SEWARD, Neb. – For the seventh time since 2018, the Concordia University, Nebraska Baseball program will serve as a GPAC tournament pod host. The Bulldogs took all of the drama out of the 2025 GPAC regular season title race while clinching the top spot with a full week remaining in the regular season. Head Coach Ryan Dupic’s squad polished off the regular season this past weekend with a four-game sweep of Dakota Wesleyan. NAIA 15th-ranked Concordia enters the postseason with an overall record of 37-9 (25-3 GPAC). As the league’s top seed, the Bulldogs will welcome No. 4 Briar Cliff, No. 5 Midland and No. 8 Dakota Wesleyan to Plum Creek Park.
2025 GPAC Tournament – Concordia Bracket
--Full Bracket
April 30-May 2 | Plum Creek Park (Seward, Neb.)
--Live Webcasts | GPAC Network (available for all games with a cost of $8.95/day)
--Live Stats
Wednesday, April 30
Game 1 – (4) Briar Cliff vs. (5) Midland 3 p.m.
Game 2 – (1) Concordia vs. (8) Dakota Wesleyan, 6 p.m.
Thursday, May 1
Game 3 – Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner, 12 p.m.
Game 4 – Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser, 3 p.m.
Game 5 – Game 4 Winner vs. Game 3 Loser, 6 p.m.
Friday, May 2
Game 6 – Game 3 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner, 12 p.m.
Game 7 – Game 6 Winner vs. Game 6 Loser, 3 p.m. (if necessary)
Admission: Admission is $10 for adults/senior citizens and $3 for K-12. Only those with NAIA passes and GPAC student ID’s will be admitted free of charge.
By the numbers
· Win No. 25 in the GPAC regular season broke the conference record for a single season. The previous standard of 24 was set by the 2022 Doane squad. Over the 28-game conference slate, the Bulldogs were utterly dominant in outscoring their league foes by a combined total of 291-101. Concordia paced the league in both runs scored and fewest runs allowed. The three GPAC losses the Bulldogs endured were all by one-run margins: 2-1 to Midland, 2-1 to Doane and 13-12 to Mount Marty in 10 innings. Furthermore, the Concordia offense hit double figures in runs scored in 16 of 28 conference contests. Second-place Morningside (19-9 GPAC) finished a full six games behind the Bulldogs in the final GPAC standings.
· Two of the GPAC’s leading candidates for conference player of the year accolades wear Bulldog Blue: Jaidan Quinn and Brad Hallock. The All-American third baseman Quinn put together a monster weekend in Mitchell, S.D., as he batted .615 (8-for-13) with 11 runs scored, two doubles, five home runs, 12 RBIs and a 1.923 slugging percentage. Quinn pushed his career home run total to 96. Meanwhile, Hallock contributed to the four-game sweep of DWU by going 6-for-12 (.500) with eight runs, a double, two home runs and nine RBIs. In addition, Matt Rhoades walloped Tiger pitching in going 9-for-14 (.643) with nine runs, a triple, four home runs and 14 RBIs. In the series as a whole, Concordia outscored DWU, 63-16. Last season, Quinn shared GPAC Player of the Year honors with teammate Joey Grabanski.
· On the season, Quinn is hitting .373 with 23 home runs and 68 RBIs to go along with a .576 on-base percentage and .970 slugging percentage. Hallock is hitting .361 with 23 home runs and 75 RBIs to pair with a .468 on-base percentage and .837 slugging percentage. Not to be forgotten, Rhoades is slashing .337 BA / .433 OBP / .727 SLG with 18 home runs and 66 RBIs. Another standout, Jaeden Jordahl is batting .331 with eight homers and 38 RBIs (.468 OBP / .624 SLG). At the top of the lineup, Ty Nekoliczak has batted .390 with 61 runs scored and terrific rates in the form of a .512 on-base percentage and .528 slugging percentage. Additionally, the catching duo of Michael Welch (.354 BA / .491 OBP / .500 SLG) and Tanner Tompkins (.293 BA / .381 OBP / .488 SLG) has been ultra productive and Bronx Lewis and Jimmy Blumberg have enjoyed strong seasons. In addition to hitting the long ball (92 home runs), the Bulldogs have stolen 80 bases (led by 29 steals from Zackery Day).
· A pitching staff that has been the best in the GPAC has been consistent with the help of four main starting hurlers: Alex Johnson (7-2, 3.07 ERA, 13.42 K/9), Braxton Greenburg (6-0, 3.39 ERA, 12.03 K/9), Christian Gutierrez (8-2, 3.92 ERA, 8.37 K/9) and Micah Sweeton (7-1, 5.09 ERA, 9.98 K/9). The return of Johnson (after Tommy John surgery) has provided Concordia with a dominant ace atop the rotation. In the bullpen, the depth has improved even while dealing with injuries to DJ Andersen and Maverick Wylder. In an important development, Wylder returned to the mound this past weekend for his first appearance since March 10. When/if a postseason game is tight in the late innings, Dupic can turn to closer Daiten Schmidt, who has allowed only two runs in 14 appearances (14.1 innings) and has notched eight saves.
