Bulldog Athletic Association Member (BAAM) Athletes of the Week
Male: Kaleb Williams, Wrestling
A freshman from Winter Springs, Fla., Kaleb Williams placed third at the Friends Falcon Open while making his collegiate debut. Williams went 5-1 in the 125-pound bracket, reached the semifinals and won three of his matches by major decision. Williams is studying Criminal Justice.
Female: McKennah West, Soccer
A sophomore from Lincoln, Neb., McKennah West helped the Bulldogs to a share of the GPAC regular season title as the Bulldogs routed Midland, 8-0, last week. West contributed three assists in the victory. West has started six games this season. She is an Elementary Education major.
2026-27 BAAM Athletes of the Week
Oct. 27 – Hugo Garrote, Soccer / Charli Preister, Soccer
Oct. 20 – Seohyeon Jang, Tennis / Joe McCarroll, Soccer
Oct. 13 – Jett Farwell, Football / Bella Hedke, Volleyball
Oct. 6 – Ella Brueggemann, Volleyball / Joe McCarroll, Soccer
Sept. 29 – Elijah Fulton, Soccer / Seohyeon Jang, Tennis
Sept. 22 – Abby Haynes, Soccer / Kaden Thompson, Football
Sept. 15 – Seohyeon Jang, Tennis / Carter Wiebusch, Soccer
Sept. 8 – Laynee Baker, Volleyball / Kai Olbrich, Men’s Soccer
Sept. 1 – Myla Emery, Volleyball / Gideon Stark, Football
Aug. 25 – Shandy Fa’ali’i, Volleyball / Sean Stratman, Men’s Soccer
News and notes:
BAAM luncheons are held every Tuesday (when classes are in session) at 12 p.m. CT inside the Dog House Grill, located in the Janzow Campus Center. The luncheons feature reports from head coaches who are in season at the time. For information on how to join BAAM, click HERE. It is not a requirement to be a BAAM member in order to attend the weekly luncheons.
27th annual Cattle Classic set for this weekend: The 27th annual Cattle Classic will unfold this Friday-Saturday inside Friedrich Arena. The event, co-sponsored by Concordia and Cattle Bank & Trust, raises money and food for the Blue Valley Community Action's Food Pantry. Pac N Save of Seward will match all canned food donations. A total of eight basketball games will be played over the two-day classic. For additional details, check out the Cattle Classic homepage HERE.
Weightlifting begins 2026-27 competition season at Iowa-Nebraska State Championships: In the kickoff to the fifth season in program history, Concordia Weightlifting came away with team and individual hardware. The Bulldogs hoisted the team championship trophy after action concluded on Oct. 24 at the 2026 Iowa-Nebraska Weightlifting State Organization (WSO) Championships held at the Mid-America Center in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Eight Concordia lifters emerged as champions within their weight classes and Kaiden Mima earned distinction as Best Overall Male Lifter while Taylor Hedke was named Best Senior Female Lifter. In addition to individual championships won by Hedke (69 kg) and Mima (70 kg), the following Bulldogs also took home first place medals: Alex Hibbs (53 kg) and Gracy Johnson (77 kg) on the women’s side and Nolan Graupmann (110+ kg), Wyatt Hosick (65 kg), Enzo Mancini (95 kg) and Marcus Sweet (85 kg) on the men’s side. For further details, check out the meet recap HERE. On another note, Mima traveled to Mexico recently and competed in the Pan American Junior Championships. He earned three gold medals for his efforts. The next events on the schedule are the Central Collegiate Cup Series (Nov. 21-22) for powerlifting and the Virus Weightlifting Finals (Dec. 3-6) for weightlifting.
--2026-27 Powerlifting Season Preview
--2026-27 Weightlifting Season Preview
Jang makes history, wins NAIA ITA Cup singles championship: The very first Bulldog to ever qualify for the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Cup, Seohyeon “Lay” Jang made the most of her opportunity. In action that took place Oct. 14-18 in Rome, Ga., Jang won the NAIA ITA Cup singles championship while going 4-0 in the 16-player bracket (which can be found HERE). Seeded third, Jang toppled unseeded opponents in the round of 16 and quarterfinals before proceeding to defeat Georgia Gwinnett’s second-ranked Suryanshi Suryanshi, 6-4, 6-3, in the semifinals and Doane’s fourth-ranked Maria Purizaca, 6-4, 6-1, in the championship match. This fall, Jang went unbeaten in singles as she won the GPAC Fall Individual Championships, the ITA Central West Regional Championships and the ITA Cup. Including her victory in the dual versus Midland (a 6-1 team win), Jang posted a 14-0 mark this fall. Jang is a native of Seoul, South Korea, and is a Business Administration major. Head Coach Lisa Hart’s tennis programs will resume action in the spring of 2027.
