JACKS BEGIN 2024 SEASON AT NEW MEXICO STATE

Friday, February 16

Las Cruces, N.M.

4 p.m. MT/5 p.m. CT

South Dakota State University

New Mexico State

Photo by: Zachary Lucy

2/15/2024 12:08:00 PM | Baseball

South Dakota State (0-0) at New Mexico State (0-0)

When	Friday-Monday, Feb. 16-19 • Friday/Monday – 4 p.m. Mountain Time (5 p.m. Central) • Saturday/Sunday – 2 p.m. MT (3 p.m. CT)
Where	Presley Askew Field \| Las Cruces, New Mexico
TV	None
Radio	Friday/Monday Broadcasts (New Mexico State radio) Saturday/Sunday Broadcasts
Live Stats	GoJacksLive.com
Game Notes	South Dakota State \| New Mexico State \| The Summit League
Social Media	Twitter \| Instagram \| #RAB5

A new-look South Dakota State baseball team opens the 2024 season against one of its own, playing a four-game wrap-around weekend series at New Mexico State.

Friday's season opener is set for a 4 p.m. Mountain Time (5 p.m. Central) first pitch at Presley Askew Field in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Games Saturday and Sunday are slated for 2 p.m. MT starts, with Monday's series finale set for 4 p.m. MT.

SDSU completed the 2023 season with a 24-28 overall record, including a 13-11 mark in The Summit League that was good for third place.The Jackrabbits advanced to the title game of the 2023 Summit League Baseball Championship, where they fell to eventual Men's College World Series qualifier Oral Roberts.

New Mexico State is under the direction of former Jackrabbit player and coach Jake Angier, who will be making his collegiate head coaching debut. Angier inherited an Aggies squad that compiled a 14-37 record a season ago, including a 9-21 record in the Western Athletic Conference. NMSU is moving to Conference USA during the 2024 season.

Angier pitched at SDSU from 2006-07 before beginning his coaching career as a graduate assistant during the 2009-10 seasons. He later served as an assistant coach/pitching coach at North Dakota State (2011-13), Sacramento State (2014-19) and Oregon (2020-23) before accepting the head coaching position at New Mexico State this past June.

Updates of Jackrabbit baseball will be available throughout the weekend via Twitter (@GoJacksBaseball) and through GoJacks.com.

THE SERIES: Friday's series opener will mark the first-ever meeting between South Dakota State and New Mexico State on the baseball diamond. The Jackrabbits last played a game in the Land of Enchantment in 1982, when SDSU opened that season by posting a 2-4 record in six games played in Albuquerque.

FOR OPENERS: The Jackrabbits are 5-14 in Opening Day games during the Division I era, which began with the start of the 2005 season. SDSU is 2-5 in season openers under head coach Rob Bishop, with both wins in games played at neutral sites.

The Jackrabbits claimed the 2017 season opener against Northern Illinois, 7-2, in a game played in Glendale, Arizona, and scored a 15-3 victory over UT Martin in the 2019 opener played at Russellville, Arkansas.

SDSU dropped a 9-6 decision at Little Rock in the 2023 season opener played Feb. 17. The Trojans led 8-1 through two innings before SDSU pulled to within 8-6 with a four-run fifth inning highlighted by a grand slam by Nic Nelson.

The Jackrabbits won the middle game of the three-game series, 3-1, for their first victory of the 2023 season.

PRESEASON POLL: South Dakota State has been picked to finish third in the 2024 Summit League baseball race, according to a preseason poll conducted among the league's head coaches that was announced Wednesday.

The Jackrabbits, coached by Rob Bishop, completed the 2023 season with a 24-28 overall record. After finishing third in the Summit League regular season standings with a 13-11 mark in league play, SDSU advanced to the title game of the Summit League tournament.

Defending champion Oral Roberts was again tabbed as the favorite, earning five first-place votes and 25 points. North Dakota State received the other first-place vote and was second in the poll with 21 points, followed by the Jackrabbits with 16 points.

Omaha (13), Northern Colorado (9) and St. Thomas (6) rounded out the six-team poll.

In addition, senior Dawson Parry was named a Summit League Player to Watch and junior Alex Clemons was tabbed as a Summit League Pitcher to Watch.

A first baseman from Highland, Utah, Parry is the team's top returning hitter after posting a .322 batting average with 10 home runs and 39 runs batted in during the 2023 campaign. Parry also hit 10 home runs in his first season with the Jackrabbits in 2022.

