College: Bellevue University
City and State: Bellevue, NE
2022 Results: Overall 49-13, Conference 25-2, earned a spot in the 2022 NAIA World Series
Head Coach: Duane Monlux
Assistant Coaches: Mitch Schmidt, Shawn Malley, Richie Moore, Austin Alexander
Who are some key returning position players and what do you hope to see from them this year?
Alec Ackerman (2023 NAIA Pre-Season All-American; 2022 NAIA 2nd Team All-American; 2022 NAIA Gold Glove SS; 2022 NSAA Player of the Year)
Kanta Kobayashi (2023 NAIA Pre-Season All-American; 2022 NAIA 2nd Team All-American; 2022 NSAA Newcomer of the Year)
Conner Barnett (NAIA Gold Glove in 2022; 2021 and 2022 NSAA 1st Team)
Mathieu Sirois (2nd team NSAA in 2022)
“We feel like we have a strong core of position players returning for 2023. Ackerman and Kobayashi will be relied upon heavily for both offensive and defensive production this year. Barnett and Sirois give us quality hitters that return from last year’s squad. We expect those four guys to show us quality leadership both on and off the field.”
Who are your key returning pitchers and why?
Blake Crippen
Alex Celiceo
Easton Brinton
“Crippen and Celiceo were rotation arms for us in 2022. They pitched in big games not only in the regular season, but huge post season games as well. They will be the backbone of our pitching staff this year. Brinton came back last season after surgery, he is expected to have a much larger role this year. He was one of our best arms in 2021 before he was injured.”
Do you have an incoming impact freshman or transfers that will help the team in 2023?
“We like the recruiting class we brought in this year. We brought in multiple position players and pitchers that have a chance to be impact players for us. Brendan Luther (INF), Logan Grant (C/3B), Jake Lacey (OF), Takumi Maeno (OF), Kenji Miller (LHP), and Parker McMan (RHP) are guys that we feel can step in and have real big roles for us. We also have a lot of other guys that will be competing for time as well.”
What was the focus and what things did you see from the team in the fall?
“We need to solidify our pitching staff. We lost some keys arms off last year’s team and we needed to see guys step up on the mound. We also needed to see guys fill in to the position player spots that we lost to graduation from last year’s squad. There is a lot of competition for playing time this spring.”
What are the expectations and goals for the team entering the season?
“Our first goal every year is to win the NSAA regular season title. We feel that if we can accomplish that goal, that it sets up everything else for us in the postseason. It gives us a good seed at the conference tournament and hopefully puts us in a good position to receive a bid into the NAIA Opening Round Tournament. Our end goal is to get to the NAIA World Series and make a run at a national title.”