JACKRABBITS CONTINUE POSTSEASON PLAY IN LINCOLN

Friday, May 29

Lincoln, Neb.

3 p.m.

South Dakota State University

Nebraska

Photo by: SDSU Athletics

5/27/2026 7:21:00 PM | Baseball

South Dakota State (24-31) at NCAA Lincoln Regional

When	Friday-Monday, May 29-June 1 • vs. Nebraska (42-15 overall), 3 p.m. Friday • Remainder of tournament schedule to be determined (double elimination)
Where	Hawks Field \| Lincoln, Nebraska
TV	ESPN Family of Networks • Friday's Broadcast (ESPN+)
Radio	KJJQ 910 AM \| GoJacks.com/watch
Live Stats	NCAA.com \| Tournament Bracket
Game Notes	South Dakota State \| Nebraska \| Ole Miss \| Arizona State \| The Summit League
Social Media	Twitter \| Instagram

South Dakota State's baseball postseason run continues this week with the Jackrabbits traveling to Lincoln, Nebraska, for regional play in the 2026 NCAA Division I Baseball Championship.

The Jackrabbits, 24-31 overall, earned an automatic bid to the 64-team championship by winning the Summit League Baseball Championship last weekend in Minneapolis. SDSU defeated regular season champion Oral Roberts in the opening round, 7-3, and again in a winner-take-all championship game, 9-6, to claim its second berth in NCAA postseason play at the Division I level. The Jackrabbits moved into the championship round with a 2-1 victory over Northern Colorado.

Regional play will consist of a four-team, double-elimination format. SDSU will match up against No. 13 national seed and host Nebraska, 42-15 overall, in the opening round at 3 p.m. Friday. No. 3 seed Arizona State (37-19) and second-seeded Ole Miss (36-21) will meet in Friday's other first-round matchup at 7 p.m. All games will be played at Hawks Field at Haymarket Park in downtown Lincoln.

Friday's game will be available for viewing through the ESPN+ streaming platform. Local radio coverage of all Jackrabbit tournament games will be carried by KJJQ 910 AM and online at GoJacks.com/watch.

Following is a complete tournament schedule:
Friday, May 29
Game 1: No. 4 South Dakota State (24-31) at No. 1 Nebraska (42-15), 3 p.m. [TV: ESPN+]
Game 2: No. 3 Arizona State (37-19) vs. No. 2 Ole Miss (36-21), 8 p.m. [TV: ESPNU]
Saturday, May 30
Game 3: Loser G1 vs. Loser G2, 2 p.m. [TV: TBD]
Game 4: Winner G1 vs. Winner G2, 7 p.m. [TV: TBD]
Sunday, May 31
Game 5: Winner G3 vs. Loser G4, 2 p.m. [TV: TBD]
Game 6: Winner G4 vs. Winner G5, 7 p.m. [TV: TBD]
Monday, June 1
Game 7: If necessary, TBD [TV: TBD]

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

VERSUS THE FIELD: South Dakota State went a combined 2-4 against other teams competing in the 2026 NCAA Division I Baseball Championship. Both of the Jackrabbits' victories were turned in against WAC champion Tarleton State in a series played Feb. 20-22 in Stephenville, Texas. After Tarleton State won the opener, 9-2, SDSU came back to post wins by scores of 6-2 and 5-1 to claim the series.

The Jackrabbits' three other games against postseason qualifiers were all decided by one run, starting with a March 4 meeting against Nebraska, in which the Cornhuskers scored the go-ahead run in the bottom of the eighth inning for a 5-4 victory at Hawks Field. SDSU later dropped one-run contests at Oklahoma State on March 17 and 18, falling by respective scores of 7-6 and 12-11.

POSTSEASON HISTORY: South Dakota State's only other appearance in the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship was in 2013, when the Jackrabbits competed in the Eugene Regional and lost a pair of one-run games. Host Oregon scored two runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to rally for a 3-2 victory in the opening round, and the Jacks were eliminated the following day with a 4-3, 13-inning setback against the University of San Francisco.

Prior to moving to the Division I level at the start of the 2005 season, SDSU made nine NCAA Division II postseason appearances. That included a berth in the 1984 NCAA Division II College World Series in Riverside, California, where the Jackrabbits fell to Cal State Northridge (L, 2-17) and Troy (L, 6-12).

SERIES RECORDS: Friday's game will mark the 24th all-time meeting in baseball between South Dakota State and Nebraska in a series that dates back to an 18-13 victory by the Cornhuskers on April 3, 1959.

With its 5-4 victory over the Jackrabbits earlier this season, Nebraska now holds a 19-4 advantage in the series.

In this season's first meeting, March 4 at Hawks Field, Nebraska shortstop Dylan Carey went 5-for-5, including the go-ahead RBI double in the bottom of the eighth inning, to lift the Cornhuskers to the victory at Hawks Field.

Carey's second double of the game came after Max Moyer led the inning with a double of his own and spoiled a comeback bid by the Jackrabbits. Trailing 4-0 after two innings, SDSU plated two runs in the top of the fifth and evened the score at 4-all on a two-run home run by Dayton Franke in the eighth.

Nolan Grawe doubled in Nic Werk with the first Jackrabbit run of the game, with Grawe later scoring on a two-out single by Owen Siegert. Nate Wachter singled ahead of Franke's second home run of the season.

The Nebraska victory ended a two-game winning streak by the Jackrabbits in the series. SDSU ended a 13-game losing streak to the Huskers with an 8-3 road victory behind 5 2/3 shutout innings from Will Kent on April 26, 2023, marking SDSU's first win in the series since a 10-5 triumph in 1971.

