First Team: Joey Grabanski (Player of the Year); Jay Adams; Ben Berg; Alec Blakestad; Jesse Garcia; Caden Johnson; Ty Nekoliczak; Jaidan Quinn
Second Team: Tanner Tompkins
Honorable Mention: Teyt Johnson; Daniel Rivera
2023 GPAC Baseball All-Conference Teams
SEWARD, Neb. – The greatest offensive force in program history was appropriately honored on Wednesday (May 10) as the conference announced 2023 All-GPAC award winners. Slugger Joey Grabanski became the second player in Concordia Baseball history to be named GPAC Player of the Year and was one of eight Bulldogs to garner first team all-conference accolades. Also representing national tournament bound Concordia with first team selections were second baseman Jay Adams, catcher Ben Berg, center fielder Alec Blakestad, first baseman Jesse Garcia, pitcher Caden Johnson, shortstop Ty Nekoliczak and third baseman Jaidan Quinn.
Three others were recognized from Head Coach Ryan Dupic’s squad: designated hitter Tanner Tompkins (second team), right fielder Teyt Johnson (honorable mention) and pitcher Daniel Rivera (honorable mention). Berg was also honored as the GPAC’s Gold Glove catcher. Each of the award winners have contributed to an overall record of 38-16 and to a team that will appear at the NAIA National Championship Opening Round next week.
Grabanski and Christian Meza (2019) are the lone Bulldogs to ever be named GPAC Baseball Players of the Year. The Grand Forks, N.D., native Grabanski has ranked among the NAIA national home run leaders all season. In 2023, Grabanski has batted .387 (74-for-191) with a .494 on-base percentage and .822 slugging percentage. He’s totaled 67 runs, 11 doubles, 24 home runs and a school record 72 RBIs. He has played error-free ball while spending most of the year in left field. His 24 home runs would rank as a school record for a single season if not for Quinn. Grabanski is now a three-time First Team All-GPAC honoree. In 166 career games, Grabanski has batted .379 (225-for-593) with 164 runs scored. 39 doubles, 59 home runs (school record), 199 RBIs and a .744 slugging percentage.
Adams continues to set the standard when it comes to second basemen in the GPAC. The Waverly, Neb., native has earned First Team All-GPAC laurels for the third consecutive season. On the year, Adams is hitting .320 (70-for-219) with 61 runs, 19 doubles, 11 home runs, 51 RBIs and 13 stolen bases while sporting a .366 on-base percentage and .566 slugging percentage. Adams has successfully fielded 209 of 217 chances in the field. In 186 career collegiate games, Adams has hit .353 (257-for-729) with 53 doubles, 34 home runs, 172 RBIs and 39 stolen bases. Adams was named an NAIA Honorable Mention All-American in 2022.
Berg has played his best baseball in every aspect of the game while holding down a roster spot for a fifth season with the Bulldogs. The Carroll, Iowa, native was named Second Team All-GPAC in 2021 and honorable mention in 2022. This season, Berg is hitting .418 (71-for-170) with 17 runs, 14 doubles, 10 home runs and 50 RBIs to go along with a .497 on-base percentage and .676 slugging percentage. At catcher, Berg has handled 356 of 357 chances (.997 fielding percentage) and has caught nine baserunners attempting to steal. Berg stands as the program’s all-time leader for career putouts and has a career batting average of .321 (188-for-585) with 37 doubles, 27 home runs and 148 RBIs.
Blakestad takes the title of the GPAC’s top center fielder. The Millard North High School alum has moved up to the GPAC’s first team after picking up second team honors in 2022. Blakestad added more power to his game this spring and is hitting .380 (70-for-184) with 66 runs, 15 doubles, 13 home runs, 50 RBIs and 17 stolen bases to go with a .452 on-base percentage and .685 slugging percentage. He has committed only one error while manning center for all 54 games in 2023. A season ago, Blakestad batted .383 with five homers and 39 RBIs.
