THIS WEEK
The North Dakota State (2-13) baseball team travels to Nebraska (10-5, 3-0 B1G) on Wednesday night at 4:00 p.m. The Bison then open Summit League play at Omaha (4-10) with a three-game series beginning on Friday at 4:00 p.m.
COVERAGE
All four games will feature live statistics. The midweek matchup with Nebraska will stream on
B1G+, while all three games at Omaha will be available on
Summit League Network for subscribers. Live statistics and video links are available on
GoBison.com/coverage.
SCHEDULE UPDATE
Due to expected cold temperatures, the start time at Nebraska has been moved up to 4:00 p.m.
LAST TIME OUT
Zak Szabo provided 4.1 scoreless innings with five strikeouts to help lift NDSU past Vanderbilt, 5-2, in the series finale.
Diego Trujillo went 2-of-5 with two RBI, while
Colten Becker was 2-of-4 with a pair of singles.
THE SERIES VS. NEBRASKA
This will be the 10th all-time meeting between NDSU and Nebraska dating back to 1982 with the Huskers leading the series, 8-1. This will mark the fourth straight season NDSU has faced Nebraska with the Huskers winning the only meeting last season, 3-1. NDSU picked up its only win the series, 6-5, in 2023.
BISON VS. POWER FOUR OPPONENTS
NDSU will face a power four opponent for the fourth straight week when it takes on Nebraska on Wednesday. The Bison have taken on teams from the ACC (Virginia) and SEC (Missouri, Vanderbilt) over that stretch. Under fifth-year head coach
Tyler Oakes, NDSU is 8-28 against power four opponents, including a 5-6 mark against B1G opponents.
THE SERIES VS. OMAHA
This will be the 115th all-time meeting between NDSU and Omaha dating back to 1978 with the Mavericks leading the series, 61-53. The two teams are 5-4-1 over the last 10 meetings after NDSU edged Omaha, 1-0, in the opening round of the Summit League Tournament last season at Tal Anderson Field.
ONLY A STARTING POINT
The Bison started the season with an 0-6 mark before picking up their first win of the season over Monmouth, 5-1, at the Stetson Tournament. NDSU, who lost its first two games of the season in extra innings, enters the week with a 2-13 overall record. Last season, the Bison started the season 1-15 before going on to win the Summit League Tournament and upending Kansas in the NCAA Tournament.
THE CHALLENGING SCHEDULE AHEAD
The Bison are set to play 51 games and will take on 11 different opponents across 21 total non-conference games. The non-conference portion of the schedule features four opponents that qualified for the NCAA Tournament last season, including Stetson, Vanderbilt, Nebraska and Creighton. The Bison will play their first 24 games away from home until making their home debut hosting Oral Roberts on March 27.
BISON RETURN TO THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
The Bison returned to the NCAA Tournament for the third time in the NDSU Division I era last season and first time since 2021. It marked their second straight appearance winning at least one game after upending then-ranked No. 23 Kansas, 4-3, in an elimination game in the Fayetteville regional. NDSU clinched its spot in the NCAA Tournament after winning the Summit League Tournament for the third time in program history.
YEAR FIVE UNDER OAKES
Head coach
Tyler Oakes enters his fifth season as the head coach and 13th season overall at NDSU. He begins the season five wins away from his 100th career win and boasts 97-126-1 overall record. Oakes led the Bison to their first-ever Summit League regular season title in his first season in 2022 and their third Summit League Tournament championship last season.
SZABO NAMED PEAK PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Zak Szabo was tabbed the Summit League Peak Pitcher of the Week for the first time in his career after posting a team-high seven strikeouts over two relief appearances. He notched a 0.00 ERA and limited opponents to a .227 batting average across two appearances. Szabo contributed 4.1 scoreless frames with five strikeouts and no walks in the 5-2 win over Vanderbilt in the series finale.
PUETZ GRABS PEAK PITCHER OF THE WEEK HONORS
Parker Puetz was named the Summit League Peak Pitcher of the Week for the first time in his career on Feb. 17. He logged 5.0 scoreless frames in the season-opener at Florida Gulf Coast. Puetz tossed a career-best eight strikeouts with one hit and two walks and held the Eagles to a .067 batting average.
