dakota State baseball team heading into this week’s Summit League Baseball Championship:
- 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.
- Grawe has tallied 65 hits this season to set a new SDSU freshman single-season hits record. The previous Division I-era mark of was first set by Nick Adams in 2005 and matched by Gus Steiger in 2018. In addition, Grawe enters postseason play on a 10-game hitting streak.
- 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 172 career hits. In addition, Bellows has tied the SDSU career record for most times hit by a pitch with 42, matching Jesse Sawyer’s total from 2009-11. Bellows passed Tyson Fisher (41 hit by pitches from 2005-08) after being plunked twice in a recent weekend series at Omaha.
- Sophomore shortstop Carter Sintek has recorded at least one hit in 41 of the 49 games he has played this season, putting together strings of nine games (Feb. 27-March 16), and two separate eight-game hitting streaks (March 21-April 6 and April 25-May 9). Sintek posted his first career five-hit game on May 16 and has posted 22 multi-hit games this season.
- Sintek collected his 100th career hit on May 16, reaching the milestone in his 71st career game. He currently leads the team this season with 74 hits, 45 runs and a .352 batting average.
- Senior utility player Adam Benes has helped pick up the slack at the plate since the team’s leading run-producer, Luke Luskey, was lost for the remainder of the season due to injury. Over the last 13 games, Benes is batting .297 (11-for-37) with two home runs (including a grand slam), three doubles and 13 runs batted in.
- Benes was especially good at the plate in games played this season at Erv Huether Field. In 18 home games, including 15 starts, Benes batted .333 (19-for-57) with all five of his home runs and 23 of his 29 RBIs this season coming in home contests.
- 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 four victories.
- 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 tied an SDSU standard with three home runs in the second game of a May 15 home doubleheader against Oral Roberts, upping his season total to eight home runs in only 62 at-bats. Three of his home runs have been in pinch-hitting roles, including his first collegiate home run in the 10th inning of a March 1 game at Sacramento State that proved to be the winning run in a 12-11 victory. His other pinch-hit homers both came against Omaha — in the April 13 home series finale and at the Mavericks on May 10.
- South Dakota State and Oral Roberts combined for 18 home runs in their series last weekend — 11 home runs by the Golden Eagles and seven by SDSU. ORU catcher Wailele Kane-Yates hit two home runs in both ends of the series-opening doubleheader on May 15, while Will Edmunson hit three homers in the series, including a game-winning three-run shot in the top of the ninth inning on May 16.
- The Jackrabbits committed a total of 16 errors in the four-game series against Oral Roberts, leading to 15 unearned runs.
SUMMIT AWARDS: Led by first-team selections Bryce Ronken and Owen Siegert, seven South Dakota State student-athletes were honored Tuesday as members of the 2025 All-Summit League Baseball Team.
Ronken, a sophomore from Sioux Falls, earned first-team honors as a designated hitter after posting a team-best .402 batting average in league play. Overall, Ronken finished the regular season with a .320 batting average, a team-high 13 doubles, four home runs and 35 runs batted in. He also ranked second among Summit League players with a .457 on-base percentage.
A freshman from Melbourne, Iowa, Siegert made an immediate impact for the Jackrabbits in the outfield, notching a team-high 12 stolen bases while batting .340 with five home runs and 33 RBIs. He also recorded 11 doubles and scored 30 runs during the regular season.
Four other Jackrabbits received second-team accolades, including repeat selection Luke Luskey at first base. Before being sidelined by injury for the final 10 games of the regular season, the Green Isle, Minnesota, native was leading The Summit League in four offensive categories: home runs (14), runs batted in (52), total bases (103) and slugging percentage (.691), while ranking second among Summit players in OPS (on-base + slugging) (1.092).
Both of the Jackrabbits’ starters on the left side of the infield, shortstop Carter Sintek and third baseman Nolan Grawe, were also second-team honorees. A sophomore from Bennington, Nebraska, Sintek ranks third in the league with a .352 overall batting average while collecting 74 hits and posting 22 multi-hit games. Sintek also added three triples, three home runs and 29 RBIs as the team’s leadoff hitter, while also playing well in the field.
