Last year, your team had a win percentage of .661, 10-4 in conference play, had 51 home runs, and a team batting average of .329. One could say this is a great season. Beyond the statistics of a season, what are you looking for to build on Day One to help build another great season?

I would say last year was another successful season, ending with another Region 4 Championship. I think what we learned last year was that we were closer to our goal of making it to Grand Junction than maybe I anticipated when we made the move to Division I. I think that has been a motivating factor as we prepare for this season.

What "new" players are you looking forward to seeing emerge, and in what ways do you see them immediately contributing?

We had a lot of turnover after last year, especially on the offensive side. Transfer Outfield Kyle Larson is someone I would look at to make an impact in our lineup. He had a great fall and has looked good so far, early in preseason practice. Brock Iverson is also another player who really stood out in the fall and will be a fixture in our lineup this spring. He's a very good all-around athlete who can do some exciting things offensively. I think the "new" contributors will be a long list, and many guys will have an opportunity to make an impact this year.

When you look at the 2026 schedule, are there any teams you are really looking forward to facing? Or do you just take the schedule one game at a time?

I've been really happy with what we've done with our early-season schedule. We'll play Southwestern Illinois and Iowa Western again, both of which also made it to the District tournament with us last year. We'll also play John A. Logan again early this year, and they always have a top-level team. Games like those will help get us ready for region and conference play.

Pitching is such a huge part of a team's success. Each year, a pitcher emerges from the pack and anchors your team. Do you have a player you have high hopes for to lead this staff? Or do you have a few pitchers by committee you are looking to?

We already have five pitchers committed to four-year universities, all of whom were big contributors as freshmen. Jackson King (Central Michigan), Jackson Prentice (Western Michigan), Bennett Wolfe (Morehead State), Bo Anderson (Illinois-Springfield), and Caden Vogt (Minot State) will all continue to have important roles here. We've also seen great progress from some other sophomore arms who were contributors last year but are fighting to make a bigger impact. Freshmen Josh Marzec and Wilson Wemhoff have really good stuff and look like high-level arms potentially.

Are there any "Redshirt" freshmen you are looking at with hope that they can help lead this team? Each year, you have a few players waiting in the wings for their opportunity. Do you feel there are a few of them ready to emerge and contribute?

Sean Dooley is coming off an injury last year, and he's someone I'm excited to see get back on the mound. He looked great last fall, and he's worked really hard to get himself back on the field. He has high-level stuff, for sure. Kayden Berenz wasn't a redshirt but saw limited time last spring. He's turned himself into a Division I athlete and will be a huge part of our team this spring.

Each year, I know you set goals for the team. Can you share an overarching goal, like the number of wins? Winning the conference?

We have standards here, and our expectation each year is to be able to compete for championships. Right now, our big goal is to get better every day and then stack good days on top of good days. If we can do that consistently, this group will be in the thick of it again this year.

Baseball is such a dynamic sport. Hitters have to learn to hit a curveball, and pitchers have to select the right pitch to outsmart a hitter. In the background, prior to a season, what is the most important part of training that a fan may not be aware of?

Being present and focused every day, when you're inside, trying to play baseball. It's easy to start regressing and go backwards after a while because it can get old pretty quickly. We try to change things up in practice to keep it fresh. It takes a lot of discipline and mental toughness to stack good days when it's below zero out. This group has done a good job of staying focused.

You always have a great supporting staff. Did you make any changes this year to the staff that works with you?

Our assistant coach last year, Jeff Heinrich, has moved on. This year, we added Luke Dunham to work with our pitchers. He is a former local athlete at Crystal Lake South and has played at the collegiate level. He's done a terrific job formulating a plan for each pitcher and an even better job of sticking to it and carrying it out daily. He really connects with the players, and he's been a great addition to our program.

Baseball season is such a long season with many games. Last year, you played 59 games. What do you do to keep each game feeling new, fresh, and to honestly keep everyone attentive to the goal of winning?

I think for me, it's the fact that even in over 20 years of coaching, I still see things all the time that I've never seen before. It's one of the great things about the game. Every game is so different, and there are so many variables. If you won the one before, you want to keep it rolling. If you lost the one before, you can't wait to start the next one. Fortunately, we've done more winning than losing, but I think that's what keeps it fresh all year.

From last season's team, are there any players who have moved on to four-year schools that we can follow? You do a great job of cultivating a culture that helps players succeed in their next endeavors, both on and off the field.

• Owen Nowak — Middle Tennessee State (National Collegiate Athletic Association Division 1)
• Jackson Dibble — Southern Illinois University Carbondale (National Collegiate Athletic Association Division 1)
• Ryan Skwarek — Southern Indiana (National Collegiate Athletic Association Division 1)
• Joe Fischer — Winona State (National Collegiate Athletic Association Division 2)
• Kaden Neuman — Catawba College (National Collegiate Athletic Association Division 2)
• Keli Grennier — University of Wisconsin Whitewater (National Collegiate Athletic Association Division 3)
• Ryan Quinlan — Loras College (National Collegiate Athletic Association Division 3)
• Jack Jensen — University of Wisconsin-River Falls (National Collegiate Athletic Association Division 3)
• DJ Harris — Mount Mercy (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics)
• Trent Feucht — Mount Mercy (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics)
• Christian Graves — Mount Mercy (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics)
• Ysen Useni — St. Ambrose (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics)

Who do you see as a leader or leaders of the team on day one? I often see three or more players seemingly anchor the team. Is that true this year as well? The players who make the big hit, but even if they don't make a big play, they are always locked in and supporting a win in other ways.

That was one of the positive things we saw this fall. I wasn't sure what to expect because we had so many sophomores who played backup roles last year, so I thought there was a chance they would be more focused on winning a spot than becoming leaders now that they are sophomores. To their credit, I thought our sophomores did a great job of balancing that this past fall. They worked really hard to earn more playing time this year, but still made a big impact as leaders, both verbally and by example. I believe that has set us up really well going into the spring.