Head Coach: Brock Culler (4th season)
2025 Record: 27-20, 12-10 GPAC (5th)
Key Returners: Kaylie Denison (P); Taryn Ganstrom (INF); Laycee Josoff (INF); Aubriana Krieser (1B); Grace Maguire (C); Avery O’Boyle (C).
Key Losses: Hanna Bowers (INF); Aubrey Bruning (OF); Megan Eurich (P); Jennifer Katz (OF); Kylie Shottenkirk (3B); Delanie Voshell (OF).
2025 GPAC All-Conference: Taryn Ganstrom (Second Team); Jennifer Katz (Second Team); Delanie Voshell (Second Team); Aubrey Bruning (Honorable Mention); Kaylei Denison (Honorable Mention); Megan Eurich (Honorable Mention); Laycee Josoff (Honorable Mention); Aubriana Krieser (Honorable Mention); Grace Maguire (Honorable Mention); Avery O’Boyle (Honorable Mention).
Outlook
It’s been an offseason characterized by healthy and energetic positivity within the Concordia University, Nebraska Softball program. Head Coach Brock Culler is optimistic that the cultural leaps made in the Bulldog dugout will lead to the most successful season yet during his tenure that began with the 2023 campaign. From a personnel standpoint, the 2026 Concordia roster features returning All-GPAC shortstop Taryn Gastrom and an experienced infield, a standout young catcher in Avery O’Boyle and a pitching staff headed by junior Kaylie Denison.
Culler says it’s been a process in building a player-led team, but the focus on that type of environment is beginning to bear fruit. This past summer, the players read the book “Max Out Mindset” with the purpose of strengthening the team’s mental edge while bringing everyone closer together.
“I feel really good about our roster,” Culler said. “There’s a lot of passion there. They’re great kids, they have a lot of passion for the game and they all love each other. I feel like we have a very good routine both as coaches and as players. I’m an optimistic person by nature, so I always feel really good about everything. Being around this group really enhances that for me. It’s a great group to be around – coaches and players.”
The Bulldogs finished last season at 27-20 overall (12-10 GPAC), posting the most wins for the program since the ’21 team qualified for the national tournament. Concordia has placed top five in the conference in back-to-back seasons, but the early postseason exits have not sat well with Culler and company. Brick by brick, the Bulldogs believe they are constructing something that will soon pay off, hopefully this spring. Culler stresses that it will take a team approach for Concordia to work its way to the top of a conference that has been paced in recent years by the likes of Midland and Northwestern.
The conversation begins with the Seneca, Kan., native Ganstrom, who broke the school’s single season triples record last season with nine. The collegiate journey for Ganstrom began at Southwestern Community College and then to Concordia, where she mostly served as a pitcher in 2024 before transforming into the team’s most consistent hitter in 2025. Capable of playing all over the diamond, Ganstrom projects as this year’s starting shortstop.
Ganstrom senses positive vibes with this mix of teammates. Says Ganstrom, “I think the thing that stands out to me the most is that everyone seems to be very close and very friendly this year. I think that just makes a great community. Everyone is so supportive. You can go out there and play your heart out and not be afraid of making errors. I think that really helps with people’s confidence and with getting better and taking those risks. It will make us a better team overall.”
On the right side of the infield, juniors Laycee Josoff (second base) and Aubrianna Krieser (first base) return after solid 2025 seasons. Culler believes the best is yet to come for Josoff and Krieser, who possess star potential. Josoff has regularly popped with her defensive play in the middle infield while Krieser brings a potent bat to the lineup. As for third base, that spot just might be handled by freshman Bailey Merritt, who hails from Bastrop, Texas.
All three outfield starters have graduated. That group included Aubrey Bruning, Jennifer Katz and Delanie Voshell from left to right. The production of Katz will be especially difficult to replace, but the Bulldogs like the talent in their retooled outfield. Culler has given rave reviews to Tobi Topp (Lloydminster, Canada), who is positioned to take over in center field. Fresh out of Lincoln Southwest High School, Mary Beth Hart is expected to start in left and have an immediate impact while Aubrey Wright is among the candidates to play in right.
At catcher, O’Boyle has the inside track after she appeared in 31 games (27 starts) and batted .329 as a freshman. Culler sees big things in O’Boyle’s future. Said Culler, “She’s building off the momentum that she created last year. So far, she’s not only done that but exceeded it. She’s a very talented softball player. I try not to talk about that a lot around her and not add any pressure, not that she couldn’t handle it. I think Avery O’Boyle is going to have a very, very good season.”
Compared to a year ago, there are plenty of available pitching innings to go around after the graduation of Megan Eurich. Only three pitchers in program history have thrown more innings than Eurich. The Waverly High School product Denison is now the leader of the staff. Denison made a significant leap from her freshman to sophomore years. She posted a 12-6 record to go along with a 3.30 ERA in 118.2 innings as a sophomore. Among freshmen pitchers, Kierstyn Linn of Norfolk, Neb., appears poised to take on a significant role. If needed, Ganstrom can also step into the circle.
Said Culler of Denison, “I just basically told her, this is what I recruited you for: this moment right here. Over her freshman and sophomore year, you’ve seen the progression of her getting better and better. She’s ready to lead this group, which is great because it’s a young group. We do have a lot of freshmen that we brought in in the circle. I really pushed them this fall and winter to see how we could get them game ready, and they’re ahead of schedule. We ended our winter workouts with a scrimmage. We’ve got a few freshmen there who are more than ready to play at this level.”
A junior catcher, Grace Maguire is one of the six returning all-conference Bulldogs from last season. Plenty of others will also factor into the mix. In 32 at bats last season as a freshman, Keira Farritor batted .375. Transfer Grace Zaugg also saw extensive action, appearing in 21 games in 2025. Seven players on the roster are listed as seniors.
Those seniors are dreaming big as opening day of the 2026 season draws nearer. The program last celebrated a GPAC championship in 2015. Concordia is putting in the work in an attempt to return to that mountaintop, sooner rather than later. Added motivation is found when walking the Friedrich Arena concourse, adorned with large photo prints of recent athletic successes. The softball program doesn’t want to be left out.
“One of the main goals we’ve set is to stay focused throughout the year,” Ganstrom said. “I know it gets long and I know it gets tiring. Our goal is to win GPAC. That’s the main goal. We want to go to nationals. We want to get a banner up on the wall upstairs. We want to stay focused and make sure that every at bat, every rep is intentional. That’s going to help us reach that goal.”
Said Culler in response to the abrupt postseason stays of the past two seasons, “We want to win a game in the GPAC tournament this year. We thought last year for sure it would happen. For whatever reason, it didn’t. Our team knows we have that momentum and we know what it’s like to be there. It’s not so much focused on winning and losing. It’s just competing with and for each other. I feel really good about the goals this group has put together and what it takes to accomplish them. What our team has done is say, here are the goals that we want to achieve and here’s what it’s going to take to do that. They outlined that in a pyramid and are going to hold each other accountable to each one of these things that we need to do as we progress along through the season. That’s what gives me the positive energy and hope for this team.”
The Bulldogs are set to begin the ’26 season in Mesquite, Texas at the Southern Collegiate Sports NAIA Softball Invitational (Feb. 5-7). It will mark the first time Concordia Softball has played in the state of Texas since 2017. The complete schedule can be found HERE.