The Concordia University, Nebraska Softball program ended the 2024 season with the belief that something special was in the works. That confidence carried the Bulldogs into the start of the 2024-25 academic year and a fall practice season that lasted for six intensive weeks. The nine seniors on the roster are setting an example and ensuring that the team’s struggles of a couple of seasons ago are in the past.
Head Coach Brock Culler can hardly wait for his third season to get underway this coming spring. He says the feeling inside the program is different from the vibes that were experienced heading into either of his previous two years at the helm of the Bulldogs.
“The feel is there. It’s real,” Culler said. “The conversations that are being had this fall compared to last fall are way different. The way they carry themselves on and off the field is something you can see. That momentum is huge. You can definitely feel it.”
That momentum began when Concordia turned around its ’24 season by winning 10 of 11 games this past April. A team that had been picked ninth in the GPAC preseason coaches’ poll ultimately landed in a tie for third. From that squad, the Bulldogs have welcomed back First Team All-GPAC pitcher Megan Eurich and six additional all-conference honorees, including second teamers in outfielder Aubrey Bruning and corner infielders Aubriana Krieser and Kylie Shottenkirk. Culler also added to his staff with a full-time assistant in Melissa Martinez, who spent four seasons as head coach at Lincoln Northeast High School.
While there’s a large veteran presence on this team, there are also 17 newcomers that have been integrated into the program. With that in mind, Culler wanted to make sure this group developed the type of chemistry it will need to contend for a championship come spring. Culler says the seniors have helped set the tone for what is expected on a daily basis. The group has experienced peaks and valleys and is better for it.
“We wanted to get to know what things our youngers players know and don’t know,” said Culler of fall ball. “You get kids from all over the country coming in and they’re coached different ways. You have to try and get them on the same page as us coaches. Just watching everyone perform, it’s at a level that I feel really good about. They perform well, they compete hard and they work well with each other. They are playing the game of softball at a high level. It’s fun.”
As part of the fall, Concordia went up against in-state NCAA Division II foes Wayne State College and the University of Nebraska-Kearney, as well as JUCOs such as Iowa Western Community College. In sum, fall ball included a total of five scrimmage dates against outside opponents and an intrasquad scrimmage. Most importantly, Culler felt like his team meshed the way he hoped. At the same time, the large class of newcomers got a taste for college softball at this level.
Eurich returns after breaking the school record for strikeouts in a single season. Culler will expect the pitching staff to be even stingier this season with Eurich, Taryn Ganstrom and Kaylei Denison all back in the fold. Eurich aims to be one of the very best pitchers in the GPAC in 2025, Ganstrom is a consistently reliable performer and Denison carries immense potential.
“Megan has a lot of confidence,” Culler said. “If it’s possible, she looks better this fall than she did in the spring. She has some high expectations and goals for herself and this team. The players around her feel that. She’s definitely still hungry. That’s one of the things you worry about sometimes. When someone has a really good, successful season like that, they might just expect it the next season. Not Megan. She’s working hard.”
The overall quality of depth continues to increase as Culler puts his stamp on the program. Concordia lost only two starting position players from last season, catcher Taylor Glause and third baseman Julia Van Wey, and appears to have multiple options at virtually every spot on the diamond. The entire starting outfield (Bruning, Jennifer Katz and Delanie Voshell) returns and so too do the likes of shortstop Laycee Josoff and second baseman Hanna Bowers. During the late season push in 2024, no one was hotter than the Lincoln North Star High School alums Krieser and Shottenkirk.
The hope now is that the Bulldogs will position themselves to start stronger than they have the past two seasons. In both 2023 and 2024, Concordia struggled out of the gate offensively, but Culler and company believe they have grown past those challenges.
“We learned a lot of things from last year when it comes to our offense,” Culler said. “A lot of it is in the approach. We’ve definitely picked up where we left off offensively last year. We went up and played Wayne State, and they have two pitching transfers that are exceptional. We put the bat on the ball and performed well against that team. We learned what got us to that point last year and having that run. You have to stay with it and build off that. We have a lot of good momentum, and this fall was a lot of fun. It was really good to see that we kept carrying it through.”
If Culler had his wish, the season would start tomorrow. First pitch of the 2025 season will have to wait until February. That doesn’t mean that the work stops. Culler believes the program will be able to accomplish a lot more than it did in previous winters thanks to the addition of Martinez.
“Having Coach Martinez on board as a full-time assistant is a game changer for us,” Culler said. “With these winter workouts, what we’re able to do now is split our team into smaller groups. We’re going to do a lot of fundamental, position-specific work and our hitting pods are going to be smaller. It’s going to be a lot more one-on-one engagement and breaking it down to the fundamentals. Having her on board is huge. When we come back in the spring, we have two-and-a-half weeks of practice, and then we’re hitting. We’re in a game already (on Feb. 1).”
The 2025 Concordia Softball schedule can be found HERE. The Bulldogs are slated to open the new season inside the ASB Sports Complex in Sioux Center, Iowa. Added Culler in providing some final thoughts, “We have a really good group of kids. They get along well, and they have a lot of confidence and athleticism. We have a great coaching staff. It just has that feel that we’re going to have a lot of fun.”