Garcia has raked in his first career First Team All-GPAC award after being tabbed second team in 2019, second team in 2021 and honorable mention in 2022. The El Cajon, Calif., native will depart from the program as one of its all-time greats. Garcia has enjoyed his best season yet while hitting .378 (73-for-193) with 49 runs, 14 doubles, 17 home runs and 65 RBIs while sporting a .454 on-base percentage and .725 slugging percentage. He currently owns program career records for games played (235), hits (265), doubles (58), RBIs (214) and walks (116). He also ranks second to Grabanski for career home runs with 55. Like Berg, Garcia has been a member of four teams that have qualified for the NAIA national tournament.
Caden Johnson has served as the ace of the pitching staff in 2023 while being named First Team All-GPAC for the second year in a row. The Papillion, Neb., native will enter the national tournament with a record of 8-3 to go along with a 3.42 ERA and 53 strikeouts in 52.2 innings (12 starts). Johnson has limited opposing hitters to a .252 batting average. Johnson enjoyed similar success in 2022 when he went 8-2 with a 3.45 ERA and 79 strikeouts in 75.2 innings.
Nekoliczak gets the nod as the GPAC’s top shortstop in 2023. The Greeley, Neb., native topped the conference in batting average during the regular season. Tabbed Honorable Mention All-GPAC in 2022, Nekoliczak has upped his game in 2023 and is hitting .408 (71-for-174) with 47 runs, nine doubles, four home runs, 43 RBIs and nine stolen bases while owning a .475 on-base percentage and .529 slugging percentage. In the field, Nekoliczak has converted 139 of 153 chances. Over two seasons as a Bulldog, Nekoliczak has batted .365 with a .463 on-base percentage.
Entering the national tournament, Quinn ranks No. 3 on the NAIA home run leaderboard with a school record 27 bombs this season. The Bonner Springs, Kan., native has starred as one of the nation’s best power hitters since transferring to Concordia prior to the 2022 campaign. On the season, the left-handed hitting third baseman is batting .352 (62-for-176) with 69 runs, 13 doubles, 27 home runs and 69 RBIs while paired with league highs in on-base percentage (.510) and slugging percentage (.886). Quinn made waves on April 22 when he hit homers in four straight at bats in a win at Midland. Now a two-time First Team All-GPAC selection, Quinn has batted .347 with 46 home runs, 127 RBIs and an .814 slugging percentage in 112 career games as a Bulldog.
Tompkins fought through injury this season on his way to earning all-conference recognition. The native of Normal, Ill., was honored as an Honorable Mention All-GPAC choice in 2022. In 42 games (37 starts) as a designated hitter this season, Tompkins hit .364 (44-for-121) with 28 runs, seven doubles, two home runs and 27 RBIs and sported a .420 on-base percentage and .471 slugging percentage. In 92 career games, Tompkins has hit .333 with 10 home runs, 72 RBIs and a .401 on-base percentage.
Teyt Johnson is playing out his fifth season as a highly valuable member of the program. The Indianola, Iowa, native has started 48 games in right field and has hit .301 (46-for-153) with 39 runs, eight doubles, four home runs and 33 RBIs to go with a .388 on-base percentage and .431 slugging percentage. In the outfield, he’s handled 75 of 78 chances successfully. Johnson has played in 194 career games and has totaled 113 runs, 154 hits, 27 doubles, 17 home runs and 116 RBIs while batting .288.
A two-year Bulldog from Poughkeepsie, N.Y., Rivera has racked up strikeouts at an impressive rate. In 16 appearances out of the bullpen this season, Rivera has recorded a 3.50 ERA, three saves and 37 strikeouts in 18 innings. Those figures calculate to a strikeout rate of 18.5 per nine innings. In his two years at Concordia, Rivera has covered 44 innings and has piled up 80 strikeouts.
The Bulldogs will learn of their placement for the 2023 NAIA National Championship Opening Round when the NAIA holds its selection show at 4 p.m. CT on Thursday. That show can be viewed live via the NAIA YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/PlayNAIA. Concordia will be headed to one of the 10 opening round locations announced by the NAIA on May 1. That release can be found HERE.