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Northwest Missouri State Athletics

OFFICIAL HOME OF NORTHWEST MISSOURI STATE UNIVERSITY BEARCAT ATHLETICS
Home-opener vs. CSP

Bearcats begin three-game homestand against Golden Bears

Thursday, Feb. 27 | 2 p.m.
Northwest Missouri State vs. Concordia-St. Paul | Bearcat Baseball Field | Maryville, Mo. 
WATCH | LIVE STATS
 
Friday, Feb. 28 | 1 p.m.
Northwest Missouri State vs. Concordia-St. Paul | Bearcat Baseball Field | Maryville, Mo.
WATCH | LIVE STATS
 
Saturday, March 1 | Noon
Northwest Missouri State vs. Concordia-St. Paul | Bearcat Baseball Field | Maryville, Mo. 
WATCH | LIVE STATS
 
The Northwest Missouri State baseball team (4-7, 0-3 MIAA) opens its home schedule with a three-game series against Concordia-St. Paul starting on Thursday, Feb. 27 at 2 p.m., at the Bearcat Baseball Field. 
 
Game two of the series will take place at 1 p.m., on Friday, Feb. 28, as the series finale is scheduled for noon on Saturday, March 1. 
 
ALL-TIME SERIES VS. CONCORDIA-ST. PAUL
The Bearcats and Golden Bears have faced off just three times in their history, with Concordia-St. Paul holding a 2-1 advantage in the all-time series. Their last meeting took place on March 10, 2001, when Northwest secured a 19-11 neutral-site victory. This series marks the Golden Bears' first-ever visit to Maryville.
 
All-time series vs. Concordia-St. Paul
1962 - - L - 1-6
1962 - - L - 4-6
3/10/01 - A - W - 19-11
 
ABOUT THE GOLDEN BEARS
Golden Bears head coach Neil Lerner enters his sixth season after leading the team to a 29-22 record in 2024, including a 19-19 mark in NSIC play. CSP finished fourth in the conference and made a strong postseason tournament run. The Golden Bears (1-2) secured their first victory of the 2025 season with a 13-11 win over Tiffin (Ohio) in Monday's series finale. Senior Bennett McCollow, the 2024 NSIC Newcomer of the Year, begins the season as a Preseason All-American. Senior outfielder Noah Juliar leads CSP with a .417 batting average, recording a team-high five hits and five RBIs through three games, while McCollow follows with a .300 average.
 
SO FAR THIS SEASON
  • Senior utility player Ryan Williams leads the Bearcats with a .372 batting average, a team-high 16 hits, and a .434 on-base percentage while remaining flawless in the field. Behind the plate, he has also thrown out two baserunners.  
  • Senior infielder Dylan Hufft follows closely with a .341 batting average and a .512 slugging percentage. He ranks second on the team with 13 hits, including five doubles and a triple.  
  • Senior infielder Kaehukai Young has been key to the Bearcat offense, launching a team-best four home runs—second-most in the MIAA—and leading Northwest with 16 RBIs, which ranks third in the conference. He is hitting .308 on the season.  
  • Offensively, the Bearcats have totaled 87 runs through eight games, ranking fourth in the conference.Being patient at the plate, the 'Cats the MIAA and ranking 19th nationally with 29 hit-by-pitches. 
  • On the mound, junior right-hander Brock Steggall has made three appearances, allowing just three earned runs while striking out six over 11 2/3 innings. He earned a win against Regis on Feb. 1 and recorded a save against Christian Brothers on Feb. 7.  
  • Junior pitcher Ben Haug (2-0) leads the team with 14.0 innings pitched, highlighted by a complete-game shutout in Northwest's dominant 16-0 victory on Feb. 8. Haug has recorded a team-high nine strikeouts.  
  • Northwest has been aggressive on the basepaths, successfully stealing 15 bases in 16 attempts.  
LAST TIME OUT
The Bearcats fell in all three games against the No. 13-ranked Missouri Southern State Lions last week. Northwest pushed the nationally ranked Lions to 12 innings in the series opener but came up short in a 6-5 loss. In the second game of the doubleheader, the Bearcats dropped a 12-7 decision, as MSSU completed the sweep with a 16-3 victory in seven innings the following day.
 
JANDRON TAKES OVER
First-year head coach Tony Jandron takes the reigns as only the fourth leader in the last 42 seasons of Bearcat baseball. This is the first head coaching job for Jandron after previously serving as an assistant coach at Illinois State, Central Michigan, Northwood and the College of DuPage.

Jandron's Coaching Profile
  • Illinois State - First winning season since 2019 ('24)
  • Mid-American Conference (MAC) Champions ('22, '19)
  • MAC Tournament Champions ('22,'19)
  • MLB Draft Picks ('22', '21, '20, '19)
  • NCAA D1 Regional Qualifier ('22,'21,'19)
  • NCAA D1 Regional Finalist ('21)
  • First NCAA Tournament Appearance in 24 years ('19)
  • Tied program record with 47 wins ('19)
  • GLIAC Champions ('18, '17)
  • GLIAC Tournament Champions ('18, '17)
  • NCAA D2 Regional Qualifier ('18, '17)
  • 84 wins, 5th in all of Division II ('18, '17)
  • Top-20 national ranking ('18, '17)
  • Program Record 46 wins ('17)
  • First ever NCAA Regional - #1 seed ('17)
  • DuPage, 16-win improvement: 39-20 record ('15)
  • First year at DuPage resulted in first winning season in five years ('14) 
Jandron added a pair of assistant coaches in Theo Bartolomeo and Javier Martinez to the Bearcat coaching staff.
 
WILLIAMS NAMED PRESEASON D2 BASEBALL ALL-AMERICAN
Northwest Missouri State University senior Ryan Williams was been named a D2 Baseball Preseason All-America selection, announced Friday. Williams (Kansas City, Mo./Liberty HS) gained a spot on the D2 Baseball Third-Team All-America list.
 
2025 MIAA BASEBALL PRESEASON POLL
1. Central Missouri [11] – 141 points
2. Missouri Southern [2] – 128 points
3. Pittsburg State – 120 points
4. Central Oklahoma – 119 points
5. Washburn – 97 points
6. Fort Hays State – 78 points
7. Emporia State – 67 points
8. Rogers State – 65 points
9. Missouri Western – 53 points
10. Arkansas-Fort Smith – 52 points
11. Northeastern State – 41 points
12. Northwest Missouri – 33 points
13. Newman – 20 points
[#] - First Place Votes
 
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