North Dakota State Bison baseball

American college baseball team

North Dakota State Bison baseball

Founded| 1909 (1909)
Conference history| North Central Conference (1958–2004, Division II)

Independent (2005–2007)

Summit League (2008–Present)
University| North Dakota State University
Athletic director| Matt Larsen
Head coach| Tyler Oakes (4th season)
Conference| Summit League
Location| Fargo, North Dakota
Home stadium| Newman Outdoor Field
(Capacity: 4,513)
Nickname| Bison
Colors| Green and yellow[1]

NCAA tournament appearances
Division I
2014, 2021
Division II
1969
Pre–Divisions
1956
Conference tournament champions
Summit League
2014, 2021
North Central Conference
1969, 1973, 2004
Conference regular season champions
Summit League
2022
North Central Conference
2000

The North Dakota State Bison baseball team is the varsity intercollegiate baseball program of North Dakota State Bison in Fargo, North Dakota, United States. The program's first season was in 1909, and it has been a member of the NCAA Division I Summit League since the start of the 2008 season. Its home venue is Newman Outdoor Field, located on North Dakota State's campus. Tyler Oakes is the team's head coach in his second season. The program has appeared in 2 NCAA Division I tournaments. It has won 5 conference tournament championships and 2 regular season conference titles. As of the start of the 2024 Major League Baseball season, 2 former Bison have appeared in Major League Baseball and 3 are currently in Minor League Baseball.

## History

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### Early history

[edit]

The program's first season of play was 1909.

### Conference affiliations

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* North Central Conference (1958–2004)
* Independent (2005–2007)
* Summit League (2008–present)

## Newman Outdoor Field

[edit]

Main article: Newman Outdoor Field

The stadium contains the Maury Wills Museum in honor of the former Major League Baseball player who worked for the RedHawks as a coach and a radio analyst.

The first number retired at the stadium was the #8 worn by hometown hero Roger Maris when he played for the Fargo-Moorhead Twins in the 1950s. The outfield distances replicate those of Yankee stadium where Maris made history.

In 2012, college baseball writer Eric Sorenson ranked the field the sixth most underrated venue in Division I baseball.[2]

In 2021, the stadium played host to the second NDSU Baseball team to make it to the 2021 NCAA Division I baseball tournament as the Bison went 14–4 at home that season.

In 2023, the stadium hosted the 2023 Summit League baseball tournament after the NDSU Baseball team won their first Summit League regular season title in program history.

## Head coaches

[edit]

North Dakota State's longest tenured head coach was Mitch McLeod, who coached the team from 1993 to 2007. North Dakota State's most successful coach in the Division 1 era is Tod Brown who had a record of 341–350 in his 14 seasons at NDSU. He also led the Bison to two NCAA tournament berths in 2014 and 2021, including the Bison's first NCAA tournament win when they defeated Nevada 6–1 at the Stanford Regional in the 2021 NCAA Division I baseball tournament.[3]

#  | Name  | Year  | Record

|
|
|

1 | Art Rueber | 1909–1913 | 36–16–1
2 | Bert Haskins | 1914 | 11–2
3 | Howard Wood | 1915 | 8–7
4 | Stan Borleske | 1920–1921, 1923–1924 | 21–14–1
5 | F.H. Watkins | 1922 | 4–4
6 | Stan Kostka | 1947 | 5–3
7 | Packy Schaffer | 1951 | 2–8
8 | B.C. Bentson | 1952–1954, 1957–1961 | 35–53
9 | Cliff Rothrock | 1955–1956 | 19–12
10 | Ross Fortier | 1962 | 5–10
11 | Roger Shelstad | 1963 | 4–9
12 | Vern McKee | 1964–1965 | 21–27
13 | Ev Kjelbertson | 1966–1968 | 24–41
14 | Ron Bodine | 1969–1970 | 26–15
15 | Arlo Brunsberg | 1971–1973 | 45–30
16 | Bucky Burgau | 1974–1977 | 41–73
17 | Rolf Kopperud | 1978–1979 | 15–39
18 | George Ellis | 1980–1984 | 62–138
19 | Jim Pettersen | 1985–1992 | 131–203–3
20 | Mitch McLeod | 1993–2007 | 347–322–4
21 | Tod Brown | 2008–2021 | 341–350
22 | Tyler Oakes | 2022–present | 74–79–1
Overall |  | 1909–2024 (122 years) | 1276–1453–10

## Postseason history

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### NCAA Division I Tournament results

[edit]

The Bison have appeared in two NCAA Division I tournaments. Their combined record is 1–4.

Year  | Regional  | Regional Seed  | Opponent  | Result

|
|
|
|

2014 | Corvallis | #4 | #1 Oregon State
#2 UNLV | L 1–2
L 1–2
2021 | Stanford | #4 | #1 Stanford
#3 Nevada
#2 UC Irvine | L 1–9
W 6–1
L 3–18

### NCAA Division II Tournament results

[edit]

The Bison appeared in one NCAA Division II tournament. Their record was 2–2.

Year  | Regional  | Opponent  | Result

|
|
|

1969 | Mankato | Luther
Southwest Missouri State
Minnesota State Mankato
Southwest Missouri State | W 10-0
L 1-6
W 12-10
L 2-4

### NCAA Pre–Division Tournament results

[edit]

Before the 1957 season, the NCAA did not divide member schools into any divisions, thus having a master tournament. The Bison appeared in one of these such tournaments, their record was 1–1.

