SEWARD, Neb. – The Concordia University Baseball program is no stranger to the national tournament as 2025 marks the Bulldogs’ sixth-straight appearance and seventh qualification in the past eight seasons (excluding 2020). However, Concordia will serve as an NAIA National Championship Opening Round host for the first time. As announced by the NAIA on May 8, the Bulldogs have been seeded No. 2 in their bracket and will welcome to the Lincoln Bracket top seed Webber International (Fla.), No. 3 seed University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma, No. 4 seed Indiana Wesleyan University and No. 5 seed Mount Mercy University (Iowa). All games at the Lincoln Bracket will be played at Sherman Field May 12-15.
The complete schedule for the Lincoln Bracket is listed below. All times are CDT.
2025 NAIA Opening Round – Lincoln Bracket
Site: Sherman Field | Lincoln, Neb.
Live Webcasts: https://www.gpacnetwork.com/cune/
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Monday, May 12
Game 1 – (4) Indiana Wesleyan vs. (5) Mount Mercy, 11 a.m.
Game 2 – (2) Concordia vs. (3) Science and Arts, 3 p.m.
Game 3 – (1) Webber International vs. Game 1 Winner, 7 p.m.
Tuesday, May 13
Game 4 – Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser, 11 a.m.
Game 5 – Game 2 Winner vs. Game 3 Winner, 3 p.m.
Game 6 – Game 3 Loser vs. Game 4 Winner, 7 p.m.
Wednesday, May 14
Game 7 – Game 5 Loser vs. Game 6 Winner, 12 p.m.
Game 8 – Game 5 Winner vs. Game 7 Winner, 4 p.m.
Thursday, May 15
Game 9 – Game 8 Winner vs. Game 8 Loser (if necessary), 12 p.m.
Tickets: Ticket prices are $10 for a day pass and $25 for a tournament pass (for adults). Tickets can be purchased online or at Sherman Field throughout the Opening Round. The online ticketing link is available here: https://www.cune.edu/athletics/tickets.
By the numbers
· Head Coach Ryan Dupic’s squad earned an automatic bid to the national tournament as the GPAC regular season champion. Concordia dominated the GPAC during the regular season as it reigned atop the standings by a full six games. Over the 28-game conference slate, Concordia (25-3) outscored its league foes by a combined total of 291-101. The Bulldogs scored the most runs and allowed the fewest of any GPAC squad as part of the regular season journey. Entering the opening round, Concordia’s offense has slashed .311 BA / .452 OBP / .567 SLG with 95 home runs and an average of 9.53 runs scored per game. With five more home runs, the Bulldogs would reach the 100 mark for the fourth-straight season. Named GPAC Coach of the Year for the fourth time in his tenure, Dupic has led the program to a combined eight GPAC titles and seven national tournament berths with an NAIA World Series appearance in 2021.
· In six previous trips to the national tournament, the Bulldogs have gone a combined 13-11. In 2024, Concordia was sent to the Shreveport Bracket hosted by LSU Shreveport. The games wound up being played in Bossier City, La., due to rainy conditions. The Bulldogs went 1-2 in the bracket with a 14-5 win over Blue Mountain College (Miss.) sandwiched in between losses to Kansas Wesleyan University, 15-8, and LSU Shreveport, 8-3. In his final days wearing the Concordia uniform, Joey Grabanski starred. In the win over Blue Mountain, he drove in six runs while blasting a three-run homer. Grabanski also homered in the elimination loss to LSU Shreveport.
