Friday, April 25 | 7 p.m.
Northwest Missouri State at No. 21 Fort Hays State | Larks Park | Hays, Kan. 
WATCH | LIVE STATS
 
Saturday, April 26 | 4 p.m.
Northwest Missouri State at No. 21 Fort Hays State | Larks Park | Hays, Kan. 
WATCH | LIVE STATS
 
Sunday, April 27 | Noon
Northwest Missouri State at No. 21 Fort Hays State | Larks Park | Hays, Kan. 
WATCH | LIVE STATS
 
The Northwest Missouri State University baseball team (21-22, 15-15 MIAA) is set to face No. 21-ranked Fort Hays State University (30-11, 24-6 MIAA) in its final road series of the regular season. 

The three-game set will be played at Larks Park in Hays, Kan., beginning Thursday, April 25 at 7 p.m. Game two is scheduled for Friday at 4 p.m., with the finale set for Sunday at noon.

ABOUT THE TIGERS
Fort Hays State enters the weekend tied atop the MIAA standings with 24 conference wins, alongside Central Missouri. The Tigers have won 10 of their last 13 games and are riding a three-game win streak. FHSU boasts an 18-6 record at Larks Park. The Tigers are ranked No. 21 in the latest ABCA national poll and hold a top-10 position in the first NCAA Regional rankings.

SERIES HISTORY
This weekend marks the 65th all-time meeting between Northwest and Fort Hays State. The Bearcats lead the series 37-27 overall, though the Tigers hold a 21-12 advantage on their home field. Last season, Northwest won two of three games on the road to claim the series.

BEARCAT LEADERS

• Dylan Hufft continues to pace the Bearcats with a .352 batting average. He has recorded 62 hits, including nine doubles and three triples, for a total of 77 bases. Hufft also leads the team with 18 multi-hit games.
• Ashton Neuman ranks third nationally and first in the MIAA with 48 walks, contributing to a team-best .488 on-base percentage. He's batting .293 with 44 hits, 42 RBIs, and a team-leading nine home runs.
• Kaehukai Young leads the team with 51 RBIs and shares second on the team in home runs (8). He's hitting .310 with a .526 slugging percentage and enters the series on a 15-game hitting streak.
• Ryan Williams is batting .329 with 54 hits, including 16 doubles and six home runs. His 16 doubles rank fourth in the MIAA. Williams is also Northwest's career walks leader with 112.
• Ben Haug anchors the pitching staff, logging 62 innings and 65 strikeouts—good for third in the MIAA. He's thrown two shutouts this season, including a three-hit, 14-strikeout gem against Newman. 

AS A TEAM

• Northwest has drawn 223 walks this season, second-most in program history.
• The Bearcats have tallied 397 hits, including 48 home runs (8th in MIAA), five triples, and 82 doubles (6th in MIAA).
• On the basepaths, the team is 37-for-45 in stolen base attempts.
• Northwest is 21-22 overall and 15-15 in league play this season - 11-7 at home and 10-15 on the road. 
• The Bearcats have totaled seven series wins in 2025. 

 
INCHING UP THE RECORD BOOKS
CAREER DOUBLES
- Adam Bailey, 1998-2001 - 56
2. - Britt Westman, 2005-08 - 48
3. - John White, 2004-07 - 47
4. - Ryley Westman, 2004-07 - 46
5. - Steven Garber, 2012-15 - 44
6. - Ryan Abernathy, 2012-14 – 42
             – Ryan Williams, 2022-pres. – 42
8. - Ryan Koski, 2019-23 – 36
9 - Zac Ruff, 2000-02 - 35
John Sipes, 1999-2003 - 35
Scott Spurgeon, 1987-89 – 35
 
CAREER HOME RUNS
1. - Adam Bailey, 1998-2001 - 40
2. - Britt Westman, 2005-08 - 36
3. - Brandon Kirsch, 2007-10 - 35
John Sipes, 2000-03 - 35
5. - Scott Spurgeon, 1987-88 - 30
6. - Kyle Gallagher, 2003-05 - 26
7. - Zac Ruff, 2000-02 - 22
Ryan Koski, 2019-23 - 22
Trey Morris, 2023-24 – 22
Ryan Williams, 2022-pres. 22
10. - Peter Carlson, 2019-21 – 20
 
SEASON WALKS DRAWN
- Ryan Williams, 2024 – 48
.Ashton Neuman, 2022-pres. - 48
3. - Brandon Huske, 2013 - 45
Nick Gotta, 2016 – 45
5. - Ryan Koski, 2022 – 37
6. - Scott Spurgeon, 1988 - 35
7. - Nick Gotta, 2015 - 33
8. - Ben Malick, 2008 - 32
Jerry Mikusa, 1985 - 32
Austin Wulff, 2015 - 32
Noah Bodenhausen, 2024 – 32
 
SEASON TEAM WALKS DRAWN
1. - 2024 - 280
2. - 2004 - 231
3. - 2016 - 229
4. - 2001 – 226
5. 2025 - 223
 
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.
 
CURRENT MIAA BASEBALL STANDINGS

1. Central Missouri (33-9, 24-6 MIAA)
2. Fort Hays State (30-11, 24-6 MIAA)
3. Pittsburg State (33-9, 21-9 MIAA)
4. Central Oklahoma (31-14, 21-12 MIAA)
5. Rogers State (25-17, 15-15 MIAA)
6. Missouri Southern (23-21, 15-15 MIAA)
7. Northwest Missouri State (21-22, 15-15 MIAA)
8. Emporia State (21-20, 14-16 MIAA)
9. Washburn (23-24, 15-18 MIAA)
10. Missouri Western (13-28, 11-19 MIAA)
11. Northeastern State (13-31, 10-20 MIAA)
12. Arkansas-Fort Smith (12-28, 7-23 MIAA)
13. Newman (10-31, 6-24 MIAA)

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