Year  | Regional  | Opponent  | Result

|
|
|

1956 | District 5 (Stillwater, OK) | Oklahoma
Bradley | W 8-3
L 2-11

## Notable former players

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Below is a list of notable former Bison and the seasons in which they played for North Dakota State.

* Neil Wagner (2003–2005) Played for Oakland Athletics in 2011 and the Toronto Blue Jays in 2013–14[4]
* Jay Flaa (2013–2015) Played for the Baltimore Orioles and Atlanta Braves in 2021[5]
* Bennett Hostetler (2017–2021) Currently Plays on Triple-A Jacksonville for the Miami Marlins[6][7]

## Division I Awards and Honors

[edit]

### All-Summit League

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* First Team
* 2012
* Tim Colwell
* John Straka
* 2013
* Wes Satzinger
* Tim Colwell
* Kyle Kleinendorst
* Jon Hechtner
* 2014
* Michael Leach
* 2016
* Drew Fearing
* 2017
* Logan Busch
* 2019
* Max Loven
* 2021
* Bennett Hostetler
* Jake Malec
* Cade Feeney
* Parker Harm
* 2022
* Calen Schwabe
* Logan Williams
* 2023
* Peter Brookshaw
* Druw Sackett
* Cade Feeney
* Tristen Roehrich
* 2024
* Jake Schaffner
* Joey Danielson

### Summit League Player of the Year

[edit]

* Tim Colwell (2014)

### Summit League Coach of the Year

[edit]

* Tyler Oakes (2022)

### Summit League Newcomer of the Year

[edit]

* Max Loven (2019)

## See also

[edit]

* List of NCAA Division I baseball programs

## References

[edit]

1. ^ NDSU Bison Graphic Standards (PDF). May 23, 2013. Retrieved April 16, 2016.
2. ^ Sorenson, Eric (5 October 2012). "Distiller's Dozen – The "Hey, Nice Stadium" Edition". CollegeBaseballToday.com. Archived from the original on 27 October 2012. Retrieved 14 December 2012.
3. ^ "Bison Beat Nevada 6–1 to Advance at NCAA Baseball Regional". North Dakota State Athletics. 5 June 2021. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
4. ^ https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/wagnene01.shtml
5. ^ https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/f/flaaja01.shtml
6. ^ "Bennett Hostetler Stats, Fantasy & News". milb.com. Minor League Baseball. Retrieved May 24, 2023.
7. ^ "Bennett Hostetler College, Amateur, and Minor League Statistics". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved January 16, 2025.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website

* v
* t
* e

North Dakota State University

Located in: Fargo, North Dakota

Campus|

* Campus Historic District

Athletics|

| Teams|

* The Bison
* Baseball
* Basketball (Men's/Women's)
* Football
* Soccer
* Softball
* Volleyball
* Wrestling

|

Venues|

* Fargodome
* Scheels Center
* Newman Outdoor Field
* Dacotah Field
* Tharaldson Park
* Terrence Dahl and Donna Beres Track Complex
* Shelly Ellig Indoor Track and Field Facility
* Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse

Other|

* Dakota Marker
* Nickel Trophy

Media|

* Thunder Radio
* The Spectrum
* Bison Illustrated
* Bison Radio Network
* North Dakota State University Press

School songs|

* "On Bison"
* "The Yellow and The Green"
* "We Are the Pride"
* Gold Star Marching Band

* v
* t
* e

North Dakota State Bison baseball

Venues|

* Jack Williams Stadium (Time period unknown)
* Dacotah Field (Time period unknown)
* Bison Baseball Diamond (Time period unknown)
* Newman Outdoor Field (1997–Present)

People|

* Head coaches

Seasons|

* 1909
* 1910
* 1911
* 1912
* 1913
* 1914
* 1915
* 1916
* No Season from 1917-19
* 1920
* 1921
* 1922
* 1923
* 1924
* 1925
* No Season from 1925-46
* 1947
* No Season from 1948-50
* 1951
* 1952
* 1953
* 1954
* 1955
* 1956
* 1957
* 1958
* 1959
* 1960
* 1961
* 1962
* 1963
* 1964
* 1965
* 1966
* 1967
* 1968
* 1969
* 1970
* 1971
* 1972
* 1973
* 1974
* 1975
* 1976
* 1977
* 1978
* 1979
* 1980
* 1981
* 1982
* 1983
* 1984
* 1985
* 1986
* 1987
* 1988
* 1989
* 1990
* 1991
* 1992
* 1993
* 1994
* 1995
* 1996
* 1997
* 1998
* 1999
* 2000
* 2001
* 2002
* 2003
* 2004
* 2005
* 2006
* 2007
* 2008
* 2009
* 2010
* 2011
* 2012
* 2013
* 2014
* 2015
* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019
* 2020
* 2021
* 2022
* 2023
* 2024
* 2025

* v
* t
* e

Summit League baseball

Teams|

* North Dakota State Bison
* Northern Colorado Bears
* Omaha Mavericks
* Oral Roberts Golden Eagles
* St. Thomas Tommies
* South Dakota State Jackrabbits

Championships & awards|

* Tournament

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*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template