Ballfield Project underway, funding still sought: Over the summer, Concordia University, Nebraska went public with the Shine Forth Campaign, an initiative that includes the hybrid baseball-softball Ballfield Project. Concordia continues to seek funding for the project, which will bring a state-of-the-art facility to the east part of campus. For more details on the Ballfield Project, check out the article that first appeared in the Broadcaster magazine HERE.
Concordia Athletics features: The Concordia Athletics website regularly spotlights Bulldog student-athletes, teams and alums with detailed profiles and feature articles. Recent feature stories are linked below.
--Former teammates (Jason Weides and Bernie Ochoa) reunite over passion for Concordia, Bulldog Soccer
--Shandy Fa’ali’i takes on expanded on-court, leadership role
Bulldog Coaches Show airs every Thursday at 5:30 p.m. CT: The Bulldog Coaches Show has returned for a 12th year. The show airs live for a half hour every Thursday beginning at 5:30 p.m. CT on KTMX-FM 104.9 Max Country. The weekly feature can also be heard live via 104.9 Max Country’s website or by downloading the Max Country app. Throughout the 2026-27 season, Bulldog football, men’s and women’s basketball and volleyball contests will be aired live on Max Country. Parker Cyza serves as the host of the coaches’ show as well as the play-by-play voice for football and basketball. Eric Allgood will be the primary voice for volleyball.
Concordia Sports Network: Live webcasts for most home varsity contests can be accessed by visiting https://www.cune.edu/athletics/watch-bulldogs at game time. Beginning with the 2023-24 academic year, Concordia Athletics began a partnership with Hudl for live video streaming. Live webcast links for away contests are publicized in sport specific releases that preview action for that particular week. Scrimmages, exhibitions and junior varsity events are not broadcasted via the Hudl account. For select JV streams, check out that specific sport’s Facebook page. Starting in 2026-27, Concordia broadcasts are simulcast with the GPAC Network and Urban Edge Network.
Men’s Soccer
· Current record: 13-4, 10-0 GPAC (1st); ranked No. 22 in the NAIA selection committee poll.
· Last week:
o Won vs. Midland, 3-1, on Oct. 28.
o GPAC Quarterfinals – Won vs. Doane, 8-0, on Oct. 31.
· Links: 2026 Schedule | Roster | Statistics | NAIA Selection Committee Poll
· Notable: The dominance against GPAC opponents continued last week as the Bulldogs are bound for the GPAC tournament semifinals. Head Coach Bernie Ochoa’s squad polished off a perfect conference regular season run (10-0) with a 3-1 home win over Midland in the regular season finale. Then in kicking off the postseason, Concordia pummeled Doane, 8-0, in the GPAC quarterfinals. In 11 games this season against conference opponents, the Bulldogs have outnumbered their foes, 52-7. In the quarterfinal throttling, the goals came courtesy of Hugo Garrote (26’ and 38’), Elijah Fulton (51’), Milo Hegarty (63’), Jasper Hofland (73’), Kade Olbrich (79’ and 87’) and Victor Tavares (86’). Defensively, Concordia notched its seventh clean sheet of the season. The team season goal count has reached 59, a new program record, eclipsing the previous standard of 53 goals by the 1979 team that went 8-5-1 overall while coached by Dr. Jack Kinworthy. The top seed in the conference tournament, Concordia has reached the GPAC semifinals for the 10th time in program history. The ’26 team hopes to add to the program’s list of GPAC tournament championships, won previously by the 2015, 2022 and 2025 squads. Up next, the Bulldogs will host Dakota Wesleyan on Friday in the semifinals. The winner will advance to play either No. 2 seed Dordt or sixth-seeded Northwestern in the championship game on Tuesday, Nov. 10. The league’s one automatic bid to the national tournament will go to the conference postseason champion.
· For a closer look at this week’s matchups, check out the game notes linked HERE.
· This week (GPAC Tournament):
o Semifinals – Friday, Nov. 6 vs. Dakota Wesleyan (7-5-3, 6-3-1 GPAC), 7 p.m.
o Championship – Tuesday, Nov. 10 vs. TBD, 7 p.m. (if win in semifinals).
