Team: Augustana Vikings
Conference: NSIC
College Level: NCAA D2
2021 Overall Record:
Location: Sioux Falls, SD
Head Coach: Tim Huber
Assistant Coaches: Clay Collison, Caleb Thielbar, Dean Bowyer, Zach Dibble, Dan Morrison
Key Returning Position Players
Carter Howell (CF)- In his first full season last year he was one of the two best players in the conference.
Jordan Barth(3B/1B)- Has been a dominant offensive force for 4 years already and will be a 5 year starter.
Will Olson (C)- All American and 15 HRs last spring.
Key Returning Pitchers
Ryan Jares- 2021 All Conference & All-Region. 2.25 ERA, 96 K’s in 68 Inns.
Tanner Brown- 3.30 career ERA and 16 wins. Dominant LHP and a lot of strike outs when on.
Caleb Kranz- 2.23 ERA in 2021 and 54 K’s in 36 Inns in a swing man role.
Seth Miller- Missed 2021 with an arm injury. 3.20 ERA in 76 Inns as a freshman.
Impact Freshman/Transfers
Kai Taylor (RHP) – Red-shirt in 2021. Has stuff and ability to be a weekend rotation guy.
Jack Hines (SS)- Transfer from McHenry CC. Hit 16 doubles, 5 triples, 10 home runs, had 69 RBIs, with a .452 batting average in 2021 at McHenry.
Luke Ballweg- (1B) Transfer from McHenry CC. Hit .388 with 17 doubles, 7 homers, and 49 RBIs. in 2021 at McHenry.
What things did you see from the team in the fall?
Offensively we were pretty impressive and showed both power and speed. There were a lot of guys who swung the bat very well.
What are the expectations and goals for the team entering the season?
We have a really old and experienced roster of position guys with some talent and potential on the mound. If those two things both come together this could be a fun year. I expect us to be dominant offensively at times with the guys we have. Pitching is probably the biggest question mark after losing a good chunk of innings from last year’s team. The talent on the mound is there though, so we are hopeful it comes together as a staff. If so, we expect to be one of the better teams in our conference and region and hope we play well at the end of the year to be able to make a post-season run.