SUMMIT LEAGUE PLAYERS TO WATCH
Dante Smith and
Parker Puetz were named to the Summit League Players and Pitchers to Watch List. Smith is the only returning All-Summit League player on the roster from last season after posting a .375 batting average with 17 runs and 11 RBI in league play. Puetz made five starts on the mound last season after working himself back from injury for a majority of the season. He earned a spot on the 2023 D1Baseball Freshman All-America Second Team and 2023 All-Summit League Second Team.
BISON STREAKS AND MULTI HIT GAMES
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Colten Becker enters the week on a team-best 10-game hitting and reached base streak.
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Caleb Corbin leads the Bison with five multi-hit games.
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Kyle Law and
Evan Gustafson both enter the week on 5-game hitting and reached base streaks.
WHO'S BACK?
NDSU returns four players that started in at least 50 percent of the games last season, including
Dante Smith,
Colten Becker,
Noah Gordon and
Tommy Simon.
Matt Sargeant and
Garrett Shupe are the only two pitchers on the roster to have appeared in at least 10.0 innings last season. The roster also features nine seniors:
Caleb Corbin,
Diego Trujillo,
Colten Becker,
Bennett Freiter,
Tyman Long,
Jonah Walker,
Brayden Marks,
Hudson Hart and
Braden Gluth.
WELCOME TO THE SQUAD
The Bison welcome 23 newcomers this season, including six true freshman:
Landon Sandy,
Sheamus Ryan,
Easton Reimers,
Austin Boylan,
Kaden Connor and
Sam Anderson.
JUCO ROOTS
The Bison have added roster depth through junior colleges with the roster featuring seven players having played at the junior college level prior to NDSU, including six newcomers:
Lathan Van Ausdall,
Chase Womack,
AJ Doll,
Chris Billings,
Connor McCaleb and
Jack Surdey.
SUMMIT LEAGUE PRESEASON POLL
The Bison were picked fifth in the Summit League Preseason Poll with 11 total points. Oral Roberts earned the top spot with 24 points and four first-place votes.
BISON PLAY IN BIG TIME VENUES
Under fifth-year head coach
Tyler Oakes, the Bison have made a habit of scheduling a challenging non-conference schedule in preparation of Summit League play and have done it in some of the best venues in college baseball. Over the last four seasons, the Bison have played in front of five of the largest road crowds in program history since 1977. Last season, the Bison played in front of 10,446 fans at LSU on March 5, 2025, the highest road attendance in program history.
30TH SEASON AT NEWMAN OUTDOOR FIELD
This season will mark the 30th season of Bison baseball at Newman Outdoor Field dating back to 1997. NDSU has amassed a 264-153-1 overall record over that span at home.
BISON TAKE ON REDHAWKS IN EXHIBITION PLAY
For the second straight season, NDSU will take on the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks in exhibition play at Newman Outdoor Field on May 6 at 6:00 p.m. The RedHawks edged the Bison last season in front of 1,908 fans. The RedHawks are members of the American Association and also play home games at Newman Outdoor Field.
#PROBISON
NDSU has had nine incoming or current players selected in the MLB Draft since 2013. Joey Danielson became the 14th NDSU player selected in the MLB Draft dating back to 1968 after the Texas Rangers picked him in the 17th round in 2024. It marked the second straight season NDSU had a current pitcher selected in the draft after Cade Feeney was picked by the Boston Red Sox in the 13th round in 2023. Bennett Hostetler was also selected in the 18th round of the 2021 MLB Draft by the Miami Marlins. He will begin the 2026 season as a non-roster invitee to spring training with the Miami Marlins
BELZER JOINS COACHING STAFF
Nick Belzer joined the NDSU coaching staff this offseason as an assistant coach. He started his college career at DMACC before playing two seasons at Minnesota State from 2017-18. Belzer also spent time within the Milwaukee Brewers organization until 2022 and was a pitching coach with the Willmar Stingers in the Northwoods League last summer.
UP NEXT
The Bison will travel to Minnesota on Tuesday, March 17. First pitch is set for 6:05 p.m., at U.S. Bank Stadium.
