NDSU Baseball Opens 2025 Season at No. 21 Dallas Baptist

THIS WEEK
The North Dakota State baseball team begins the 2025 season at No. 21 Dallas Baptist with a three-game series. The Bison will face the Patriots on Friday and Saturday at 3:00 p.m. before wrapping the series on Sunday at 1:00 p.m.
 
COVERAGE
GoBison.com: Live statistics and video links are available on GoBison.com. All three games will also be available on ESPN+ for subscribers.
 
THE SERIES VS. DALLAS BAPTIST
This will be the fifth all-time meeting between NDSU and Dallas Baptist dating back to 1981.  The Patriots lead the all-time series, 4-0, including a 9-4 win over the Bison in their most recent meeting in 1984. Dallas Baptist enters the week ranked No. 21 in the USA Today Preseason Coaches’ Poll and No. 20 in the D1 Baseball Preseason Top 25 Poll.
 
THE CHALLENGING SCHEDULE AHEAD
The Bison are scheduled to play 52 total games and will face nine different opponents across 22 total non-conference games. Of that group, five teams qualified for the NCAA Tournament last season, including Dallas Baptist, Alabama, LSU, Tulane and Oklahoma State. The schedule also boasts three teams ranked in the USA Today Preseason Coaches Top 25 Poll, including No. 3 LSU, No. 17 Oklahoma State and No. 21 Dallas Baptist.
 
THE SEASON STARTS IN TEXAS
The Bison begin their first road trip of 24 straight road games to open the 2025 season in the state of Texas. NDSU will face Dallas Baptist for a three-game set and then heads to Lamar for a pair of midweek matchups. NDSU finishes the trip at UTRGV with another three-game series before returning to Fargo.
 
SUMMIT LEAGUE PRESEASON POLL
The Bison were picked fourth in the Summit League preseason poll with 17 total points and one first place vote. Oral Roberts was picked first with 22 points and three first place votes.
 
SUMMIT LEAGUE PLAYERS TO WATCH
Sophomore infielder Jake Schaffner and senior left-handed pitcher Nolan Johnson were named to the Summit League Players and Pitchers to Watch list. Schaffner, who was named to the All-Summit League First Team last season, recorded a team-best .337 batting average and .436 on-base percentage last season to go along with a team-high 64 hits. Johnson appeared in six games last season with a career-best five starts and registered a 2.73 ERA before an injury sidelined him March.
 
SUMMIT LEAGUE SUCCESS
Under fourth-year head coach Tyler Oakes, the Bison have played a challenging non-conference schedule in preparation of Summit League play.
 
Over the last three seasons, the Bison are a combined 47-24-1 in conference play with 27 of those victories coming on the road. NDSU has reached the 15-win mark in three of the last four seasons and seven total times in Summit League play since joining the league in 2008. In Oakes’ first season as head coach in 2022, the Bison secured their first Summit League regular season title in program history.
 
RETURNING ALL-SUMMIT LEAGUE PLAYERS
NDSU earned eight All-Summit League selections last year and return three from that group this season. Shortstop Jake Schaffner was named to the All-League First Team in his freshman season, while outfielder Sam Canton and right-handed pitcher Logan Knight were named to the honorable mention list.
 
EXPERIENCE IN THE BULLPEN
Reese Ligtenberg and Skyler Riedinger both return this season out of the bullpen. Last season, Ligtenberg made 31 relief appearances, which set the NDSU single-season record for appearances. His 31 appearances led the Summit League and ranked 27th in the nation. Riedinger has totaled 66 appearances over four seasons, including a career-best 29 last season, which ranked second on the NDSU single-season list. The Bismarck, N.D., native enters the season positioned sixth on the all-time NDSU appearances list with 66.
 
BISON PLAY IN BIG TIME VENUES
Under fourth-year head coach Tyler Oakes, the Bison have made a habit of scheduling a challenging non-conference schedule in preparation of Summit League play and have done it in some of the best venues in college baseball. Over the last three seasons, the Bison have played in front of five of the largest road crowds in program history since 1977. Last season, the Bison played in front of 9,909 fans at LSU on March 12, 2024, the highest road attendance in program history.
 
#PROBISON
NDSU has had eight incoming or current players selected in the MLB Draft since 2013. Joey Danielson became the 14th NDSU player selected in the MLB Draft dating back to 1968 after the Texas Rangers picked him in the 17th round last season. It marked the second straight season NDSU had a current pitcher selected in the draft after Cade Feeney was picked by the Boston Red Sox in the 13th round in 2023. Bennett Hostetler was also selected in the 18th round of the 2021 MLB Draft by the Miami Marlins and most recently earned a spot on the non-roster invitees list for spring training with the Marlins.
 
WHO’S BACK?
NDSU returns 16 letterwinners this season, including five starters that played in at least 50 percent of the games last season. The roster also features 14 seniors: Alex Urlaub, Sam Canton, Luis Garcia, Colten Becker, Sam Roberts, Logan Knight, Seth Thompson, Cole Mahlum, Alex Karns, Austin Bergum, Hayden Sylte, Reese Ligtenberg, Leland Wilson and Skyler Riedinger.
 
WELCOME TO THE SQUAD
The Bison welcome 14 newcomers this season: Alex Urlaub, Evan Gustafson, Will Mann, Tate Martin, Sam Roberts, Tommy Simon, Tyman Long, Luke Shannahan, Ethan Swaby, Danny Lachenmayer, Dante Smith, Cade Wiegert, Garrett Shupe and Luke Agnew.
 
STEIL JOINS COACHING STAFF
Jack Steil joined the NDSU coaching staff as the Director of Operations this offseason after spending two seasons with the Bison from 2023-24. He’s the second former Bison player on the coaching staff, joining Trent Keefer, who played at NDSU from 2014-15.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
The Bison will continue their Texas road swing at Lamar on Tuesday, Feb. 18. First pitch is set for 6:00 p.m.