PREVIEWING THIS WEEK
•The Southwest Minnesota State University baseball team begins a new era this Sunday and Monday opening the 2024 season with a four-game Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference series versus St. Cloud State University (1-5) in Council Bluffs, Iowa.
•The games are the first under the direction of SMSU first-year head coach,
Jeremy Ische, who was named to the position last June.
•The four-game series was originally scheduled to be played in St. Joseph, Mo., but was moved to Doc Ross Field on the campus of Iowa Western Community College due to expected poor weather on Saturday.
•SMSU and SCSU will play doubleheaders each day starting at 12 p.m.
•SCSU won the NSIC Tournament championship last spring and was picked to finish third in the 2024 NSIC Preseason Coaches' poll.
•Following this week's games, SMSU is scheduled to face Minnesota Duluth in a four-game NSIC series on Feb. 25-26 in Topeka, Kan.
•SMSU will have 10 non-conference games in Tucson, Ariz., from March 2-10, before returning to league play in Marshall on March 23-24 versus Minot State.
GAME COVERAGE
•Live stats and video for all four games will be available at SMSUmustangs.com.
SMSU HEAD COACH
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Jeremy Ische is in his first season as head coach after being named to the position on June 15, 2023. He is the sixth head coach in team history.
•Ische spent the previous five seasons (2019-23) as head coach at Upper Iowa University compiling a record of 57-125.
•UIU had its best season under Ische in 2023, finishing with a 19-27 record, including 15-19 in NSIC play.
•He was an assistant coach at UIU for two seasons (2017-18) prior to becoming head coach.
•Ische was also an assistant coach at Luther College (2015-16), SMSU (2013-14) and St. Cloud Tech (2012).
SERIES HISTORY VS. ST. CLOUD STATE
•SMSU and SCSU have meet 83 times since the 1970 season with SCSU holding a 64-19 all-time advantage.
•SCSU defeated SMSU three times last season, twice during the regular season and once in the NSIC Tournament. The Huskies have held a 24-4 lead in the series since joining the NSIC in 2009 and have won 21 of the last 23 meetings since the 2015 season.
2024 SMSU TEAM PREVIEW
•SMSU is coming off its best season in nine years, finishing 27-17 overall, including finishing fifth place in the NSIC with a record of 19-13 in 2023. Head coach Paul Blanchard retired following the season after 27 seasons as head coach.
•It was SMSU's highest finish in the NSIC standings since placing fourth in 2010.
•The 2024 Mustangs return 22 letter winners, including its top seven hitters and nearly the entire pitching staff from last season's squad.
•SMSU senior shortstop
Chase McDaniel and senior right-handed pitcher
Kolby Kiser were both named 'Players to Watch' in the conference this season.
•McDaniel led SMSU with a .389 batting average and tied the school single-season hits record with 70. He was named All-NSIC first team, Conference Commissioners Association (CCA) All-Region second team and National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) all-region honorable mention. McDaniel 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.
•Kiser 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.
•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.
MUSTANGS EARN POSTSEASON HONORS IN 2023
•SMSU had several players receive accolades following the 2023 season.
•
Chase McDaniel was named All-NSIC first team, while
Kolby Kiser,
Ansen Dulas and
Keenan Wenzel were all named All-NSIC second team.
•
Ryan Chmielewski was selected to the NSIC All-Defensive team and was also named to the ABCA Central Region All-Defensive team.
•McDaniel and Kiser were both named NCBWA All-Region honorable mention, while McDaniel picked-up CCA All-Region second team honors.
NETT NAMED ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICAN
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Isaac Nett was named to 2023 College Sports Communicators Academic All-America® Division II baseball first team as selected by the College Sports Communicators (CSC) last June.
•It's the 28th time in school history and the sixth Mustang baseball student-athlete to earn CSC Academic All-American accolades.
MUSTANG EXTRA BASES FROM 2023
•SMSU averaged 7.6 runs per game and batted .310.
•SMSU's six-game winning streak from April 26-May 2, was its longest since winning seven in a row during the 2014 season.
•In 32 league games, McDaniel finished ninth in the NSIC in batting average (.382), eighth in hits (50) and 10
th in runs scored (39).
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Jaxon Haase tied a school single-game record on April 26 with five runs scored versus Minnesota Duluth.
•
Isaac Nett finished ninth in the NSIC in on-base pct. (.470)
•
Owen Latendresse ranked first on the squad with 12 multi-RBI games and was first with 42 RBIs.
•
Max Kalenberg closed the season having reached base in 29 straight games. He is the first SMSU player since Brandan Alfson in 2015, to reach base in 25 or more games.
•Kalenberg tied two school single-game records last season having walked four times versus Northern State on April 30 and also tied a school record with five runs scored in a win over Dakota Wesleyan on March 6.
•
Jake Tauer finished 4 for 4 with seven RBIs in a win at Minot State on May 2. He is the first SMSU player since Ben Heichel in 2020 to collect seven RBIs.
NOTES FROM THE BUMP IN 2023
•SMSU finished the season with a team ERA of 5.98 in 361 innings with 329 strikeouts. Opponents averaged 6.7 runs per game and batted .292.
•
Ansen Dulas finished the season with a 2.78 ERA in 55 innings in nine starts recording 38 strikeouts and issuing eight walks. Dulas' 1.31 walks per nine innings ranks third in team single-season history and ranked ninth in Division II.
•
Kolby Kiser led the team with 68 strikeouts in 48 1/3 innings. The strikeout total ranks sixth in team single-season history and is the highest total since Adam Schrader had 62 in 2010. He struck out a career-high 10 in three games last season. Kiser's 12.6 strikeouts per nine innings ranks second in team single-season history and 10th in Division II.
NSIC SCHEDULE
•The 14-team NSIC schedule will have a different look this year featuring a variety of four-game, three-game and two-game series during the season.
•The schedule format allows for each team to play every opponent at least twice during the regular season.
•SMSU will play five four-game series (SCSU, UMD, MISU, BSU, CSP), four three-game series (UMC, WSU, UMary, MSU) and doubleheaders versus (WSC, NSU, AU, USF).
•All weekday match-ups will be doubleheaders with one seven-inning game and one nine-inning game.
•SMSU is scheduled to play 40 conference games this season.
MORE MUSTANG STATS
•For career statistics and game-highs for each Mustang player go to SMSUmustangs.com/baseballcareer.
SMSU PICKED FIFTH IN NSIC POLL
•Southwest Minnesota State University was picked to finish fifth in the NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll.
•SMSU senior shortstop
Chase McDaniel and senior right-handed pitcher
Kolby Kiser were both named 'Players to Watch' in the conference this season.
NSIC TOURNAMENT RETURNS TO NORTH DAKOTA
•The 2024 NSIC Tournament will be held on May 8-11 and hosted by the University of Mary at Veterans Memorial/Municipal Ballparks, in Mandan and Bismarck, N.D.
•The top eight teams in the final regular season standings will qualify for the tournament with the champion earning the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
MUSTANG HISTORY
•Southwest Minnesota State is in its 55th season of baseball in 2024.
•SMSU has played 2,180 games compiling an all-time record of 1,021-1,156-3.
•SMSU has won four NSIC regular season championships, four NSIC Tournament titles and has played in one NCAA Tournament.