Clemons, a right-hander from Bettendorf, Iowa, appeared in 19 games with two starts during the 2023 season and is expected to move into the closer's role this season. He totaled 42 strikeouts in only 30 2/3 innings last year.

South Dakota State is scheduled to open the 2024 season with a four-game series Friday through Monday at New Mexico State. Summit League play will consist of a 30-game, double round-robin schedule, starting March 15-17 when the Jackrabbits play a three-game series at Oral Roberts. The four-team Summit League Baseball Championship is slated for May 22-25 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

SUMMIT LEAGUE SUCCESS: South Dakota State has been a consistent winner in The Summit League since it became a league member more than a decade ago. Now in its 15th season as a member of The Summit League, the Jackrabbits have compiled a 215-176 (.550 winning percentage) record in regular season conference games. SDSU has posted a .500 or better record in league play 10 times and has qualified for the four-team postseason tournament 13 out of the 14 years it has been eligible.

The Jackrabbits shared a Summit League regular season title in 2010 and won the Summit postseason tournament in 2013.

SUMMIT AWARD WINNERS: Four Jackrabbit players who earned all-Summit League recognition last season return to the lineup in 2024.

Leading the returning contingent is second baseman Cade Stuff, who received second-team recognition in 2023. A native of Great Falls, Montana, Stuff shared the team lead with 16 doubles while batting .286 with five home runs and 24 runs batted in.

Also returning among position players are honorable mention selections Dawson Parry at first base and center fielder Reece Anderson.

Parry was one of two Jackrabbits to start all 52 games last season, finishing 2023 with a .322 batting average along with 10 home runs and 39 runs batted in.

Anderson moved into the leadoff spot late in the 2023 campaign and responded by posting a .286 batting average with five homers and 28 RBIs. The Johnston, Iowa, native also excelled in the field, committing only one error in 126 defensive chances that included three outfield assists. He later was named to the all-tournament team at the Summit League Baseball Championship for the second time in his career.

Representing the Jackrabbit pitching staff on the year-end awards list was right-handed starter Jake Goble. A Rapid City native, Goble closed out his sophomore season by tying for the team lead in victories after notching a 5-3 record over 15 appearances with 11 starts. He finished the year with a 4.32 ERA in a team-high 58 1/3 innings, and limited the opposition to a .240 batting average

POWER SURGE: The Jackrabbits dramatically increased their power numbers over the last two seasons, topping the 60-home run mark in both 2022 and 2023. South Dakota State finished the 2022 season with a league-leading 62 home runs, followed by a school-record 89 round-trippers in 2023.

SDSU hit at least one home run in each of its first nine games last season and had an 11-game home run streak later in the season. Overall, the Jacks hit a home run in 38 of 52 contests during the 2023 campaign, including a season-best seven homers two times.

The Jackrabbits finished the 2023 season ranked 29th among NCAA Division I teams with an average of 1.71 home runs per game and 40th with a .505 slugging percentage.

Individually, four Jackrabbits reached double figures in the home run category in 2023. All-region catcher Ryan McDonald, who was on a pace to shatter a number of SDSU single-season records before missing the final month of the season due to injury, still managed to lead the squad with 17 home runs. Nic Nelson, who recorded a pair of three-home run games in May, wound up with 16 home runs, followed by 15 from Luke Ira and 10 by Dawson Parry. Of that group, only Parry returns to the lineup in 2024.

Thirteen different Jackrabbit players hit at least one home run last season.

During the 2022 season, SDSU homered in 26 of its last 28 games, which included a school-record streak of 18 consecutive games with a homer from March 19-May 6, 2022.

ROAD WARRIORS: As has been the norm for college baseball programs from northern states, South Dakota State will spend most of the first two months of the season away from home.

The Jackrabbits are scheduled to play their first 24 games of the season on the road, covering seven different states. After playing the first eight games of the season in the state of New Mexico (New Mexico State, Feb. 16-19; New Mexico Feb. 22-24), the Jacks also have nonconference series scheduled at Southern Illinois-Edwardsville (March 1-3), Dayton (March 8-10), as well as Summit League series at Oral Roberts (March 15-17) and St. Thomas (March 22-24). Mid-week games at Kansas State (March 13) and Creighton (March 19) also are part of the early season slate.