Women’s Soccer
· Current record: 10-3-3, 9-1-1 GPAC (T-1st).
· Last week:
o Won vs. Midland, 8-0, on Oct. 28.
· Links: 2026 Schedule | Roster | Statistics | NAIA Selection Committee Poll
· Notable: With a share of the GPAC regular season championship on the line, the Bulldogs came through in emphatic fashion, throttling rival Midland by a score of 8-0 in the regular season finale. The result pulled Head Coach Jason Weides’ squad even with Hastings and Morningside (all 9-1-1 in GPAC) atop the league standings. Based on tiebreakers, Concordia will be the No. 2 seed in the GPAC tournament, which begins tonight (Nov. 2) with the quarterfinal round. In the regular season finale, the Bulldogs got goals from Guadulupe Sanchez (14’ and 21’), Molli Kalsbeck (27’), Abby Haynes (48’), Kianna Perez (68’ and 72’), Kyana Rios (75’) and Melissa Howard (86’). As part of the shutout, Concordia used three different goalkeepers (starting with Aaliyah Matthews). Entering the postseason, Sanchez tops the Bulldogs with 10 goals this season. She’s followed on the list by Haynes (seven), Kalsbeck (five) and Perez (four). The Bulldogs have won a GPAC regular season championship for the second time in history – the other occurred in 2017. In order to earn an automatic bid to the national tournament, Concordia will need to either win the GPAC tournament or have top seed Hastings win the GPAC tournament. If the Bulldogs get past College of Saint Mary in the quarterfinals, they would then host either fourth-seeded Mount Marty or fifth-seeded Briar Cliff in the semifinals on Saturday. The championship game is set for Wednesday, Nov. 11.
· For additional news and notes, check out the program’s homepage HERE.
· This week (GPAC Tournament):
o Quarterfinals – Tuesday, Nov. 2 vs. College of Saint Mary (8-8-1, 4-6-1 GPAC), 7 p.m.
o Semifinals – Saturday, Nov. 7 vs. TBD, 6 p.m. (if win in quarterfinals).
o Championship – scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 11.
Volleyball
· Current record: 22-4, 13-2 GPAC; ranked No. 3 in the NAIA selection committee poll.
· Last week:
o Won at Hastings, 25-18, 25-16, 25-22, on Oct. 28.
o Lost vs. No. 18 Dordt, 20-25, 25-22, 16-25, 25-22, 15-9, on Oct. 31.
· Links: 2026 Schedule | Roster | Statistics | NAIA Selection Committee Poll
· Notable: In a challenging final full regular season week, the third-ranked Bulldogs went 1-1. They played sharply in a sweep at Hastings in the middle of the week before falling in five sets to No. 18 Dordt on Halloween. Despite the rare home loss, Concordia locked up the No. 2 seed for the GPAC tournament that will begin on Saturday with the quarterfinal round. In the win at Hastings, the Bulldogs held a decisive advantage in hitting percentage, .315 to .110, while getting 13 kills from Shandy Fa’ali’i. Defensively, Bella Hedke contributed to five of the team’s 11 blocks. For the week, Concordia outnumbered its opponents, 25-7, in blocks. In the loss to a Defender team primed for a return to the national tournament, the Bulldogs struggled at times to put away kills. The Dordt back row came up with 71 digs and outdid Concordia in kills, 61-54. The Bulldogs nearly came back from a 9-0 deficit to begin the fourth set before being tripped up. Fa’ali’i wound up with 30 kills and a .324 hitting percentage for the week. Fa’ali’i’s season kill total of 330 ranks as the 28th highest for an individual in program history. Head Coach Ben Boldt’s squad will look to bounce back tonight (Nov. 3) when it hosts Doane on the final day of the regular season. The Bulldogs’ GPAC quarterfinal opponent will be determined by the end of the evening.
· For additional news and notes on Concordia Volleyball, check out the team’s homepage HERE.
· This week:
o Tuesday, Nov. 3 vs. Doane (4-24, 1-14 GPAC), 7:30 p.m.
o GPAC Quarterfinals – Saturday, Nov. 7 vs. TBD, 7:30 p.m.
Football
· Current record: 4-4, 4-4 GPAC.
· Most recent:
o Won vs. Doane, 45-17, on Oct. 31.
