JACKRABBITS PREPARE FOR SUMMIT TOURNAMENT

Wednesday, May 20

Minneapolis, Minn. // Siebert Field

noon

South Dakota State University

Oral Roberts

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Photo by: Dave Eggen/Inertia Sports Media

5/19/2026 10:01:00 PM | Baseball

South Dakota State (21-30, 12-15 Summit) at Summit League Baseball Championship

When	Wednesday-Saturday, May 20-23 • vs. Oral Roberts (32-22, 22-6), noon Wednesday • Remainder of tournament schedule to be determined (double elimination)
Where	Siebert Field \| Minneapolis, Minnesota \| BUY TICKETS
TV	Summit League Network powered by Midco Sports Plus • Wednesday's Broadcast
Radio	KJJQ 910 AM \| GoJacks.com/watch
Live Stats	TommieSports.com
Game Notes	South Dakota State \| Oral Roberts \| Omaha \| Northern Colorado \| The Summit League
Social Media	Twitter \| Instagram

The South Dakota State baseball team returns to the Summit League Baseball Championship this week, entering the four-team, double-elimination tournament as the No. 4 seed.

The Jackrabbits earned their trip to Minneapolis after finishing fourth in the Summit League standings with a 12-15 mark in league play and a 21-30 overall record.

SDSU will face longtime nemesis Oral Roberts at noon Wednesday in the opening game of the four-day tournament, which will be played at the University of Minnesota's Siebert Field. The Golden Eagles earned the top seed after posting a 22-6 record versus Summit League opponents and hold a 32-22 overall record.

A new tournament champion will be crowned this weekend as 2025 champion North Dakota State did not make this year's tournament field.

All tournament games will be available for viewing through the Summit League Network streaming platform powered by Midco Sports Plus. Jackrabbit games can be heard locally on Brookings-based KJJQ 910 AM and online at GoJacks.com/watch.

Following is a complete tournament schedule:
Wednesday, May 20
Game 1: No. 4 South Dakota State (21-30, 12-15) vs. No. 1 Oral Roberts (32-22, 22-6), noon
Game 2: No. 3 Northern Colorado (16-36, 13-15) vs. No. 2 Omaha (21-24, 16-11), 6 p.m.
Thursday, May 21
Game 3: Loser G1 vs. Loser G2, noon
Game 4: Winner G1 vs. Winner G2, 6 p.m.
Friday, May 22
Game 5: Winner G3 vs. Loser G4, 4 p.m.
Saturday, May 23
Game 6: Winner G4 vs. Winner G5, 1 p.m.
Game 7: If necessary, 30 minutes after conclusion of Game 6

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

TOURNAMENT HISTORY: South Dakota State is making its 15th appearance in the Summit League Baseball Championship and has compiled a 20-27 overall record in the postseason tournament. In their previous 14 tournament appearances, the Jackrabbits won at least one game in 12 of those seasons, with 2022 and 2025 being the lone exceptions.

SDSU won the tournament title in 2013 and reached the championship round five other times: 2009, 2010, 2011, 2018 and 2023.

The Jackrabbits did not qualify for the four-team event in 2012 and 2024.

SHORT HOPS: Following are some more quick notes regarding the South Dakota State baseball team heading into this week's Summit League Baseball Championship:

