Bulldog Athletic Association Member (BAAM) Athletes of the Week
Female: Ishane Derman, Tennis
A freshman from Togo, Africa, Ishane Derman went 2-0 in singles last week as the Bulldogs took on Doane and Fort Hays State in the final week of the regular season. Derman now stands at 16-1 in singles matches this season. In doubles, Derman is 8-7 in 2024-25.
Male: Christian Gutierrez, Baseball / Nick Velders, Tennis
A senior from La Mirada, Calif., Christian Gutierrez threw seven innings with no earned runs allowed and eight strikeouts in a victory last week over Dordt. The result made Gutierrez the winningest pitcher in program history with 28 career wins. Gutierrez also owns the program record for career innings pitched.
A junior from The Netherlands, Nick Velders won at the No. 2 singles spot as the Bulldogs rolled to a 7-0 team victory last week over Doane. Velders improved his season singles record to 17-2 as he broke a program record for singles wins in a single season. Velders also owns an 11-6 doubles record.
2024-25 BAAM Athletes of the Month
March – Jennifer Katz (softball) / Jaidan Quinn (baseball)
February – Abby Krieser (basketball) / Noah Schutte (basketball)
January – Adrianna Rodencal (track & field) / Tristan Smith (basketball)
December – Gabi Nordaker (volleyball) / Tristan Smith (basketball)
November – Austin Jablonski (football) / Kristin Vieselmeyer (basketball)
October – Carson Fehlhafer (football) / Kierstynn Garner (soccer)
September – Mark Arp (football) / Gabi Nordaker (volleyball)
2024-25 BAAM Athletes of the Week
April 15 – Brad Hallock (baseball) / Adrianna Rodencal (track & field)
April 8 – Brad Hallock (baseball) / Rylee Ladd (powerlifting)
April 1 – Taryn Ganstrom (softball) / Jaidan Quinn (baseball) / Adrianna Rodencal (track & field)
March 25 – Ishane Derman (tennis) / Grady Works (tennis)
March 18 – Hagen Heistand (wrestling) / Jennifer Katz (softball)
March 4 – Adrianna Rodencal (track & field) / Tristan Smith (basketball)
Feb. 25 – Creighton Baughman (wrestling) / Adrianna Rodencal (track & field)
Feb. 18 – BAAM luncheon canceled
Feb. 11 – Jonny Jurchen (track & field) / Abi Wohlgemuth (track & field)
Feb. 4 – Abby Krieser (basketball) / Noah Schutte (basketball)
Jan. 28 – Makynna Robbins (basketball) / Tristan Smith (basketball)
Jan. 21 – Megan Belt (basketball) / Tristan Smith (basketball) / Abi Wohlgemuth (track & field)
Jan. 14 – Raelyn Kelty (basketball) / Tristan Smith (basketball)
Dec. 17 – Adrianna Rodencal (track & field) / Tristan Smith (basketball)
Dec. 10 – Creighton Baughman (wrestling) / Gabi Nordaker (volleyball)
Dec. 3 – Vaughn Hendrickson (cross country) / Kristin Vieselmeyer (basketball)
Nov. 19 – Daylon Henson (football) / Addie Kirkegaard (volleyball)
Nov. 12 – Keegan Beisel (cross country) / Vaughn Hendrickson (cross country)
Nov. 5 – Angela Banks (soccer) / Austin Jablonski (football)
Oct. 29 – Kierstynn Garner (soccer) / Devin Harris (shooting sports)
Oct. 22 – Taylor Hedke (weightlifting) / Austin Jablonski (football)
Oct. 15 – Kierstynn Garner (soccer) / Hugo Garrote (soccer)
Oct. 8 – Carson Fehlhafer (football) / Kaylee Hinton (shooting sports)
Oct. 1 – Carter McKenna (shooting sports) / Kya Scott (volleyball)
Sept. 24 – Ishane Derman (tennis) / Daylon Henson (football)
Sept. 17 – Mark Arp (football) / Ella Waters (volleyball)
Sept. 10 – Hannah Beintema (cross country); Trey Robertson (cross country)
Sept. 3 – Nolan Fuelberth (soccer); Gabi Nordaker (volleyball)
Aug. 27 – Martin Herrera (soccer); Ashley Keck (volleyball)
News and notes:
BAAM luncheons are held every Tuesday at 12 p.m. CT inside the Dog House Grill, located in the Janzow Campus Center. The luncheons feature reports from head coaches who are in season at the time. For information on how to join BAAM, click HERE. It is not a requirement to be a BAAM member in order to attend the weekly luncheons.