· Links: 2026 Schedule | Roster | Statistics | NAIA Selection Committee Poll
· Notable: After a long awaited return to Bulldog Stadium, Concordia met up with rival Doane on Halloween and extended its series win streak to four. Big plays in the passing game and the running of Dylan Mika powered the Bulldogs to a 45-17 victory. Mika piled up a career-high 152 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries. Through the air, quarterback Gideon Stark connected with Adam Van Cleave for touchdowns that covered 38 and 55 yards and with Jonny Puelz for scores that went for 20 and 19 yards. In 25 career games, Stark has thrown for 4,299 yards and 41 touchdowns. On the defensive end versus the Tigers, Concordia leaned on a bend-but-don’t break model. Doane went scoreless on two of its three red zone trips and was held out of the end zone for the entire second half. The only turnover of the game was an interception thrown by Stark. The defense was led by 10 tackles from Trey Whalen while Terry Sebek notched 1.5 sacks up front. The Bulldog offense is averaging 35.1 points per game, 31st best among 96 NAIA teams. A major contributor to the offensive production, Van Cleave currently owns program all-time rankings of third in receptions (187), fifth in receiving yards (2,262) and fifth in receiving touchdowns (20). The final road trip of the season will take place on Saturday when Concordia will be back in Sioux City, Iowa, for a matchup with Briar Cliff. The 2026 campaign will finish on Nov. 14 with a home matchup versus Midland.
· For details on each week’s matchup, check out the game notes linked HERE.
· Next up:
o Saturday, Nov. 7 at Briar Cliff (1-8, 1-7 GPAC), 1 p.m.
Cross Country
· Most recent:
o Placed 12th/27 on the men’s side and 11th/28 on the women’s side at the Blazing Tiger NAIA Classic on Oct. 24.
· Links: 2026 Schedule | Roster | NAIA Ratings: Men | Women
· Notable: The final meet of the regular season took place on Oct. 24 as the Bulldogs went up against top-notch NAIA competition at the Blazing Tiger Classic co-hosted by College of Saint Mary and Doane. Concordia came away with place finishes of 12th out of 27 on the men’s side and 11th out of 28 on the women’s side in a meet that featured a combined 19 squads that were either ranked or receiving votes in the latest NAIA ratings. The top finishers for the men (8K race) were seniors Trey Robertson (25:44.6) and Aidan Limback (26:18.3) and sophomore Keith Siek (26:18.9). Robertson ran a season best 8K time and placed 25th. On the women’s side, freshman Hope Beck led the way once again, placing 41st in the women’s 6K in a time of 23:32.3. She was followed by two freshmen: Rachel Prince (23:54.0) and Katie Johnsen (23:55.5). Notably, the women placed in front of No. 23 Southern Oregon University. Beck was the women’s top finisher at all five regular season meets. Based on recent ratings, Head Coach Matt Beisel’s squads will need to make a significant push at the conference meet in order to boost its chances of qualifying for the national championships. For the 20 runners (10 men and 10 women) who make the cut for Concordia’s GPAC roster, the season will continue with the GPAC Championships at the Dordt Cross Country Course on Saturday. Last season, the Bulldogs posted GPAC place finishes of third for men and fifth for women.
· For additional news and notes on the Concordia Cross Country teams, click HERE.
· Up next:
o Saturday, Nov. 7 at the 2026 GPAC Championships (Dordt Cross Country Course in Sioux Center, Iowa), 10:45 a.m.
Women’s Basketball
· Current record: 2-0; ranked No. 10 in NAIA coaches’ poll.
· Last week (at CorTrust Classic hosted by DWU):
o Won vs. Valley City State, 112-69, on Oct. 30.
o Won vs. William Penn, 92-42, on Oct. 31.
· Links: 2026-27 Schedule | Roster | Statistics | NAIA Coaches’ Poll
· Notable: Concordia cruised to blowout victories over both Valley City State University (N.D.), 112-69, and William Penn University (Iowa), 92-42, as part of last week’s CorTrust Classic hosted by Dakota Wesleyan at the Corn Palace. The nature of those contests allowed Head Coach Drew Olson to hand out minutes up and down the roster. The top scorers over the two games were Bree Bunting (31), Ayla Roth (29), Sammy Leu (24), Makynna Robbins (24) and Libby Hoffman (19). On the other end, the Bulldogs devastated the Vikings and the Statesmen with the press, forcing a combined 77 turnovers, including 49 on steals. Chief among the those thieves was Leu and Robbins with seven steals apiece. New to the starting lineup this season, Robbins also grabbed 17 rebounds and blocked a shot. The other four starters also were regulars in the first five last season: Bunting, Leu, Roth and Raelyn Kelty. The level of difficulty will ramp up considerably this week as Concordia gets set to host No. 16 Montana Tech and No. 3 Dakota State University (S.D.) as part of the 27th annual Cattle Classic. Considering No. 2 Dakota Wesleyan will also be on hand, the event will be one of the premier nonconference showcases across the NAIA landscape this season. The Bulldogs began this season ranked 10th in the NAIA coaches’ poll.
