Team: Bellevue University Bruins
Conference: NSAA
Level: NAIA
2021 Overall Record: 41-18
Location: Bellevue, NE
Head Coach: Duane Monlux; 21st season (675-343-5; .660)
Assistant Coaches: Mitch Schmidt; Shawn Malley, Richie Moore; Austin Alexander
Key Returning Position Players
Josh Vaughan – SS; 2021 NSAA Co-Player of the Year; .351 avg; 7 HR; 18 2B; 42 RBI; 5 SB; .952 Fielding Pct
Conner Barnett – OF; 2021 NSAA 1st team; .359 avg; 5 HR; 13 2B; 28 RBI; 12 SB
Zach Diehl – 3B; .253 avg; 3 HR; 4 2B; 17 RBI; 10 SB; .943 Fielding Pct
Payton Higgins – OF; .279 avg; 4 HR; 5 2B; 20 RBI; 9 SB
Key Returning Pitchers
McGrane Pledger – SP; 2021 NSAA Newcomer of the Year; 3.22 ERA; 5-3 W/L; 58.2 IP; 84 K; 14 BB; .202 opp avg
Charlie Patterson – SP; 2021 NSAA 2nd team; 4.71 ERA; 7-2 W/L; 65.0 IP; 72 K; 49 BB; .223 opp avg
Alex Celiceo – RP; 2021 NSAA 2nd team; 2.27 ERA; 6-1 W/L; 4 SV; 47.2 IP; 42 K; 10 BB; .246 opp avg
Elijah Johnson – RP; 4.29 ERA; 2-1 W/L; 1 SV; 21.0 IP; 29 K; 8 BB; .275 opp avg
Impact Freshman/Transfers
Kanta Kobayashi – OF (transfer from Gonzaga Univ. and Citrus College)
Alec Ackerman – 2B (transfer from San Jose State Univ. and College of San Mateo)
Alex Stuft – 1B/3B (transfer from Westmont College)
Kayleb Sanderson – SP (transfer from Univ. of Louisiana-Monroe and Southeast CC)
Blake Crippen – SP (transfer from Lane CC)
Mathieu Sirois – 1B/OF (transfer from Clarendon College)
Tradd Richardson – C (transfer from Lassen College)
What things did you see from the team in the fall?
We have a very hard working group of players. We are very excited about the direction that our team is going. They have built a really strong chemistry together in a very short period of time. We need that cohesiveness to carry on throughout the season. We feel that we have made some big upgrades to our team offensively. That should be a strength of ours during the season. Defensively, we feel that we have a chance to be pretty solid. The success of our team will come down to our ability on the mound. We have a few question marks as to what role our guys will be put into this season. We need to establish our rotation and find a solid mix of bullpen arms.
What was the focus during the fall for the team?
Our fall focus is just to try and get a feel for strengths and weaknesses of our team. We want to see guys in different positions to give us as many options as possible in the spring. We want to see how guys respond to adversity and how they react with their teammates. We also concentrate a lot on the weight room, trying to get a great base of strength for our guys as we prepare for the grind of the spring season.
What are the expectations and goals for the team entering the season?
We have pretty lofty expectations for the year. Obviously we would like to get back to Lewiston. We always talk to our team about the first goal of winning the regular season conference championship first, because it helps set us up for any postseason possibilities down the road. We need to first win the conference, then the conference tournament. If we do those two things then we put ourselves in position to get a good seed at the NAIA Opening Round. If we are playing our best ball at postseason time, then we feel like we could have a strong chance to get back to Lewiston and the NAIA World Series.