Powerlifting hosts second ever home meet: The second home competition in the history of Concordia Powerlifting unfolded on April 12 as 27 athletes displayed their strength inside the PE Center Gym. The field of competitors included 10 Bulldogs. A recap from the meet can be found HERE. The meet followed the 2025 Collegiate Powerlifting National Championships, which saw Head Coach Freddie Myles women’s team bring home a banner thanks to its fifth-place nationals finish. In a major highlight, Rylee Ladd won the 52kg national title. As for weightlifting, that program will host a meet of its own on Saturday, April 26 (as a fundraiser, not an official collegiate competition). Recently, we featured the weightlifting program’s first national champion, Kaiden Mima, in a story that is linked HERE.
Profiling two standout seniors: This past Saturday, both the baseball and softball programs hosted their senior days. Prior to the festivities, we took a closer look at two standout seniors, Alex Johnson of baseball and Jennifer Katz of softball. To learn more about their stories, follow the links below.
--Features: Alex Johnson | Jennifer Katz
Devin Smith named Athletics Director of the Year by NACDA: For the second time in five years, Concordia University, Nebraska’s Devin Smith has been honored as an Athletics Director of the Year Award winner by the National Association of Directors of Athletics (NACDA). Smith was announced by NACDA as one of the 28 honorees for 2024-25 on Monday (March 17). The award spans seven divisions (NCAA FBS, FCS, Division I-AAA, II, III, NAIA/Other Four-Year Institutions and Junior College/Community Colleges). Winners will be recognized in conjunction with the 60th Annual NACDA & Affiliates Convention at the World Center Marriott Resort in Orlando, Fla., on June 10. For more details on the award, click HERE.
Bulldog Coaches Show airs every Thursday at 5:30 p.m. CT: The Bulldog Coaches Show is underway in its 10th year of existence. The show airs live for a half hour every Thursday beginning at 5:30 p.m. CT on KTMX-FM 104.9 Max Country. The weekly feature can also be heard live via 104.9 Max Country’s website or by downloading the Max Country app. Throughout the 2024-25 season, Bulldog football, men’s and women’s basketball and volleyball contests will be aired live on Max Country. Parker Cyza serves as the host of the coaches’ show as well as the play-by-play voice for football and basketball. Frank Greene completed his 10th season calling Concordia volleyball.
Concordia Sports Network: Live webcasts for most home varsity contests can be accessed by visiting https://www.cune.edu/athletics/watch-bulldogs at game time. Beginning with the 2023-24 academic year, Concordia Athletics began a partnership with Hudl for live video streaming. Live webcast links for away contests are publicized in sport specific releases that preview action for that particular week. Scrimmages, exhibitions and junior varsity events are not broadcasted on the Concordia Sports Network.
Baseball
· Current record: 33-9, 21-3 GPAC; ranked No. 15 in the NAIA coaches’ poll.
· Last week:
o Won vs. Dordt, 17-5, on April 18.
o Won vs. Dordt, 14-3 (8 inn.), on April 18.
o Won vs. Dordt, 23-1, on April 19.
o Won vs. Dordt, 11-1, on April 19.
· Links: 2025 Schedule | Roster | Statistics | NAIA Coaches’ Polls
· Notable: The race for the GPAC baseball regular season title has ended. The Bulldogs clinched the 2025 conference championship this past weekend while dismantling Dordt over four games. Concordia outscored the Defenders by a combined tally of 65-10. Incredibly, the Bulldogs worked 54 walks throughout the series. Some of the hitting standouts for the weekend included Ty Nekoliczak (9-for-14 with four extra-base hits and seven RBIs), Jaidan Quinn (4-for-9, three home runs and nine RBIs) and Brad Hallock (6-for-15, three home runs and 15 RBIs). The All-American Quinn surpassed Joey Grabanski as the program’s all-time home run king by launching the 89th, 90th and 91st home runs of his career. Another record was broken by senior pitcher Christian Gutierrez, who recorded his 28th career win, surpassing the previous standard of 27 by Nick Little. At 21-3 in league play, Concordia ran away with the league title. The Bulldogs are GPAC regular season champions for the fifth time during Head Coach Ryan Dupic’s tenure (2015-present). Dupic has also led the program to three GPAC tournament championships. The ’25 squad reached the top again thanks in large part to another productive offense. Hallock continues to lead the GPAC in home runs (21) and RBIs (66) with teammates in Quinn (18 HR, 56 RBIs) and Matt Rhoades (14 HR, 52 RBIs) trailing close behind. With his hot hitting, Nekoliczak has jumped to fourth in the GPAC in batting average (.396). On the pitching side of things, Alex Johnson tops the GPAC in ERA (2.63) and strikeouts (77) while Gutierrez is tied for the most wins (seven). Due to impending rain in the forecast, the four-game series at Dakota Wesleyan has been moved to Mitchell, S.D., and will be played Friday and Saturday. The Bulldogs hope the weather clears and allows them to host GPAC tournament action beginning next Wednesday (April 30).