After going 1-7 in one-run games after a slew of close contests in February and March, the Jackrabbits have won their last two games decided by a single run. SDSU recorded its second one-run victory of the season with a 7-6, 11-inning triumph over Northern Colorado on April 24. SDSU scored three times in the bottom of the 11th after the Bears scored twice in the top of the frame. The Jacks then rallied for a 5-4 victory May 2 at North Dakota State after trailing 4-0 through three innings.
SDSU scored 21 runs in each of the last two games of its Summit League series at Northern Colorado in late March, marking the first time since an April 28, 2010, home doubleheader against North Dakota (won 21-10 and 21-8) that the Jackrabbits scored 20-plus runs in consecutive games.
The Jackrabbits tallied double-digit runs in an inning for the second and third times this season, scoring 12 runs in the eighth inning of the March 28 game at Northern Colorado, followed by a 10-run seventh inning the next day.
SDSU previously set a program single-game record by scoring 17 runs in the fourth inning of its 19-11, series-opening win at Incarnate Word on Feb. 17 in San Antonio, Texas. Each of the first 12 batters of the inning reached base safely and a total of 21 men went to the plate in the frame.
The Jackrabbits have scored in double figures in 14 games this season.
Nolan Grawe had his 16-game hitting streak come to an end in the April 19 series finale against Oral Roberts. Over his 16-game hitting streak, which began March 17 at Oklahoma State, Grawe batted .370 (27-for-73) with 23 RBIs and 19 runs scored. He notched an extra-base hit in 11 of the games en route to a .658 slugging percentage (seven doubles, four triples and two home runs) during his recent hot streak.
Grawe tied an SDSU single-season record with a 19-game hitting streak during his freshman season in 2025. The Cedar Rapids, Iowa, native set an SDSU freshman record with 69 hits last season and ended the 2025 campaign with a 12-game hitting streak that reached 14 games with hits in the first two games he played this season.
Grawe recorded his 100th career hit March 25 at Creighton and enters the week with 136 hits in only 99 career games. He currently leads the team with 66 hits, 18 doubles, five triples and 47 runs scored. He also ranks second with six home runs, 47 RBIs and a .557 slugging percentage.
Nic Werk has dramatically improved his offensive numbers from a season ago and currently is second on the team with 11 doubles. Werk had his career-best streak of reaching base safely in 17 consecutive games snapped in the April 19 series finale versus Oral Roberts. As part of his streak, Werk registered a .900 on-base percentage in the two-game series at Oklahoma State (4-for-5 with five walks) March 17-18.
A utility player, Werk has made 30 starts at second base, eight in left field, two at shortstop, one in right field and one in center field. After missing the eight games of the Jackrabbits' season-opening road trip through Texas, he has started 42 of the last 43 games.
As a team, the Jackrabbits hit a season-high six home runs in the 19-1 victory against Minnesota Morris. That marked the most by an SDSU squad in a game at the current Erv Huether Field, which opened in 2008, and the most in any game since hitting seven in Game 2 of a doubleheader May 14, 2023, against Northern Colorado in Sioux Falls.
Included in the Jackrabbit onslaught against Minnesota Morris were back-to-back home runs by back-to-back home runs by Nate Wachter and Luke Luskey in the fifth inning. That marked the first consecutive homers by the Jackrabbits since Luskey and Bryce Ronken accomplished the feat March 1, 2025, at Sacramento State.
Luke Wroblewski led off the April 11 series finale at St. Thomas with a home run, marking the first time the Jackrabbits have opened a game with a round-tripper since Bryce Ronken at Northern Colorado on May 4, 2024. Wroblewski's leadoff blast was the lone home run SDSU hit in the three-game series against the Tommies.
Owen Siegert returned to the lineup during last week's series at Omaha after missing the previous 19 games due to injury. Siegert hit safely in all four games of the series, going a combined 6-for-14 with two doubles, five runs scored and a stolen base. Siegert raised his team-best batting average a team-best .353 (41-for-116).
Shortstop Keagen Jirschele also went 6-for-14 (.429 batting average) in the Omaha series. Jirschele collected two hits in the May 14 game and closed the regular season by tying a career high with three hits on May 16, including a grand slam. It was the third grand slam hit by a Jackrabbit player this season.