A native of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Grawe has been a consistent performer throughout his freshman season as he compiled a .340 batting average with two home runs and 27 RBIs. He has set a Jackrabbit freshman record with 65 hits thus in 2025 and tied an SDSU single-season mark with a 19-game hitting streak earlier this year.
Rounding out SDSU’s second-team selections was senior utility player Adam Benes. The Longmont, Colorado, native started games at first base, second base and designated hitter during the league season. He posted a .299 batting average against Summit League foes (.252 overall) while collecting four of his five home runs and 25 of his 29 RBIs in league play.
Completing the Jackrabbits’ list of all-Summit League performers was honorable mention selection Jake Goble as a relief pitcher. A senior from Rapid City, Goble made 10 appearances in league play, compiling a 2-2 record with a 3.18 earned run average and one save. The right-hander also struck out 39 batters in 45 1/3 innings and issued only one walk in a span of six outings and a combined 29 innings at one point of the season.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: South Dakota State recently had a player honored with a Summit League weekly award in four consecutive weeks, the latest being shortstop Carter Sintek as the Kwik Star Peak Performer of the Week after putting up big numbers in the Jackrabbits’ series win over Northern Colorado.
A sophomore from Bennington, Nebraska, Sintek collected three hits in each of the three games played May 2-4, posting a .643 batting average by going 9-for-14 with three runs batted in and six runs scored. He also turned in a 1.071 slugging percentage and a .667 on-base percentage as the Jackrabbits took two of three games.
After opening the series with three hits and two runs scored, Sintek was 3-for-4 with a two-run double and two runs scored in a May 3 victory. He closed the series on by going 3-for-5, including a triple and home run as he finished a double away from the cycle.
In addition to his hitting prowess, Sintek made several run-saving plays in the field and did not commit an error in 14 defensive chances.
The previous week, freshman third baseman Nolan Grawe earned the Peak Performer award. Grawe recorded multiple hits in each of the Jackrabbits’ first five games in a busy week of action, compiling 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 posted a .536 on-base percentage and a .680 slugging percentage over the six games played during the week.
SDSU claimed back-to-back Kwik Star Summit League Peak Pitcher of the Week awards in mid-April 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.
SUMMIT LEAGUE SUCCESS: South Dakota State has been a consistent winner in The Summit League since it became a league member in 2008. Now in its 18th season as a member of The Summit League, the Jackrabbits have compiled a 238-209 (.532 winning percentage) record in regular season conference games.
SDSU has posted a .500 or better record in league play 10 times and now has qualified for the four-team postseason tournament 14 out of the 16 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.
TOURNAMENT HISTORY: South Dakota State is making its 14th appearance in the Summit League Baseball Championship and has compiled a 20-25 overall record in the postseason tournament. In their previous 13 tournament appearances, the Jackrabbits won at least one game in 12 of those seasons, with 2022 being the lone exception.
SDSU won the tournament title in 2013 and reached the championship round five other times: 2009, 2010, 2011, 2018 and 2023.
The Jackrabbits did not qualify for the four-team event in 2012 and 2024.
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, and SDSU went on to compile an 11-9 record on its home field this season.
“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 184 starts in 2025, with Grawe leading the way with 48 starts. In addition, freshman right-hander Caleb Duerr has made a team-high 11 starts on the mound for the Jackrabbits in 2025, while Jirschele (2) and Drew McDowell (3) 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 43 games in the outfield and has responded by batting .340 (53-for-156), including a 7-for-13 performance at the plate two weeks ago at Omaha. He leads the team with 12 stolen bases while ranking third with five home runs and 332 runs batted in. He posted a four-hit game April 12 against Omaha by recording the 12th three-double game by a Jackrabbit in the Division I era, then notched his first two-home run performance May 3 against Northern Colorado.
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 33 games and has compiled a .198 batting average (22-for-111). 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 six 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 March 9 at Saint Louis.
