DII Report: NSIC DII baseball 2023 preview
The NSIC has some serious baseball talent. Let's take a look at the top of the conference.
I hope you have been enjoying the DII baseball fall reports and season previews. With the season already creeping so very close, today, we turn our attention to the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.
The NSIC is part of the Central Region, which of course, is one of the deepest in DII baseball. That goes the same for the conference itself, as there are a bevy of teams that could fly under the radar this year. Per usual, it looks like Augustana (SD), Minnesota State, or St. Cloud State is the team to beat. But the first two underwent a lot of turnover, so watch out for teams like Minot State and UMary trying to steal the show.
Final 2022 NSIC Standings
Augustana (SD)
Head coach: Tim Huber
Returning player to watch: Drey Dirksen, C. Dirksen is a leader behind for what is typically one of the better pitching staffs in the entire division. He has power and could be a home run leader for the team as well.
Pitchers to watch: Ryan Jares, RHP, and Caleb Saari, RHP. Jares He is not a hard thrower (he sits 86-88 mph) but throws four pitches that fill up the strike zone. He has been, and if healthy, will continue to be one of the best in DII. Huber thinks Saari is the breakout potential guy coming off a really solid year last year. He, too, has four pitches with a fastball that sits 88-90 and improving. What is exciting is that he has a knuckleball he can land for strikes. That’s brutal for hitters at the DII level.
Newcomers to watch: Ragan Pinnow, 3B, Ethan Cole, 1B/LHP, and Ashton Michek LHP. The trio is freshmen so their roles aren’t clearly defined just yet, but Huber thinks that all three may be able to contribute.
Under-the-radar player to watch: Jack Hines, IF. Hines “quietly” hit .367 with 10 home runs last year.
What Coach Huber said: I have a good feeling people will underestimate us this year after losing so many talented players from last year's team. It is hard to replace six pro signees at this level, but we do like what we have this year. We have a good blend of experience and young/new players. On the mound we return some talented guys and with our new guys should have talent and depth there. On the position side of things, we certainly have some things to figure out but have some really good options for guys to step up and fill holes vacated by the departures from last year's team.
Minnesota State
Head coach: Matt Magers
Returning player to watch: Ryan Wickman, CF. Arguably the best blend of contact and pop but there are a few in this lineup to make them scary every weekend.
Pitcher to watch: Nathan Culley, LHP. Culley is a big strikeout guy who spent last year split between the rotation and bullpen. If he can lower his walk rate (which was over 4/9 IP) he can be one of the top pitchers in the NSIC.
Newcomer to watch: Brock Johnson, LF. The Iowa Central transfer hit .362 last year. Interested to see what kind of power he has in the NSIC. He’ll be penciled into the lineup in left.
What Coach Magers said: We return an experienced group of position players that have a group mix of power and speed. The pitching staff has a limited group of returners, but I’m excited about our younger and new pitchers who will pound the zone and compete to give us a chance to win.
St. Cloud State
Head coach: Pat Dolan
Returning player to watch: Sam Riola, UTIL. Riola is coming off a monster season in which he was a unanimous First Team All-American, had an OPS over 1.400, and broke the Huskies single season home run record. Dolan feel he can make a strong run at national player of the year, especially since he also pitches. He compared him to Reese Gregory (a total gamer I interviewed many years ago here) telling me, “imagine him with plus speed and the ability to play the middle infield while anchoring the weekend.” That’s nasty.
Pitcher to watch: Luke Tupy, LHP. Dolan said Tupy is unhittable when he's on, with a high-carry upper-80s fastball that touches the 90s. It’s not just the fastball but that he throws from a tough arm slot making his pitch difficult to pick up angle.
Newcomer to watch: Otto Grimm, OF. The transfer from Minnesota hit at the top of the order and played center and right for the Gophers, so he has big-time experience. He has struggled with injury but hit .400 during the COVID year. He’ll pencil in at right field and bat in the heart of the order.
Under-the-radar player to watch: Jack Habeck, LFP. Habeck made waves over the summer earning Northwoods League pitcher of the year and should be a weekend starter for the Huskies. Also keep an eye on Sawyer Smith (IF), who Dolan thinks can start at a lot of DIs. Behind a quick bat, he's got good pop and, per Dolan, “his hit tool is really fun to watch.”
What Coach Dolan said: We're excited to contend for another NSIC championship this season. One of our top priorities this offseason was to build a deeper lineup, and we feel extremely confident that we did just that. This is one of our strongest recruiting classes in recent memory with high impact DI and junior college transfers complementing a great freshman class. Our starting rotation should be a strength this year with a lot of variety in the looks our starters will give lineups — we have a blend of power arms, pitch ability guys and bulldogs that should make us tough to face.
THE DII NATION PODCAST
Have you subscribed to the DII Nation Podcast on YouTube, Spotify, Apple, or wherever your favorite platform is to listen to podcasts? I’m sharing our most recent episode once again, as we were joined by a pair of former Wayne State (MI) alum that have made it to the big leagues. World Series champion Hunter Brown and 11-year veteran Anthony Bass join Bethany Bowman and I to tell their story and show the right way to make big-league dreams come true.
PODCAST HUB: Click here