Sam Schlecht has been a constant in the starting rotation for the Jackrabbits all season as the senior right-hander has pitched at least five innings in nine of his 13 starts, including four of the last six. Schlecht leads the staff in strikeouts (62) and innings pitched (64 2/3), while ranking in a tie for second with three wins.
Over his last four appearances, Ty Madison has been the winning pitcher three times and earned a save. The senior right-hander began the streak by pitching the final 7 2/3 innings and striking out a career-high 10 batters May 2 at North Dakota State. He then picked up the win in relief in both his May 8 and May 10 outings against St. Thomas, when he pitched a combined 6 2/3 innings. His save came in the May 13 series opener at Omaha, when he pitched the final three innings of a 5-0 shutout victory.
Since moving to the bullpen in late March, Madison has posted a 2.27 earned run average over 31 2/3 innings and10 relief appearances while striking out 28 batters and issuing only three bases on balls.
Left-handed reliever Tristan Augedahl retired all six St. Thomas batters he faced in closing out the Jackrabbits' two wins last weekend. Augedahl struck out two in the top of the ninth of the May 8 series opener to pick up his team-leading fourth save of the season, then notched one strikeout in a 1-2-3 ninth in the May 10 series finale.
SDSU's combined no-hitter by Drew McDowell (6 innings) and Austin Henry (1 inning) versus Buena Vista on April 28 was the first Jackrabbit no-no of the Division I era (since 2005). The last Jackrabbit no-hitter was turned in by Pete Torgerson against Southwest Minnesota State on April 1, 1989.
The Jackrabbits turned three double plays in a game for the third time this season April 29 versus Minnesota Morris and now have 36 double plays to their credit and are fielding at a .976 clip for the season.
Travis Finney became the third different Jackrabbit player to be hit by a pitch three times in a game this season as he was plunked three times April 22 versus Briar Cliff to tie a Jackrabbit single-game record in the Division I era (since 2005). Dayton Franke and Brady Brown were each hit by pitches three times in a game in February — Franke was dotted three times in the Feb. 17 series opener at Incarnate Word, while Brown was hit three times in the Feb. 22 series finale at Tarleton State.
SDSU also tied a team record in the Division I era by being hit a total of eight times in back-to-back games against Briar Cliff (April 22) and Northern Colorado (April 24). That matched the mark first established March 17, 2022, at Northwestern State (La.). In the game against Northern Colorado, six Jackrabbit batters were hit by pitches in the first inning alone, helping SDSU score four times without the benefit of a hit.
In all, Jackrabbit players have been hit by pitches a total of 101 times in 2026. Luke Luskey has been hit by a pitch 18 times to lead the team and tie the SDSU single-year record first set by Jesse Sawyer in 2010. Dayton Franke and Carter Taylor have each been hit 14 times.
Taylor had his team-best 20-game streak of reaching base safely come to an end in the May 1 series opener at North Dakota State. However, he finished the series strong by going 5-for-10 at the plate over the final two games, including hitting his fourth home run of the season in the series finale. Taylor has drawn a team-best 27 walks this season and leads qualified players with a .457 on-base percentage.
Luskey tallied his 100th career RBI with a run-scoring double in the first inning of Game 2 of the March 21 doubleheader against North Dakota State and comes into the tournament with 136 RBIs in 135 career games (129 starts). He leads the team and Summit League with 53 RBIs after driving in 14 over the last eight games.
Luskey has moved into the Jackrabbit career top 10 for home runs after connecting on six round-trippers over the last 12 games to up his career total to 34. He hit his team-leading 12th home run of the season in the third inning of the May 14 game at Omaha, two batters after a home run by Nolan Grawe.
Luskey's two-homer game May 3 was his second of the season — both of which have come against North Dakota State — and fifth of his career. He also homered twice against the Bison in the first game of a March 21 doubleheader at Erv Huether Field.
Luke Evenson (April 22 against Briar Cliff) and Nate Wachter (April 29 versus Minnesota Morris) also have hit two home runs in a game this season for the Jacks.
Wachter leads the Jackrabbits by hitting .453 (24-for-53) with runners in scoring position this season. Luskey also has topped the .400 mark in the category with a .403 average (25-for-62). As a team, SDSU is hitting .293 with runners in scoring position.