· For additional news and notes on the women’s basketball program, click HERE.
· This week (Cattle Classic):
o Friday, Nov. 6 vs. No. 16 Montana Tech (3-0), 4 p.m.
o Saturday, Nov. 7 vs. No. 3 Dakota State (1-2), 12 p.m.
Men’s Basketball
· Current record: 1-1; ranked No. 19 in NAIA coaches’ poll.
· Last week:
o Won at Kansas Wesleyan, 89-61, on Oct. 29.
o Lost at Bethel (Kan.), 81-74, on Oct. 30.
· Links: 2026-27 Schedule | Roster | Statistics | NAIA Coaches’ Poll
· Notable: In tipping off the 2026-27 season, the Bulldogs went 1-1 on a road trip that included matchups with two Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference opponents. Concordia routed Kansas Wesleyan University, 89-61, before falling at Bethel, 81-74. In the victory at KWU, the Bulldogs shot 52.7 percent from the floor and were led in scoring by Garret Johnson (18), Brooks Kissinger (18), Hayden Frank (12) and Derek Tonjes (11). The 18 points for Johnson (6-for-8 3-pt FGs) represented a career high. The next day, Concordia was unable to hold onto a 14-point first-half lead. The bulk of the Bulldogs scoring came from Kissinger (27) and Tonjes (23). The starting lineup for Head Coach Ben Limback’s squad featured three Ashland-Greenwood High School: Kissinger, Tonjes and Dane Jacobsen. The other starters were Frank and Jaxon Stueve. Picked first in the GPAC preseason poll, Concordia brought back a deep and talented backcourt, led by Kissinger, tabbed by NAIA Hoops Report as a national player of the year candidate. Kissinger and company will make their season home debut this week as the 27th annual Cattle Classic takes place. The Bulldogs will be up against Maharishi International University (Iowa) and Judson University (Ill.).
· For additional news and notes on the men’s basketball program, click HERE.
· This week (Cattle Classic):
o Friday, Nov. 6 vs. Maharishi International (2-2), 6 p.m.
o Saturday, Nov. 7 vs. Judson (Ill) (0-3), 2 p.m.
Wrestling
· Current dual record: 0-0.
· Last week:
o Competed at Friends Falcon Open on Oct. 31.
· Links: 2026-27 Schedule | Roster | Statistics | NAIA National Rankings
· Notable: Isaiah Crosby made his head coaching debut over the weekend as 12 Bulldogs represented the wrestling program at the Falcon Open hosted by Friends University at Park City Arena. The place finishers for Concordia included four freshmen: Kaleb Williams (third at 125), Jaxsen Salinas (sixth at 149), Aidan Summa (sixth at 285) and Frost Wallace (eighth at 133). In addition, sophomore Aaron Wilson placed fourth at 157 pounds. It should be noted that the Falcon Open was broken down into “elite” brackets (juniors and seniors) and “amateur” brackets (freshmen and sophomores). Each of the place finishers for the Bulldogs won at least four matches, led by five victories from Williams and Salinas. At heavyweight, Summa recorded three pins as part of a 4-2 day. Other Bulldogs to record at least one win on the day were Ramon Arredondo (1-2 at 184), Simon Arredondo (165) and Daniel Steffensen (1-2 at 157). More than 40 institutions were represented at the Falcon Open, which featured both men’s and women’s tournaments. In the preseason ratings, Crosby’s squad landed at No. 7 in the GPAC. A returning GPAC champion and national qualifier, Cal Price begins the season rated first in the GPAC and 16th in the NAIA at 149. Concordia has this week off from competition while readying for a dual at Hastings on Nov. 12 and then the Grand View Open on Nov. 14.
· For additional news and notes on the wrestling program, click HERE.
· Up Next:
o Thursday, Nov. 12 at Hastings (0-0), 7 p.m.
o Saturday, Nov. 14 at Grand View Open, 9 a.m.