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Fall Update: Hitting and pitching development continue for championship program

By Jacob Knabel on Oct. 29, 2024 in Baseball

The departures of some of the greatest players in the history of the program were noticeable this fall as the Concordia University, Nebraska Baseball program reconvened along with the start of the 2024-25 academic year. Through five weeks of official fall practice, the Bulldogs began the process of replacing their entire starting outfield (Jay Adams, Alec Blakestad and Joey Grabanski) while leaning upon an infield that will be an experienced group all the way around the horn. The program has celebrated a combined five GPAC championships and an NAIA World Series berth over the past four years, but Head Coach Ryan Dupic knows there is work to be done before the spring of 2025 arrives.

Dupic and his staff that includes top assistant Ben Berg resumed the development process this fall while building up a lineup that will have a new look to it in 2025. That lineup will be headlined by reigning co-GPAC Player of the Year Jaidan Quinn.

“It will be a little bit different offensively,” Dupic said. “We’ll still have a group that has a chance to be very good offensively, but we might have to be a little bit more versatile in certain spots. We’ll have a chance to be better defensively than we were a year ago. The pitching part we’re still trying to figure out. Fall is kind of a tough time. Some guys aren’t always ready right away. I don’t know that we have a firm evaluation with where we’re at with that part yet. Strategically, I think we’ll have some slight adjustments to make.”

In other words, Concordia may be less reliant on hitting the ball out of the park this coming season. The Bulldogs graduated all-time NAIA home run and RBI king Joey Grabanski from another squad that surpassed 100 home runs. Despite the losses, the Bulldogs will maintain high expectations while returning Quinn and fellow GPAC All-Conference performers in first baseman Matt Rhoades (first team), pitcher Christian Gutierrez (second team), second baseman Ty Nekoliczak (second team), catcher Tanner Tompkins (second team), shortstop Jimmy Blumberg (honorable mention) and designated hitter Brad Hallock (honorable mention).

More than anything else this fall, Dupic was encouraged by the chemistry and camaraderie of the current group. Rather than dwell on the departures, Dupic expresses excitement for the returning players and the opportunity that exists for certain players to emerge, particularly in the outfield and within the pitching staff.

“The chemistry of the group is probably as good as it’s been,” Dupic said. “It’s been really, really good. It sets a good foundation. A lot of our upperclassmen are really good program guys and really good kids. That’s when you can have a good sense of camaraderie. That part’s been really good. We lost some good players, but we still have some good kids. We can’t complain. There are a lot really good kids in our program that a lot of other teams would love to have. I’m curious to see how some of that unfolds.”

There were a number of limiting factors this fall that prevented the Bulldogs from putting all of the pieces together. Quinn was not a full fall participant due to an injury that is not expected to hamper him in the spring while potential ace pitcher Alex Johnson continues to attempt to make his way back after appearing only sparingly the past couple of seasons. There was also an unfortunate injury to Caden Bugarske that will prevent him from pitching in 2025 (after he was also sidelined for most of 2024) and select players missed parts of the fall due to student teaching.

In the outfield, sophomore Alex Draper stands out as the lone returner who played extensively in 2024 (43 games with four starts). He’ll be in the mix for additional playing time as Concordia continues to evaluate that position group.

Says Dupic, “The fall helped a little bit, but we’ll probably do more evaluation into January. Obviously we have some returners who are competing and some newcomers who are competing. We have a mixture of both. We have some transfers, some freshmen and guys who have returned who are in a position to earn a lot of time as well. We probably won’t have that definitively set on day one. We’ll probably be playing some different guys and seeing how things go. Sometimes you do have some guys really make jumps in the offseason.”

The pitching staff took some hits with Bugarske’s injury and with the departures of the likes of Blake Benson, Caden Johnson and Jacob Lycan. However, Gutierrez and Braxton Greenburg were regulars in last season’s rotation and Maverick Wylder equaled Lycan for a team high with 19 appearances out of the bullpen. Dupic will be looking for others to emerge to supplement that group. The hope is that Alex Johnson will be ready by opening day and that plenty of development from the rest of the staff will take place over the colder months of the year.

“We have a lot of work to do on that front,” Dupic said. “I think there are some guys who have a chance to grow into larger roles, but right now they are still striving to reach that level. Those kids are good kids, and I think they will work hard at it. I’m curious to see how things will look in two to three months and four and five months down the line. It will be really interesting to see.”

While the 2025 Bulldogs are not a finished product at this point, Dupic has to keep reminding himself that such is often the case this time of year. Additionally, Concordia can lean upon an NAIA First Team All-American (Quinn), an NAIA Gold Glove award winner (Nekoliczak) and the reigning NAIABall National Freshman of the Year (Rhoades). There are a lot of programs that wish they were in that same position.

Furthermore, the Bulldogs have reason to believe they will be a better defensive team. The middle infield of Blumberg and Nekoliczak figures to be stellar as the pitching staff finds its footing early this coming season. Dupic says that he found plenty of joy during the fall season because of how well this team has already bonded.

A winning culture remains firmly entrenched within the program. Says Dupic, “Our guys have done a nice job establishing some habits. I think we have a good foundation with that. Now it’s about helping the players understand the things that each of them need to do to improve. Overall as a group, we’re trying to focus on some of the big picture stuff. That’s our offense and pitching development. The defensive side is something we tried to emphasize a little bit in the fall. We returned a lot of players (in the infield) and are a little bit farther along on that part. We need offensive development and we need pitching development. Those are the main things we need to make progress on over the next couple months. I’m hopeful some guys can take some good steps.”

The 2025 Concordia Baseball schedule will be available HERE once it has been finalized.