BURNSVILLE, Minn. – The Southwest Minnesota State University baseball team, under the direction of first-year head coach Jeremy Ische, was picked fifth in the 2024 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll as voted on by the leagues 14 head coaches. The announcement came Thursday morning from the NSIC office.
 
Augustana, the two-time defending NSIC regular season champions, were chosen as the preseason favorite earning 169 points, including all 13 first place votes (coaches cannot vote for their own team). Minnesota State was picked to finish second receiving 156 points and one first place vote. St. Cloud State was picked to finish third with 142 points, followed by Minnesota Crookston in fourth place with 129 and SMSU rounding out the top five with 107 points.
 
Wayne State was selected sixth earning 104 points, followed by Minot State (103), Winona State (101), UMary (74) and Sioux Falls (52) closing out the top 10. Concordia-St. Paul was picked 11th with 48 points, followed by Minnesota Duluth (44), Northern State (31) and Bemidji State (13).
 
Augustana senior pitcher Caleb Saari was named the league's preseason Pitcher of the Year, while Minnesota Crookston senior outfielder Jake Hjelle was named the preseason Player of the Year.
 
SMSU is coming off its best season in nine years in 2023, finishing 27-17 overall, including finishing fifth place in the NSIC with a record of 19-13. It was SMSU's highest finish in the NSIC standings since placing fourth in 2010. The 2023 campaign was the final season for SMSU head coach Paul Blanchard, who retired after serving as head coach for 27 seasons.
 
The 2024 Mustangs return 22 letter winners, including its top seven hitters and nearly the entire pitching staff from last season's squad.
 
"Coming off a season in which the program finished fifth in the NSIC, the guys have been hungry and continued to elevate their game and competing at a higher level," Ische said. "We have seven senior position players and six senior pitchers, all of whom have played in some big moments at SMSU. We are very hopeful the experience these guys have and their preparation will pay big dividends in 2024."
 
SMSU senior shortstop Chase McDaniel and senior right-handed pitcher Kolby Kiser were both named 'Players to Watch' in the conference this season.
 
McDaniel, a native of Pahrump, Nev., led SMSU with a .389 batting average and tied the school single-season hits record with 70. Named All-NSIC first team, Conference Commissioners Association (CCA) All-Region second team and National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) all-region honorable mention, he also led SMSU in runs scored (53), doubles (12), stolen bases (10) and total bases (111). He closed the season with a team-leading 26 multi-hit games and was fourth with 10 multi-RBI games.
 
"Chase is a great young man who has continued to get better at SMSU. He's pretty electric with what he does on a consistent basis," Ische said. He makes the routine play and can go above and beyond that. He has a big heart and is a great teammate. He plans to become a teacher and a coach after his playing career and he is a joy to coach! He is a phenomenal person and is very involved in the Marshall community helping coach youth baseball during the summer months."
 
Kiser, a native of Sebeka, Minn., was named All-NSIC second team and NCBWA All-region honorable mention in 2023, finishing the season 4-1 in nine appearances, including eight starts, while recording a 3.17 ERA in 48 1/3 innings. He led the team with 68 strikeouts, while opponents hit just .226. He has struck out seven or more batters in seven starts, including recording 10 strikeouts in three starts.
 
Kiser's 12.6 strikeout per nine innings last season rank second in team single-season history, while his strikeout total (68) ranks sixth in the single-season record book.
 
"Kolby is a big strong physical pitcher who has the ability to get outs many different ways," Ische said. "He has also continued to get better in his time at SMSU and we are excited he is on our team! He is a three-pitch guy who has worked tremendously hard at his craft and moves really well on the mound. We're excited to see Kolby and our entire pitching staff compete this spring."
 
Several players join McDaniel as key returners in 2024, including senior second baseman Keenan Wenzel, who was named All-NSIC second team after batting .384 in 28 games with eight doubles, three home runs and 24 RBIs. He missed several games to close the season due to an injury. Senior first baseman Jaxon Haase started all 44 games a season ago and batted .353, while leading the club with 10 home runs and finishing second with 61 base hits.
 
Junior outfielder/pitcher Owen Latendresse ranked fourth on the team with a .341 average with a team-high five triples and team-leading 42 RBIs. Senior outfielder Isaac Nett, a 2022 All-NSIC and all-region honoree, clubbed eight home runs and eight doubles, while batting .331 last season. Senior third baseman Max Kalenberg was the sixth Mustang to hit over .300 last season, closing the year at .308 with nine doubles, six home runs, while ranking second on the team with 39 RBIs.
 
A number of key pitchers join Kiser on a veteran pitching staff in 2024, including senior right-hander Ansen Dulas, who made nine starts a season ago and led the team with a 2.78 ERA in a team-high 55 innings. An All-NSIC second team honoree last spring, he struck out 38 and walked just eight batters, while finishing 3-1 with one complete game. Junior left-hander, Ryan Chmielewski, finished 4-2 last year in nine starts and recorded a 4.14 ERA in 50 innings with 51 strikeouts. He was named to both the NSIC and ABCA Central Region All-Defensive teams.
Senior right-hander Brady Broz led the team with four saves and earned two victories while striking out 14 batters in 13 innings. Senior left-hander Kobe Lovell appeared in a team-high 13 games and earned one victory and one save with 16 strikeouts in 20 1/3 innings. Junior lefty, Carter Petron, pitched in eight games with seven starts and recorded three victories in 37 1/3 innings.
 
Other pitchers returning, who all appeared in six or more games last season, include senior Hayden Molva, juniors Jerod Cyrus, Logan McCray and Cameron Jensen and sophomore Shay Endres.
 
The Mustangs are currently conducting practice inside the PE Gym and R/A Facility and are scheduled to open regular season and conference play on Feb. 17-18 with a four-game series versus St. Cloud State in St. Joseph, Mo. SMSU will also face Minnesota Duluth for a four-game NSIC series in Topeka, Kan., on Feb. 25-26.
 
SMSU will travel to Tucson, Ariz., for more than a week of games from March 2-10, before returning to NSIC play to open is home schedule at Legion Field on March 23-24 versus Minot State.
 
The 2024 NSIC Tournament will take the top eight teams in the final NSIC standings. The double elimination tournament takes place May 8-11, hosted by the University of Mary at Veterans Memorial/Municipal Ballparks, in Mandan and Bismarck, N.D.