· For additional news and notes on the baseball program, click HERE.
· This week:
o Friday, April 25 at Dakota Wesleyan (12-30, 11-13 GPAC), 1 p.m. DH.
o Saturday, April 26 at Dakota Wesleyan (12-30, 11-13 GPAC), 12 p.m. DH.
Golf
· Most recent:
o Men – Placed 6th/10 at the Raider Spring Invitational on April 16; shot 317-313–630 through the first two rounds of the 2025 GPAC Championships held on April 21.
o Women – Placed 11th/14 at the Kaitlyn Erickson Invite on April 14-15.
· Men’s Links: 2024-25 Schedule | Roster | Statistics
· Women’s Links: 2024-25 Schedule | Roster | Statistics
· Notable: It’s conference championship season for all GPAC golf programs. As of the beginning of the day on Tuesday (April 22), the Concordia men’s team was in the midst of the 2025 GPAC Championships. On day one in Beatrice, Neb., the Bulldogs shot 317-313–630 and sat in a tie for ninth place in the GPAC standings. A junior from Elkhorn, Neb., Jake Richmond has starred all spring for the Bulldogs. He completed Monday’s two rounds at four over par (74-74–148), six strokes off the tournament lead. Richmond was tied for 10th among 52 GPAC golfers that played both rounds on day one. Three other Concordia competitors played all 36 holes on Monday: senior Jaxson Fullerton (79-79–158; T-36th), sophomore Jacob Dowd (82-81–163; T-45th) and senior Justin Webert (82-82–164; 48th). Meanwhile, the women’s team will play in Cairo, Neb., next Monday-Tuesday (April 28-29) at the GPAC Championships. The women finished their 2024-25 regular season last week by placing 11th (379-349–728) at the Kaitlyn Erickson Invite, which featured all nine Bulldogs on Head Coach Brett Muller’s roster. Junior Emery Custer led the way by shooting 89-80–169 (T-24th). In a significant highlight on day two of the Erickson Invite, freshman Audra Poffinbarger carded a career low 89. Heading into the conference championships, the team has a clear top four in terms of season scoring average: Custer (82.9), Maddie Lewis (87.9), Jennifer Gillotti (91.0) and Savannah McFalls (91.1). The women’s squad will be attempting to move up from their ninth-place GPAC finish in 2024.
· Up next:
o M – 2025 GPAC Men’s Golf Championships at Beatrice Country Club in Beatrice, Neb., on April 21-22.
o W – 2025 GPAC Women’s Golf Championships at Centura Hills Golf Club in Cairo, Neb., on April 28-29.
Tennis
· Current records: men – 12-7, 4-2 GPAC | women – 14-4, 4-2 GPAC
· Last week:
o W – Lost vs. Doane, 4-3, on April 15.
o M – Won vs. Doane, 7-0, on April 16.
o W – Lost vs. Fort Hays State, 5-2, on April 18.
· Men’s Links: 2024-25 Schedule | Roster | Statistics
· Women’s Links: 2024-25 Schedule | Roster | Statistics
· Notable: The regular season has concluded for Head Coach Lisa Hart’s squads. Both teams hosted Doane early last week in the final matches of the GPAC regular season. The women lost a close battle, 4-3, while the men dominated the rival Tigers, 7-0. Then on Good Friday, the Concordia women fell by a 5-2 score at the hands of NCAA Division II Fort Hays State University (Kan.). Prior to last week’s home matches, the Bulldogs honored their seniors: Tessa Blough on the women’s side and Manuel Rodriguez and Grady Works on the men’s side. Those seniors have helped the program make major strides in Hart’s two seasons at the helm. In this week’s GPAC tournament, the Bulldogs have earned the No. 3 seed for both men and women. The men managed to put themselves in that position by making quick work of Doane in a match that included a sweep in singles and two doubles victories. As major highlights, Nick Velders (most singles wins) and Santiago Abadia (most doubles wins) broke program single season records last week. Velders’ 17 singles wins are followed on the team by Works (12-3) and Ben Chisholm (11-7). On the women’s side, five Bulldogs have claimed double digit singles wins: Ishane Derman (16-1), Chakira Derman (15-3), Mariana Molano (14-4), Alexa Richert (12-3) and Alana Lopez Pagan (12-4). In the quarterfinals of the GPAC tournament, the men will take on Doane on Thursday while the women will battle College of Saint Mary on Friday. All GPAC tournament matches will be held on the Morningside campus in Sioux City, Iowa.
· For additional news and notes on the tennis programs, click the following links: Men | Women.
