SEWARD, Neb. – The annual tradition continues as Concordia University, Nebraska Baseball has earned the right to host GPAC tournament action for the eighth time in the past nine seasons. The Bulldogs are seeded second in the double-elimination bracket. Concordia will welcome third-seeded Morningside, sixth-seeded Dakota Wesleyan and seventh-seeded Mount Marty to Sherman Field in Lincoln. Head Coach Ryan Dupic’s squad enters the postseason with an overall record of 34-15 (22-6 GPAC). Doane will be the host for the other four-team pod.
2026 GPAC Tournament – Concordia Bracket
--Full Bracket
April 29-May 1 | Sherman Field (Lincoln, Neb.)
--Live Webcasts | GPAC Network
--Live Stats
Wednesday, April 29
Game 1 – (3) Morningside vs. (6) Dakota Wesleyan, 3 p.m.
Game 2 – (2) Concordia vs. (7) Mount Marty, 6 p.m.
Thursday, April 30
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 1
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
· The Bulldogs were in the running for a GPAC regular season championship all the way into the final weekend of the regular season. Hopes of a championship were boosted when Concordia swept a doubleheader at then GPAC-leading Morningside on April 23. However, Doane (24-4 GPAC) seized its opportunity and finished the regular season on an 11-game winning streak while clinching the league’s No. 1 seed and an automatic bid to the NAIA Opening Round. In terms of national tournament prospects, the Bulldogs have positioned themselves nicely. The season profile includes wins over many highly rated NAIA RPI teams, including No. 1 Bellevue, No. 13 Doane (2x), No. 36 Morningside (2x) and No. 59 Oklahoma City (2x). Concordia’s strength of schedule landed at No. 87 in the official NAIA metrics released on April 20. In a unique season, the Bulldogs have accomplished such feats while playing only four games at Plum Creek Park.
· Catcher Jake Watson emerged as one of Concordia’s best stories of the regular season. The Lincoln Christian High School alum leads the team with a .367 batting average. He also owns a .467 on-base percentage and .669 slugging percentage to go along with 13 doubles, a triple, nine home runs and 43 RBIs. Behind the plate, Watson started every game during conference play. As part of the doubleheader at Hastings last week, Watson broke the school single season record for putouts in a season. His 399 putouts surpassed the previous standard of 393 set by Kaleb Geiger (professional rugby player) in 2016. Watson has caught a pitching staff that has a chance to break a school record for strikeouts in a season.
· Alex Johnson has put himself in the running for another GPAC Pitcher of the Year award. The Olathe, Kan., native earned the win in his start last week at Morningside while covering 6.1 innings. Johnson won all seven of his starts in conference play. In those games, he threw 43.1 innings and amassed 72 strikeouts (14.95 per nine innings) while posting a 3.74 ERA. On Concordia’s all-time lists, Johnson currently ranks first in strikeouts (308), first in games started (49), tied for fourth in wins (25), sixth in innings pitched (228) and seventh in ERA (3.51). Johnson’s 97 strikeouts this season are 12 shy of the school single season record (109) held by Cade Moring.
· As a staff, the Bulldogs far and away lead the NAIA in the category of strikeouts per nine innings (12.03 – next closest is 10.82). Alex Johnson has contributed heavily to that statistic – and so too has sophomore Micah Sweeton. The Temecula, Calif., native his been on a roll, firing seven-inning shutouts in two of his past three outings. In his shutout of Morningside last week, Sweeton tallied a career-high 14 strikeouts. In seven appearances this season, Sweeton has piled up 53 strikeouts in 32 innings (2.25 ERA). The following Concordia hurlers with at least 10 innings pitched this season average more than 9.0 strikeouts per nine innings: Harrison Hoiekvam (17.02), Johnson (14.97), Sweeton (14.91), Warren Rose (14.57), DJ Andersen (13.50), Daiten Schmidt (11.57), Trent Schlim (11.44), Caden Bugarske (10.80), Devin Gonor (10.58) and Brody Smearer (10.13). Hoiekvam has been dominant lately with 17 strikeouts over his past two relief appearances (7.1 innings).
· The offense has remained potent despite saying goodbye to star position players such as Brad Hallock, Ty Nekoliczak (current GA), Jaidan Quinn and Matt Rhoades from last season’s GPAC championship team. The ’26 team is averaging 7.1 runs scored per game (350 total runs) while slashing .284/.418/.502. The team’s top performers (with slash lines in parentheses) have been Jake Watson (.367/.467/.669), Bronx Lewis (.331/.463/.748), Luke Wilson (.328/.427/.591), Carson Burnett (.311/.472/.489), Jaeden Jordahl (.294/.478/.451), Alex Draper (.286/.377/.505) and Andrew Fetty (.268/.422/.458). With a home run in the game two win at Morningside, Lewis pushed his GPAC leading homer total to 19.