The Jackrabbits followed the 2023 victory with a 10-6, come-from-behind victory in Lincoln on May 8, 2024.

Trailing 6-2 through seven innings, Nebraska native Thatcher Kozal (Waverly) hit a pair of three-run home runs in the final two frames to key the Jackrabbit comeback. His three-run blast in the eighth brought SDSU to within 6-5 and his three-run shot in the top of the ninth capped a five-run final frame. Dawson Parry plated the tying run with a single and Adam Benes delivered the go-ahead run with a base hit down the left-field line. Omaha native Dylan Driessen struck out four over the final two innings to earn the victory.

SDSU has never faced Arizona State or Ole Miss.

SHORT HOPS: Following are some more quick notes regarding the South Dakota State baseball team heading into this week's NCAA Regional:

After going 1-7 in one-run games after a slew of close contests in February and March, the Jackrabbits have won their last three games decided by a single run. SDSU's most recent one-run contest was a 2-1 victory against Northern Colorado in the semifinal round of the Summit League Baseball Championship on May 21.
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 (a total he has matched this 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 138 hits in only 103 career games. He currently leads the team with 69 hits, 18 doubles, five triples and 50 runs scored. He also ranks second with seven home runs, 49 RBIs and a .539 slugging percentage.
Nic Werk has dramatically improved his offensive numbers from a season ago and currently is second on the team with 12 doubles, the last of which gave the Jackrabbits the lead for good by scoring two runs for a 7-5 lead in the May 23 Summit League winner-take-all championship game against Oral Roberts. Werk also hit his first career home run in the final game en route to earning a spot on the all-tournament team.
A utility player, Werk has made 34 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 46 of the last 47 games. 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.
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.
The Jackrabbits hit back-to-back home runs for the second time this season in the first inning of the May 23 winner-take-all championship game against Oral Roberts as Nolan Grawe and Nate Wachter erased an early Golden Eagle lead with consecutive solo shots. Wachter and Luke Luskey previously accomplished the feat in the fifth inning of the April 29 game versus Minnesota Morris.
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 the final regular season series at Omaha after missing the previous 19 games (including all of April) due to injury. Since his return, Siegert has hit safely in seven of eight games, going a combined 12-for-31 (.387 average) with three doubles, six runs scored, three RBIs and a stolen base. Siegert, who was an all-tourney selection last week, is batting .353 (47-for-133) for the season.
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 10 of his 14 starts and leads the staff in strikeouts (70) and innings pitched (72), while sharing the team lead with four wins. In his last start, Schlecht limited Oral Roberts to three runs over a career-best 7 1/3 innings while matching a career high with eight strikeouts as SDSU won the opening game of the Summit League Baseball Championship, 7-3.
Over his last seven appearances, Ty Madison has been the winning pitcher four times and earned two saves. 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 first save came in the May 13 series opener at Omaha, when he pitched the final three innings of a 5-0 shutout victory.
Madison's pitching prowess continued in Summit League tournament play as he logged a total of 10 innings over three appearances to earn Most Valuable Player honors. He closed out a 7-3 Jackrabbit win over Oral Roberts in the opening round by retiring all five batters he faced, followed by pitching two scoreless innings the next night against Northern Colorado to earn the save in a 2-1 victory. He then tossed the final 5 1/3 innings in the winner-take-all title game against Oral Roberts, allowing two runs — one earned — on four hits to record the win.
Since moving to the bullpen in late March, Madison has posted a 1.94 earned run average over 41 2/3 innings and 13 relief appearances while striking out 33 batters and issuing only three bases on balls.
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.
McDowell extended his streak of hitless innings to 12 with another six innings of no-hit ball May 13 at Omaha. He then pitched seven solid innings in the first of two title games against Oral Roberts on May 23, allowing three runs on three hits in a losing effort.
SDSU pitchers combined to post a 3.00 earned run average in four Summit League tournament games, an improvement of more than four runs per game entering the tournament. The Jackrabbits retired the opposition's leadoff batter in 28 of 36 innings, including 17 of 18 over the first two games.
SDSU 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 108 times in 2026. Luke Luskey has been hit by a pitch a school-record 20 times to lead the team. Dayton Franke has been hit 15 times, with Carter Taylor plunked 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.
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 NCAA Tournament with 138 RBIs in 139 career games (133 starts). He leads the team with 55 RBIs after driving in 16 over the last 12 games.
Luskey has moved into the Jackrabbit career top 10 for home runs after connecting on seven round-trippers over the last 13 games to up his career total to 35. He hit his team-leading 13th home run of the season in the May 20 Summit League tournament opener against Oral Roberts.
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 .436 (24-for-55) with runners in scoring position this season. As a team, SDSU is hitting .291 with runners in scoring position.
Prior to its two wins over Oral Roberts in the 2026 edition of the Summit League tournament, SDSU had been 0-19 against the Golden Eagles in postseason play

SUMMIT AWARDS: Led by first-team selections Luke Luskey and Nolan Grawe, five South Dakota State baseball student-athletes were honored 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 the league tournament, Grawe was 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.

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 and 2026.

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 198-269 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 three occasions — in 2018, 2023 and 2026. The 2026 squad claimed the Jackrabbits' second Summit League tournament title in program history.

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 747-591-1 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 advance out of the Lincoln Regional, they would move on to the NCAA Super Regionals against the winner of the Auburn Regional. The best-of-three series would be played either June 5-7 or 6-8 at campus sites.

-GoJacks.com-