SDSU's home opener is slated for March 28, when the Jackrabbits host Northern Colorado to kick off a three-game Summit League series.

During the 2023 season, SDSU played its first 26 games outside the state of South Dakota. Due to inclement weather and unplayable field conditions, the Jackrabbits managed to play only one true home game at Erv Huether Field last season. A Summit League series against North Dakota State in late March/early April was moved to the Omaha (Neb.)/ Council Bluffs (Iowa) area, with three other games played in Sioux Falls. Seven other games slated to be played on the Brookings-based campus at Erv Huether Field were moved across town to the municipally run Bob Shelden Field.

BELLOWS LOOKS TO EXTEND STREAKS: Junior outfielder Jess Bellows brings a couple of modest streaks into Friday's Opening Day at New Mexico State.

The Miles City, Montana, native ended the 2023 season on a nine-game hitting streak and also reached base safely in the Jackrabbits' final 19 games. His hitting streak began with a 4-for-5 effort at the plate in the second game of a May 14 doubleheader against Northern Colorado, while his final performance of last season was a 3-for-4 afternoon against Oral Roberts in the title game of the Summit League Baseball Championship May 27 in Fargo, North Dakota, that included his lone home run in 2023.

Bellows went 15-of-35 (.429 batting average) during his nine-game hitting streak and drive in seven runs. He ended the 2023 season with a .293 batting average.

His 19-game streak of reaching base safely began with a 2-for-4 performance in an an April 24, 2023, series finale versus St. Thomas.

SINTEK AT SHORT: Redshirt freshman Carter Sintek is expected to take up the mantle at shortstop to start the 2024 season. A native of Bennington, Nebraska, Sintek was in line to contribute last year, but suffered an injury just before the start of the 2023 season that led to him taking a redshirt year.

Sintek will attempt to replace some of the production lost by the graduation of Luke Ira, who made 166 consecutive starts since late in the 2019 season, including 147 at shortstop. Ira finished his career ranked in all-time program top 10s for at-bats (second, 836); assists (second, 472); games played (fourth, 210); total bases (ninth, 367); hits (10th, 218), and home runs (10th, 30).

McCAY COMES BACK AGAIN: For the second time in his collegiate career, pitcher Nic McCay is on the comeback trail.

The senior right-hander from Carlisle, Iowa, has missed three of the last four seasons due to injury, including the entire 2023 campaign. Previously, McCay was sidelined during both the 2020 and 2021 seasons.

McCay began his Jackrabbit career by earning Freshman All-America honors from Collegiate Baseball in 2019 after posting a 6-1 record with a 4.08 earned run average over 14 starts. He also struck out 83 batters in 79 1/3 innings en route to second-team all-Summit League recognition.

In 2022, McCay marked his initial comeback by leading the team with 68 strikeouts and 68 1/3 innings pitched in 14 starts. He was honored on the all-Summit League Second Team for the second time in his career as he ended taht season with a 4-4 record.

A native of Carlisle, Iowa, McCay enters the 2024 season with 151 career strikeouts, putting him 15 away from tying current Los Angeles Dodgers reliever Blake Treinen (166 strikeouts from 2010-11) for the 10th spot on the SDSU career charts. McCay's 83 strikeouts his freshman season rank ninth on the Jackrabbit single-season chart, while his 28 career starts rank just outside the top 10.

SAGEDAHL A JACK OF MANY TRADES: Senior Jordan Sagedahl is penciled in as the Jackrabbits' Opening Day starter at third base, but has shown the ability to play wherever needed during his collegiate career.

Sagedahl has seen the bulk of his action over the past two seasons at second base after playing 39 games at third base as a freshman in 2021. He made 16 appearances at second base in 2023, as well as seven at catcher, four at third base and two as the designated hitter.

In addition, Sagedahl made four pitching appearances — all in relief — last season. He posted a 1-0 record with one save while striking out 11 batters in 8 1/3 innings of work.

TRANSFERS PROVIDE REINFORCEMENTS: The Jacks will count on contributions from six transfers in their attempt to climb to the top of The Summit League in 2024.

The pitching staff welcomes three newcomers, including right-hander Arlen Peters, who is tabbed as the Opening Day starter. A native of Schanzenfeld, Manitoba, Peters began his collegiate career in the Kansas junior college ranks, pitching at Johnson County Community College in 2021 and Kansas City Community College in 2022. He was an all-conference selection in 2022 after turning in a 6-2 record, but missed the 2023 campaign due to injury.