SUMMIT AWARDS: Led by first-team selections Luke Luskey and Nolan Grawe, five South Dakota State baseball student-athletes were honored Tuesday on the 2026 All-Summit League Baseball Team.

A junior designated hitter from Green Isle, Minnesota, Luskey moved up to the first team after earning second-team honors each of the previous two seasons. Over 27 league games, he tied for the Summit lead with 31 runs batted in while hitting at a .337 clip with seven home runs.

Overall, Luskey finished the regular season with team highs of 12 home runs and 53 RBIs to along with a .315 batting average and .575 slugging percentage.

Grawe, a sophomore from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, was selected as the first-team third baseman after compiling a .327 batting average with three home runs and 27 RBIs in 27 league games. A second-team honoree in 2025, Grawe led the league this season with 12 doubles and added three triples for a .566 slugging percentage.

Heading into this week's league tournament, Grawe is batting .328 overall with 18 doubles, six home runs and 47 RBIs.

The remainder of the Jackrabbit awardees were honorable mention selections, including the catching tandem of Luke Jones and Nate Wachter. A junior from Gilbert, Arizona, Jones played in 19 league games, batting .227 and posting a .382 on-base percentage while driving in six runs.

Wachter, meanwhile, split time evenly between catcher and right field, posting a .320 average in Summit League contests with 19 runs batted in. A redshirt freshman from Blair, Nebraska, Wachter was honored as a utility player after ranking third on the team with 32 hits against league opponents.

Rounding out the SDSU honorees was relief pitcher Ty Madison. A senior from Omaha, Nebraska, Madison began the season in the starting rotation, but excelled when moving to the bullpen in late March. In 13 appearances during the league slate, the right-hander compiled a 3-1 record with one save and posted a 2.97 earned run average. He was a consistent strike-thrower, notching 35 strikeouts against only six bases on balls in 39 1/3 innings of work.

McDOWELL PEAKING AT THE RIGHT TIME: South Dakota State right-hander Drew McDowell was honored Monday as the Kwik Star Summit League Peak Pitcher of the Week for his performance in a May 13 victory over Omaha.

A sophomore from Billings, Montana, McDowell pitched six no-hit innings as part of a combined shutout with Ty Madison as the Jackrabbits opened a four-game series with a 5-0 victory. McDowell tied a season and career high with seven strikeouts en route to his team-leading fourth win of the season.

In addition, McDowell ran his streak of consecutive hitless innings to 12, a string that began with six no-hit innings in a combined no-hitter April 28 against Buena Vista.

McDowell is the third SDSU pitcher to receive the weekly award during the 2026 season, joining Sam Schlecht (March 3) and Ty Madison (May 5).

SUMMIT LEAGUE SUCCESS: South Dakota State has been a consistent winner in The Summit League since it became a league member in 2008. Now in their 19th season as a member of The Summit League, the Jackrabbits have compiled a 251-225 (.527 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 15 out of the 17 years it has been eligible (no tournament in 2020 due to COVID-19 pandemic). The Jackrabbits shared a Summit League regular season title in 2010 and won the league's postseason tournament in 2013.

COACH BISHOP: Rob Bishop, who has guided college baseball teams to more than 700 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.

In 10 seasons with the Jackrabbits, Bishop holds a 195-268 record at SDSU, including a 121-124 mark in Summit League regular season games. He also has led SDSU to the four-team Summit League Baseball Championship eight times, highlighted by finals appearances on two occasions — in 2018 and 2023.

The 2023 squad set 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 a 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.

SDSU hit a Summit League-best 80 home runs in 2024 and also led the circuit with a .492 slugging percentage.

Overall, Bishop has compiled a 744-590-1 record (.558 winning percentage) as a collegiate head coach. He earned his 700th career victory in the Jackrabbits' 11-7 win at North Dakota State on April 6, 2024.

Individually, Jackrabbit players have been honored as all-Summit League performers 53 times during Bishop's tenure, including five all-league selections in 2026.

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 mark.

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

THE ROSTER: The 2025 SDSU baseball roster features 34 players from 10 different states and one foreign country (Australia). Of the 34 players, 13 are from Minnesota, five are from Nebraska and South Dakota, three are Iowa natives and two hail from Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota and Washington. Arizona and Wyoming are represented by one player each.

By class, one is a graduate transfer, three are seniors and nine are juniors. The sophomore class consists of 10 players and there is one redshirt freshmen, while 10 are incoming freshmen.

ON DECK: Should the Jackrabbits win the Summit League Baseball Championship, they would advance to the NCAA Tournament, which begins with regional play at 16 campus sites May 29-June 1. The tournament field will be announced Monday, May 25.

-GoJacks.com-