· Thirteen Bulldog players were named 2025 GPAC All-Conference award winners. Most notably, senior third baseman Jaidan Quinn was tabbed GPAC Player of the Year (second time in his career) and senior right-hander Alex Johnson was honored as the GPAC Pitcher of the Year. Quinn and Johnson were joined with First Team All-GPAC honors by pitcher Braxton Greenburg, outfielder Jaeden Jordahl, second baseman Ty Nekoliczak (gold glove), first baseman Matt Rhoades and pitcher Daiten Schmidt. Second team accolades went to Christian Gutierrez, Brad Hallock and Michael Welch. Honorable mention selections included Jimmy Blumberg, Bronx Lewis and Micah Sweeton. Quinn paces all conference players in home runs, on-base percentage (.570), walks (61) and slugging percentage (.915). On the program’s all-time lists, Quinn ranks first in home runs (97), first in walks (180), second in RBIs (276), second in runs scored (279), third in batting average (.363), fifth in hits (257) and fifth in doubles (48). Below are season statistics for Concordia’s first/second team all-conference position players.
o Brad Hallock: .344 BA / .465 OBP / .783 SLG / 64 R / 10 2B / 23 HR / 79 RBIs.
o Jaeden Jordahl: .336 BA / .469 OBP / .620 SLG / 45 R / 11 2B / 8 HR / 42 RBIs / 13 SB.
o Ty Nekoliczak: .383 BA / .513 OBP / .531 SLG / 67 R / 12 2B / 4 HR / 39 RBIs / 20 SB.
o Jaidan Quinn: .373 BA / .570 OBP / .915 SLG / 65 R / 11 2B / 24 HR / 71 RBIs.
o Matt Rhoades: .344 BA / .449 OBP / .720 SLG / 45 R / 12 2B / 19 HR / 74 RBIs.
o Michael Welch: .337 BA / .479 OBP / .467 SLG / 8 R / 3 2B / 3 HR / 21 RBIs.
· The pitching staff is headed by the GPAC’s two most dominant pitchers in terms of strikeout rate: seniors Alex Johnson and Braxton Greenburg. Both power righties put together strong starts at the conference tournament. Johnson went six innings (two runs) and racked up 13 strikeouts in a win over Dakota Wesleyan while Greenburg logged eight innings (one run) and amassed 12 strikeouts versus Briar Cliff. The starting rotation also features senior Christian Gutierrez and freshman Micah Sweeton. All four hurlers earned one GPAC Pitcher of the Week award in 2025. Out of the bullpen, Daiten Schmidt (eight saves) has served as the team’s closer and Alex Griess is coming on strong.
o Alex Johnson: 8-2 W-L / 3.06 ERA / 61.2 IP / 26 BB / 96 K / .208 Opp BA.
o Braxton Greenburg: 6-0 W-L / 3.12 ERA / 66.1 IP / 24 BB / 90 K / .199 Opp BA.
o Christian Gutierrez: 9-2 W-L / 3.57 ERA / 75.2 IP / 13 BB / 67 K / .234 Opp BA.
o Micah Sweeton: 7-1 W-L / 5.09 ERA / 46 IP / 24 BB / 51 K / .264 Opp BA.
· A series of new school records and milestones have been reached this season by star Bulldogs. In 2025, all-time career records have been reset by Jaidan Quinn in home runs (97) and walks (180) and Christian Gutierrez in innings pitched (283.2) and pitching wins (30). In addition, the following players have reached significant career milestones: Quinn (250+ hits), Ty Nekoliczak (250+ hits) and Alex Johnson (200+ strikeouts). Gutierrez also surpassed 200 K’s in 2025. Quinn has a shot at another career record as his 279 runs scored are just shy of Jay Adams’ 286 for a school standard.
· During the regular season, Concordia matched up with four teams that have qualified for the 2025 Opening Round: Bellevue, Briar Cliff, Dickinson State and Southeastern. The Bulldogs went a combined 7-5 against those opponents (and was the first team to defeat Southeastern in 2025). As a regular on the national stage, Concordia will know what to expect when the action begins in Lincoln. This will be the fourth national tournament appearance for Christian Gutierrez, Ty Nekoliczak, Jaidan Quinn, Tanner Tompkins and Michael Welch.