Expected to contribute in a setup role is another right-hander, Sam Schlecht. A native of Maple Grove, Minnesota, Schlecht began his collegiate career at Summit League rival St. Thomas before spending the 2023 season at Iowa Central Community College, where he led the squad with 87 strikeouts in 72 inning and posted a 6-5 record.

Rounding out the pitching additions is Alex Koep. The left-hander from Parkers Prairie, Minnesota, was an NCAA Division II All-America selection and earned Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Pitcher of the Year honors in 2023. He compiled a 7-1 record with a 2.43 ERA last season as a starter, but will likely see most of his innings out of the bullpen as a setup man and alternate closer with the Jackrabbits.

Among position players, outfielder Cael Frost headlines the list of newcomers after earning all-region recognition at Kirkwood Community College (Kan.). Frost batted .379 in each of his two junior college seasons, tallying 12 home runs, 17 doubles and a triple with 55 RBIs as a sophomore. He will vie for time at a corner outfield spot or designated hitter.

Catchers Davis Carr and Jayden Gibson are both expected to bolster the Jackrabbit defense from behind the plate. Carr is a junior who most recently played at Walla Walla Community College (Wash.), while Gibson is a graduate transfer who began his career at Western Illinois before moving on to Parkland College (Ill.).

HIGGINBOTHAM REJOINS COACHING STAFF: South Dakota State baseball head coach Rob Bishop announced the recent hiring of Danny Higginbotham as assistant coach and recruiting coordinator.

Higginbotham previously spent the 2018 and 2019 seasons as the volunteer assistant for the Jackrabbits. SDSU compiled a 33-23 record in Summit League play over those two seasons and advanced to the title game of the league tournament in 2018.

Most recently, Higginbotham spent four seasons as the assistant baseball coach/recruiting coordinator at Des Moines Area Community College. At DMACC, he ran the offense and worked with catchers. He also worked part time for the Iowa Cubs, AAA affiliate of the Chicago Cubs, as an assistant in the hitting department during their 2022 and 2023 seasons.

In 2017, he spent one season as an assistant coach at Iowa Central Community College. At ICCC, he worked with the catchers and hitters. During that season at ICCC, the Tritons went (38-16) and were Region XI Champions. Before joining the ICCC staff, he spent two years at Arkansas Tech University as a graduate assistant.

During the first five years of his career, he spent each summer coaching in the Coastal Plain League. His last four were as manager of the Martinsville Mustangs (2016, 2017) and the Macon Bacon (2018, 2019). His first summer, he was the pitching coach for the Morehead City Marlins (2015). During his tenure in the CPL, he amassed over 100 victories, qualified for the playoffs twice, and mentored 18 players who were drafted.

During his playing career, he caught at Arkansas Tech University from 2009-2011 where he earned Gulf South Conference Academic Honors in each of his three seasons. He started his college playing career at Howard College in Big Spring, Texas, in 2008.

Higginbotham fills the coaching spot previously held by Evan Berliner, who recently accepted a position with the Milwaukee Brewers organization.

COACH BISHOP: Rob Bishop, who has guided college baseball teams to more than 600 victories, was named head baseball coach at South Dakota State University on Aug. 1, 2016. Bishop is the ninth head coach in program history and the fourth in the Division I era of Jackrabbit baseball.

Through seven seasons with the Jackrabbits, Bishop holds a 138-173 record at SDSU, including an 86-74 mark in Summit League regular season games. He recorded his 100th win with the Jackrabbits on April 3, 2022, as SDSU posted a 2-1 victory at St. Thomas.

In his first season, Bishop's 2017 squad returned to the winning side of the ledger with a 26-24 overall mark, including an 18-12 record for a third-place finish in The Summit League standings. SDSU won its opening-round game in the Summit League Baseball Championship, 6-5, over second-seeded North Dakota State.

In 2018, SDSU overcame a slow start to post a winning record in Summit League play at 14-13 and went on to reach the title game of the Summit League Baseball Championship. The Jackrabbits finished with an 18-32 overall record during a campaign in which they played only six home games.

SDSU bounced back in 2019, posting a 28-22 overall record that included a second-place mark of 19-10 in Summit League play. The Jackrabbits won or split nine of the 10 league series in regular season play en route to making an appearance in the four-team Summit League Baseball Championship for the 10th time in 11 years.