· Among GPAC teams, Concordia ranks first in strikeouts per nine innings (12.03), first in pitcher WHIP (1.40), second in home runs (71), second in ERA (4.54), third in slugging percentage (.502), third in runs scored (350), fourth in on-base percentage (.418), fifth in stolen bases (69), fifth in fielding percentage (.963) and seventh in batting average (.284). On the individual league leaderboard, Bronx Lewis paces the GPAC in home runs (19), Alex Johnson tops the K’s list (97) and Zackery Day ranks second in steals (22). Watson sits No. 11 in batting average (.367).
· Discounting the 2020 COVID-19 shortened season, Concordia has reached the GPAC tournament championship game in six of the past eight 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 (399), GPAC regular season wins (206), overall winning percentage (.659), conference winning percentage (.705) 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. Dupic enters the conference tournament needing one more win for 400 in his career.
Concordia Bracket opponents
(3) Morningside (33-16, 21-7 GPAC | NAIA RPI: 36) – The GPAC leader heading into the final week of the regular season, Morningside will be looking to bolster its NAIA national tournament chances in the GPAC tournament. The Mustangs have won two GPAC tournament titles (2008 and 2016) in their history. The ’26 team leads the GPAC in home runs (80) while slugging .526. The lineup features three main sluggers in Jacob O’Dell (16 HR, 45 RBIs), Romani Perez (14 HR, 52 RBIs) and Conner Maston (14 HR, 42 RBIs). From last season’s squad, Morningside returned First Team All-GPAC honorees in outfielder Michael Delzell and pitchers Sam Hanson and Cade Nolan as well as second teamers in O’Dell and Michael Snyder. Nolan has headlined the pitching staff with a 6-4 record to go along with a 3.57 ERA and 74 strikeouts in 58 innings. Head Coach Adam Boeve is in his ninth season leading the program. He led Morningside to a national tournament appearance in 2023.
(6) Dakota Wesleyan (19-26, 10-18 GPAC | NAIA RPI: 102) – The Tigers return to the Concordia Bracket after appearing in Seward last season as the No. 8 seed. Fourth-year Head Coach Charlie Dubanoski’s program has improved its win total after finishing 2025 at 13-37 overall. The 2026 roster includes returning Second Team All-GPAC shortstop Joseph Tharaldson, a slick fielder who has made only five errors this season. DWU’s top source of power has been Ean Laird, who is slugging 1.030 (seven home runs) in 33 at bats. The Tigers are slashing .262/.351/.430 as a team with 242 runs scored in 45 games. The team’s top pitchers have been Alex Mizsak (7-2, 5.86 ERA, 73.2 IP), Caleb Myers (3-6, 6.51 ERA, 47 IP) and Dexter Payne (2-2, 4.38 ERA, 39 IP). DWU won GPAC tournament titles in 2004, 2005, 2009 and 2015.
(7) Mount Marty (19-29, 10-18 GPAC | NAIA RPI: 116) – The Lancers are the league’s No. 7 seed for the second year in a row. From last season’s squad (29-22, 12-16 GPAC), Head Coach Josh Teichroew welcomed back All-GPAC players in outfielder Jalen Owens (first team), second baseman Daniel Vonnegut (second team), utility player Joe Gokie and pitcher Palmer Jacobs (honorable mention). Mount Marty leads the GPAC with 139 stolen bases on the season. Owens is the league’s individual leader in that category with 47 steals. Shortstop Tyler Vance leads the offensive attack. He’s hitting .364 with a .467 on-base percentage and .607 slugging percentage to go with seven home runs and 56 RBIs. Within the pitching staff, Kaden Harris (3-4, 4.95 ERA, 40 IP) has logged the most innings. The Lancers’ one GPAC tournament title came in 2012.
GPAC Championship Game
The winners that emerge from the Concordia and Doane Brackets will meet in a winner-take-all GPAC championship game on Monday, May 4 (3 p.m. – no lights / 6 p.m. – lights). 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), Doane has locked up one of the league’s two automatic bids to nationals. If Doane happens to win the postseason title as well, the second bid would go to the Bulldogs as the regular season runner up.