LUSKEY LOST FOR SEASON: South Dakota State will be without the services of its top run producer, Luke Luskey, for the remainder of the season after the sophomore first baseman/designated hitter aggravated a knee injury April 27 against North Dakota State.
A sophomore from Green Isle, Minnesota, Luskey was leading The Summit League in four offensive categories at the time of his injury: 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).
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.
RONKEN MAKES RED-HOT RETURN: After missing seven games in mid-April due to injury, Bryce Ronken has been on a tear at the plate since his return to the lineup.
Over the last 14 games, in which he has filled the role of designated hitter, Ronken is batting .439, going a combined 25-for-57 in the final four series of the season with two home runs, six doubles and 20 runs batted in.
In four games against NDSU, 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. He later went 6-for-14 in the three-game set against UNC, including a three-hit performance in the May 3 victory.
To close the regular season, Ronken batted .500 (9-for-18) in a four-game series against Oral Roberts, tallying two doubles and two home runs for a .944 slugging percentage, along with collecting eight RBIs.
A Sioux Falls native, Ronken made a move to the outfield to begin 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 13 doubles and 29 walks. He has reached base safely in 29 consecutive games, which is the longest streak by a Jackrabbit since Ryan McDonald reached base in 33 straight games during the 2022 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 have maintained their top-four spots in program history for strikeouts per nine innings pitched throughout 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.
The team leader with six saves this season, Driessen enters the week with an average of 13.06 strikeouts per 9 innings after tallying 147 in 101 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.
In a home series against North Dakota State in late April, Driessen appeared in three of the four games, earning a win and two saves as the Jackrabbits claimed the series. He struck out a combined eight batters in 4 1/3 innings of work.
A native of Bettendorf, Iowa, Clemons currently stands fourth with an average of 12.16 K’s/9 innings after fanning 136 batters in 110 2/3 career innings. He has 31 strikeouts in only 23 2/3 innings of work so far this season, including notching one strikeout in a perfect inning to close out the May 11 victory at Omaha.
Clemons also has moved into a tie for fourth place on the SDSU career chart for appearances with 72.
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 is tied for the team lead with 49 strikeouts. His K total has been racked up in 50 2/3 innings across 13 appearances (one start) thus far in 2025.
In helping the Jackrabbits secure a tournament berth, Goble was credited with the win in the second game of an April 26 doubleheader against North Dakota State after tying a career high with eight strikeouts. He limited the Bison to two runs over a season-best 6 1/3 innings.
A week later, on May 3, Goble earned his first career save by not allowing a hit or run over the final four innings versus Northern Colorado.
In 10 outings against Summit League opponents, Goble compiled a 3.18 earned run average over 45 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.
In six outings from March 28-May 3, covering 29 innings, Goble issued only one walk.
Goble earned honorable mention all-Summit League honors for the first time in 2023 after leading the team with 58 1/3 innings pitched and a 4.32 earned run average while sharing the team lead with five wins 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.
RICHEY JOINS ROTATION: Senior right-hander Dylan Richey has helped bolster the Jackrabbits’ weekend starting rotation during its stretch run in 2005.
Richey was especially efficient in his May 4 start against Northern Colorado as he needed only 57 pitches to complete five shutout innings en route to his first win as a Jackrabbit. He followed that performance by giving up only one run over 2 2/3 innings in the May 11 series finale at Omaha.
A mid-week starter early in the season, Richey has earned a starting nod in seven of his nine appearances. Over 25 innings, he has compiled a 3.24 earned run average with 20 strikeouts.
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 in late April, including two scoreless appearances in the 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 21 appearances and has not allowed an earned run in nine of his last 12 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, Newstrom began his coaching career as a student assistant at Wazzu 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 174-236 record at SDSU, including a 107-105 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 723-558-1 record (.564 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, 12 are seniors and nine are juniors. The sophomore class consists of four players and there are five redshirt freshmen, while nine are incoming freshmen.
UP NEXT: The winner of the Summit League Baseball Championship will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Pairings for the 64-team tournament will be announced May 26, with action at 16 regional sites starting on May 30.