Lincoln Bracket Opposition
(1) Webber International (41-13) – The Warriors earned an auto bid to nationals thanks to winning The Sun Conference tournament title. The Sun Conference annually rates as a top baseball conference in the NAIA. In the most recent NAIA coaches’ poll, Webber International landed at No. 7. Head Coach Collin Martin has led the program to the opening round for the fourth-straight season. He guided the 2022 squad to an NAIA World Series appearance. The Warriors will trot out one of the NAIA’s top pitchers in Blayne Huter, who is 13-1 with a 2.06 ERA in 15 appearances. The bullpen features top arms in Jacob Hardy (2.20 ERA in 41 IP) and Noah Palmese (2.23 ERA, 11 saves in 40.1 IP). The lineup is powered by the likes of Steven Nitch (.386 BA / .470 OBP / .605 SLG) and Jalen Martinez (.329 BA / .423 OBP / .527 SLG). Webber is averaging 7.56 runs per game while sporting a terrific 3.72 team ERA.
(3) Science and Arts (34-18) – USAO is headed to Lincoln, Neb., for a second year in a row. The Drovers were included in last year's Lincoln Bracket that was hosted by Doane. A perennially strong program, USAO will appear at nationals for the 10th time in program history and for the ninth-straight year. Head Coach Tyle Hankins is in his fourth season at the helm of the program. His squad boasts a strong pitching staff that leads the Sooner Athletic Conference in ERA (4.56). Top starter Brian Ereu is 10-1 with a 2.96 ERA in 91.1 innings. Ace reliever Ryan Cullinane sports a 2.47 ERA with 49 strikeouts and three saves in 43.2 innings. Offensively, Gunnar Hansen has stood out and is hitting .361 with seven home runs and a .544 slugging percentage. USAO is averaging 7.79 runs per game on the strength of a .324 team batting average.
(4) Indiana Wesleyan (29-20) – This will be national tournament appearance No. 5 for the Wildcats out of the Crossroads League. Indiana Wesleyan qualified automatically as the conference tournament runner up. The Wildcats have the ability to hit for power, as evidenced by their 57 home runs and .472 team slugging percentage. Three IWU players have hit at least 10 home runs: Nick Wiley (14), Ty Matthews (12) and Darien Pugh (10). The offense averages 7.67 runs per game. From a pitching perspective, the team has leaned most heavily on Brock Buckley, who has logged 77.2 innings and sports a 9-3 record and 4.06 ERA. The staff as a whole has produced a 5.90 ERA. Back in late January, Ian Macdonald announced he was resigning his position for a role within the San Francisco Giants organization. In response, the Wildcats tabbed Steve Friend and Jeff Pawlik as co-interim head coaches.
(5) Mount Mercy (33-21) – The Mustangs of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, will make their second-straight national tournament appearance. Like USAO, Mount Mercy also made its way to the Lincoln Bracket in 2024. The Mustangs acquitted themselves well in going 2-2 with a win apiece over St. Francis (Ill.) and host Doane. Head Coach Jack Dahm is in his 11th season at Mount Mercy following head coaching tenures at the University of Iowa and Creighton University. Dahm coached Concordia’s Ryan Dupic for two seasons at Iowa (Dupic finished his career at Buena Vista University). The ’25 Mustangs have proven adept offensively in posting a .409 on-base percentage and .505 slugging percentage. Bryce Brown leads the attack from a power perspective. He’s hitting .331 with 10 home runs and 40 RBIs. Meanwhile, the pitching staff sports a 6.41 ERA. Tyler Nagelbach leads the team with 13 pitching starts. He is 7-2 with a 4.84 ERA and 46 strikeouts in 70.2 innings.
Facts about Concordia at the national tournament
· A 2021 NAIA World Series qualifier, Concordia will appear in the opening round of the national tournament for the seventh time in program history. Each of those appearances have come during the tenure of Ryan Dupic, who first took the Bulldogs to the opening round in 2017. In previous appearances, the Bulldogs made their way to Hutchinson, Kan., in 2017, to Henderson, Tenn., in 2019, to Bellevue, Neb., in both 2021 and 2022, to Lawrenceville, Ga., in 2023, and to Bossier City, La., in 2024. Concordia is 13-11 all-time in opening round games and has won at least one national tournament game in each of the six prior appearances. Opening round wins have come over Jamestown (2017), Clarke University (2019), MidAmerica Nazarene University (twice in 2021), Bellevue (twice in 2021 and once in 2022), Central Methodist University (2022), Judson University (2022), Tabor College (2022), Saint Xavier University (2023), Midway University (2023) and Blue Mountain College (2024).