The 2020 season was canceled just before the start of Summit League play, with SDSU posting a 5-12 record in the first month of the season. The Jackrabbits recorded wins at Minnesota, Air Force and Kansas State the final week of the pandemic-shortened campaign.

When play resumed in the spring of 2021, the Jackrabbits posted a 15-32 overall record and suffered their first losing season in league play since 2016, but managed to earn the fourth and final spot in the Summit League Baseball Championship.

SDSU used a powerful offense to return to the Summit League tournament in 2022 after posting a 13-9 record in league play. The Jackrabbits, who doubled up the opposition in home runs by a 62-30 count, played only 12 home games in posting a 22-23 overall mark.

The Jackrabbits continued their offensive prowess in 2023 by setting a school record with 89 home runs in 52 games. SDSU played only one true home game but managed a 24-28 overall record and another winning season in Summit League play with a 13-11 mark. That momentum carried over to the four-team league postseason tournament, where the Jackrabbits made a run to the title game.

Overall, Bishop holds a 687-495-1 record (.587 winning percentage) as a collegiate head coach. He earned his 600th career victory in the Jackrabbits' 8-6 victory at UA Little Rock on March 10, 2019.

Individually, Jackrabbit players have been honored as all-Summit League performers 34 times during Bishop's tenure, including nine all-league selections in 2023. Catcher Ryan McDonald was a first-team all-league honoree at catcher and later earned second-team ABCA/Rawlings All-Central Region recognition. Drew Beazley earned all-Summit League honors for the third time in his career as a second-team outfielder while Cade Stuff was named to the second team as a second baseman. Six other Jackrabbits were honorable mention selections.

In addition, Bishop has mentored a handful of Jackrabbit players who have pursued professional careers. Catcher Luke Ringhofer was selected in the 22nd round of the 2017 Major League Baseball Draft by the Baltimore Orioles and relief pitcher Chris Halbur was offered a free agent contract by the Los Angeles Dodgers after Bishop's first season in Brookings. Shortstop Gus Steiger signed with the Cincinnati Reds following an abbreviated 2020 MLB Draft. In 2019, left-handed pitcher Brady Stover was a 31st-round pick of the Washington Nationals, but opted to return to the Jackrabbits for his senior season.

Following the 2023 MLB Draft, pitcher Ryan Bourassa signed as a free agent with the Atlanta Braves organization.

Prior to becoming head coach at SDSU, Bishop spent six years at NCAA Division II member Montana State University-Billings, where he led the Yellowjackets to back-to-back Great Northwest Athletic Conference regular season titles in 2015 and 2016, attaining the program's first-ever 30-win season with a 30-20 record in 2016.

Previously, Bishop spent 10 years at Miles City Community College in Montana, where his teams won MonDak conference championships every year. His squads also claimed five consecutive junior college region titles and a Northwest District championship in 2007 to advance to the NJCAA Division II College World Series.

Bishop's teams won at least 30 games in all 10 seasons, including four with 40 wins. He ended his tenure at Miles City with a 377-151 overall record.

He also served as athletic director the last five years of his tenure at Miles City.

Bishop served as a graduate assistant at SDSU under head coach Mark Ekeland during the 1998 and 1999 seasons. In his first year as a head coach, Bishop led Huron University to the South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference title in 2000 with a 38-18 record.

A 1994 graduate of Jamestown College, Bishop earned NAIA All-America honors during the 1992 and 1994 seasons as an infielder.

THE ROSTER: The 2024 SDSU baseball roster features 38 players from nine different states and one Canadian province. Of the 38 players, 14 are from Minnesota, eight are from South Dakota, five are Iowa natives, and four hail from Nebraska. Two players are from Montana, while Colorado, Texas, Utah, Washington and Manitoba are represented by one player each.

By class, two are graduate transfers, six are seniors and 14 are juniors. The sophomore and redshirt freshman classes each have five players, while six are incoming freshmen.

UP NEXT: The Jackrabbits will remain in the Southwest to play a four-game series at the University of New Mexico Feb. 22-24. All four games will be played at Santa Ana Star Field in Albuquerque, starting with a 2 p.m. Mountain (3 p.m. Central) start on Feb. 22.

All four games will be available for viewing online at TheMW.com.

-GoJacks.com-