· In landing at No. 15 in the NAIA coaches’ poll released on April 16, Concordia has threatened the highest ranking in program history – No. 12 by the 2021 NAIA World Series qualifying squad. A new coaches’ poll is slated to be released on Wednesday (April 30). In addition, the 2025 Bulldogs remain ranked No. 2 in the west region of the NAIA ARC Ratings. In the latest Bo Chip Ratings (NAIA RPI), Concordia landed at No. 6 in the NAIA while sporting a strength of schedule of 36th. Following the GPAC tournament, the Bulldogs will make the program’s seventh all-time national tournament appearance.
· Among GPAC teams, Concordia ranks first in home runs (92), first in on-base percentage (.455), first in slugging percentage (.590), first in walks taken (322), first in pitcher ERA (4.61), first in pitcher strikeouts per nine innings (10.56), second in stolen bases (80), fourth in batting average (.317) and fifth in fielding percentage (.964). In addition to sitting tied for first in the GPAC in home runs, Quinn paces the league in on-base percentage (.576) and slugging percentage (.970). Hallock, Quinn and Rhoades continue to rank 1-2-3, respectively, among conference players for home runs and RBIs. On the pitching side, Alex Johnson and Braxton Greenburg are the GPAC’s top two strikeout pitchers and both rank inside the top four of the league in ERA.
· Discounting the 2020 COVID-19 shortened season, Concordia has reached the GPAC tournament championship game in five-straight seasons and in six of the past seven seasons (2017, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024) with postseason titles coming in 2021, 2022 and 2024. During Dupic’s tenure (2015 season to the present), Concordia has been the GPAC’s premier program. Consider that in that stretch, the Bulldogs lead all GPAC baseball programs in overall wins (361), GPAC regular season wins (184), overall winning percentage (.658), conference winning percentage (.697) and total GPAC championships (eight). In addition to the 2021, 2022 and 2024 conference tournament titles, Concordia seized GPAC regular season crowns in 2017, 2019, 2021, 2024 and 2025. Prior to Dupic’s arrival, the program had not won a conference championship since 1986. In 2015, the program ended a drought without a winning overall record that had lasted since 1979.
Concordia Bracket opponents
(4) Briar Cliff (24-21, 17-11 GPAC | NAIA Bo Chip: 100) – Briar Cliff is in the same spot it was a year ago – No. 4 seed and headed to Seward for GPAC tournament action. The Chargers put together a strong finish to the regular season in winning 11 of their final 12 GPAC contests. Three players in particular have stood out in the Briar Cliff lineup: Nico Sall (.364 BA, 11 HR, 49 RBIs), Cade Marquardt (.353 BA, 5 HR, 37 RBIs) and Jake Chronic (.342 BA, 4 HR, 14 RBIs) while Cam Riemer is a returning all-conference honoree. The pitching staff has been paced by the likes of Carter Schorg (6-3, 3.41 ERA) and Nick Hays (5-2, 4.48 ERA). Among GPAC teams, Head Coach Corby McGlauflin’s squad ranks fifth in batting average (.308), fifth in on-base percentage (.395), fifth in slugging percentage (.492), seventh in ERA (6.72) and ninth in fielding percentage (.944).
(5) Midland (20-26, 16-12 GPAC | NAIA Bo Chip: 88) – Midland also makes a return to Plum Creek Park while earning the No. 5 seed for a second-straight year. The Warriors struggled with a challenging nonconference slate before finding its way into the top five of the GPAC. Head Coach Shea Bennett’s squad can roll out two quality starting pitchers in Owen Kelley (5-4, 4.10 ERA) and Zachary Vincent (5-5, 4.38 ERA). In the middle of the lineup, returning All-GPAC performer Joshua Hardamon provides the thump with a .338 batting average, 10 home runs and 38 RBIs. Among GPAC teams, Midland ranks fourth in ERA (5.63), sixth in fielding percentage (.959), eighth in on-base percentage (.363), eighth in slugging percentage (.407) and ninth in batting average (.257). The Warriors won GPAC tournament titles in 2006, 2014 and 2017. They split a doubleheader with Concordia in Fremont earlier this season.
(8) Dakota Wesleyan (12-35, 11-17 GPAC | NAIA Bo Chip: 173) – Dakota Wesleyan gets another shot at the Bulldogs following this past weekend’s four-game sweep by the GPAC champions. The Tigers won only one game outside of conference play before getting on a roll with a 10-3 start to league play. Since then, DWU has dropped 14 of 15 league games while hanging on to the No. 8 seed in the bracket. Most notably, the Tigers swept a doubleheader from Doane in Crete back on March 29. Dexter Payne headlines the lineup with a .311 batting average and .397 on-base percentage. Caleb Myers tops the team with five home runs. Statistically, Dakota Munger (1-7. 5.77 ERA in 11 starts) has gotten the best results among starting pitchers. In the GPAC, DWU ranks seventh in fielding percentage (.953), eighth in ERA (7.70), 10th in batting average (.254), 11th in slugging percentage (.350) and 11th in on-base percentage (.346).
GPAC Championship Game
The winners that emerge from the Concordia and Morningside Brackets will meet in a winner-take-all GPAC championship game on Monday, May 5 (time TBA). The highest remaining seed will host the title game. The tournament champion earns an automatic bid to the national tournament. As the regular season champion (No. 1 seed), Concordia has locked up one of the league’s two automatic bids to nationals. If Concordia happens to win the postseason title as well, the second bid would go to the Mustangs as the regular season runner up.