· It’s been rare for a GPAC team to reach the NAIA World Series. In fact, only once before Concordia reached that stage in 2021 had a GPAC squad advanced to the World Series – Briar Cliff accomplished that feat in 2005. One current GPAC member appeared in the World Series before the GPAC formed: Morningside in 1960. Briar Cliff went 0-2 in its 2005 trip to the World Series. No GPAC team has ever won a game at the World Series.
· The ’22 Bulldogs came within one win of a return trip to the World Series. While being sent to Bellevue for a second year in a row, Concordia dropped its first game of the tournament (5-1 to Judson) and then rallied back to claim four straight victories. The Bulldogs turned some heads when they routed host and sixth-ranked Bellevue, 16-2, to force a winner-take-all contest. In that blowout, Concordia went deep six times with one home run apiece coming from Jay Adams, Joey Grabanski, Jaidan Quinn, Keaton Candor, Jesse Garcia and Teyt Johnson. Caden Johnson fired seven strong innings in the triumph. Ultimately, the Bruins took the next game, 5-2, and booked their trip to the NAIA World Series. In 2023, the Bulldogs traveled to the home of Georgia Gwinnett and went 2-2. They were eliminated by Freed-Hardeman University in a game they led 8-5 after eight innings. A win in that contest would have put Concordia in the finals of the opening round against the host team. In last season’s opening round trip, the Bulldogs won once before being eliminated by host LSU Shreveport.
· While going 4-1 during the 2021 opening round, the Bulldogs outscored their opponents, 38-32. Four of the games were played at Brown Park in Omaha while one contest was played at Don Roddy Field in Bellevue. Keaton Candor paced the team at the plate in the opening round by going 8-for-23 (.348) with four doubles, three home runs and eight RBIs. Jakob Faulk also pounded three home runs (including two in the clinching game) and Jesse Garcia belted two blasts. Twelve different pitchers were used. Nick Little (9 IP) and Caden Bugarske (8.1 IP) logged the most innings during the opening round. Nathan Buckallew earned credit for two wins.
· Dupic has brought about what is certainly the golden age of Concordia Baseball. Prior to Dupic’s arrival in 2015, the Bulldogs had never been to a national tournament. The program had also not experienced a winning season since 1979 and had not won a conference championship since 1986 (8-4 in NIAC play) when Athletic Trainer Randy Baack pitched and played first base. In addition to leading Concordia to seven national tournaments, Dupic (364-188-1) became the winningest coach in program history as part of the 2024 season. During Dupic’s tenure (2015-present), the Bulldogs lead all GPAC baseball programs in overall wins (364), GPAC regular season wins (184), overall winning percentage (.659), conference regular season winning percentage (.674) and total GPAC championships (eight).
· The 2017 Bulldogs won the GPAC regular season title (tournament runner up) and became the first national tournament qualifier in program history. As part of that run, Casey Berg recorded the program’s first-ever hit at the national tournament with a single in the bottom of the first versus Jamestown on May 15, 2017. That appearance helped pave the way for the success Concordia is enjoying now. As a national tournament regular in the present, the Bulldog postseason roster includes five players making their fourth national tournament appearance: Christian Gutierrez, Ty Nekoliczak, Jaidan Quinn, Tanner Tompkins and Michael Welch. In addition, GPAC Pitcher of the Year Alex Johnson played a significant role for the ’21 team the advanced to the NAIA World Series. In 13 career national tournament games, GPAC Player of the Year Jaidan Quinn has batted .367 (18-for-49) with 18 runs, two doubles, five home runs and 19 RBIs.
NAIA Baseball World Series
The winners of all 10 opening round sites will head to Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) for the 68th annual Avista NAIA Baseball World Series in Lewiston, Idaho, May 23-31. For more information on the World Series, click HERE. For a complete list of the opening round qualifiers, check out the NAIA release HERE.