· This week (GPAC tournament):
o M – Thursday, April 24 vs. Doane, 11 a.m. (Quarterfinals)
o M – Thursday, April 24 vs. TBD, 3 p.m. (Semifinals)
o W – Friday, April 25 vs. College of Saint Mary, 11 a.m. (Quarterfinals)
o W – Friday, April 25 vs. TBD, 3 p.m. (Semifinals)
o M – Saturday, April 26 vs. TBD, 11 a.m. (Championship)
o W – Saturday, April 26 vs. TBD, 1:30 p.m. (Championship)
Softball
· Current record: 25-17, 10-10 GPAC.
· Last week:
o Lost vs. Dordt, 9-6, on April 15.
o Won vs. Dordt, 13-3 (5 inn.), on April 15.
o Lost vs. Mount Marty, 2-1, on April 19.
o Won vs. Mount Marty, 4-3, on April 19.
· Notable: A weak heavy on home contests saw the Bulldogs go 2-2 with doubleheader splits coming against both Dordt and Mount Marty. In both instances, Concordia lost the first game before rebounding to win game two. The best stretch of action last week for Head Coach Brock Culler’s squad occurred in the fourth inning of game two when the Bulldogs rattled off eight runs. In that frame, both Laycee Josoff and Taryn Ganstrom tripled in runs. A fine season continues for the Seneca, Kan., native Ganstrom, who went 7-for-14 (.500) with five runs, a double and two triples for the week. With her eighth triple of the season, Ganstrom equaled a school single season record shared with Stephanie Hinrichs and Celine Lassaigne. Other standouts last week included Delanie Voshell (5-for-11) and Avery O’Boyle (6-for-14). Between games of the doubleheader with Mount Marty, Concordia honored a senior class of eight members. That group includes center fielder Jen Katz, who is hitting a team best .370 this season. Katz made a highlight-reel worthy diving catch to preserve the one-run lead in the seventh inning of the win over Mount Marty. Kaylei Denison earned wins in both games last week and improved her season record to 11-4. Senior Megan Eurich has had tougher luck and is 8-11 with a 3.30 ERA in 2025. At 10-10 in league play, the Bulldogs are currently situated in sixth place in the GPAC. They will attempt to secure a spot in the GPAC tournament when they end the regular season on Saturday with a trip to College of Saint Mary. Before focusing on CSM, Concordia will host Bellevue University for one nonconference game on Wednesday night.
· For additional news and notes on the softball program, click HERE.
· This week:
o Wednesday, April 23 vs. Bellevue (25-17), 6 p.m. (1x7)
o Saturday, April 26 at College of Saint Mary (9-28, 7-13 GPAC), 1 p.m. DH.
Outdoor Track & Field
· Last week:
o Competed at the Dutcher Memorial Classic (April 16-18) and Kansas Relays (April 17-19).
· Links: 2024-25 Schedule | Roster | TFRRS Performance Lists
· Notable: It’s the stretch run of the outdoor season. Bulldog athletes made appearances last week at both the Dutcher Memorial Classic (hosted by Doane) and the Kansas Relays. The yields from the three-day meet at Doane included 13 event championships. Most notably, the women’s 4x100-meter relay broke the school record by clocking in at 47.14 at Doane. The crew featured Adysen McCarter, Kayla Kirchner, Emily Loseke and Adrianna Rodencal. Both the women’s 4x1 and 4x4 (3:51.24) relays posted new NAIA B national qualifying standards. Those relays won Dutcher Classic titles – along with the men’s 4x4. Individual event winners at Doane were Nathan Baldwin (discus), Hannah Beintema (3,000-meter steeplechase), Matthew Boyer (javelin), Evan Hill (pole vault), Trevor Kuncl (1,500 meters), McCarter (triple jump), Jarrett Miles (3,000-meter steeplechase), Amanda Steinke (high jump), Ransom Watts (5,000 meters) and Abi Wohlgemuth (hammer). Select field event Bulldogs competed at the Kansas Relays in Lawrence. Among the highlights, Boyer placed fourth in the javelin (197’ 1”) and Mayson Ostermeyer placed second in the pole vault (16’ 3 ½”). Through four weeks of outdoor competition, Concordia athletes have combined for 12 marks that have met at least the NAIA B standard. Additionally, Josi Noble currently ranks No. 15 nationally in the heptathlon. A marks have come from Baldwin (discus), Abby Gerber (shot put), Ostermeyer (pole vault) and Rodencal (100 and 400 hurdles). The Bulldogs will look to add the list this week. Most Concordia athletes will be at the Nebraska Wesleyan Invite on Saturday (moved from Thursday) while others will head to Des Moines, Iowa, for the Drake Relays.
· For additional news and notes on the track & field programs, click HERE.
· This week:
o Saturday, April 26 at Nebraska Wesleyan Invite.
o Thursday-Saturday, April 24-26 at Drake Relays.
o Saturday, April 26 at Rock Chalk Classic.