Baseball | 2/12/2026 11:05:00 AM

Games 8-10
at Steve Anson Baseball Classic
Emporia State Hornets (6-1, 0-0 MIAA)
vs. #23 MSU Denver Roadrunners (7-0, 0-0 RMAC)
Friday, Feb. 13 • 11:00 a.m. • Falley Field • Topeka, Kan.
Sunday, Feb. 15 • 11:00 a.m. • Falley Field • Topeka, Kan.
Series History: ESU leads 15-6 • Last Meeting: ESU 7, MSUD 4 (1/31/26)

vs. Sioux Falls Cougars (0-0, 0-0 NSIC)
Saturday, Feb. 14 • 4:00 p.m. • Falley Field • Topeka, Kan.
Series History: ESU leads 2-0
Live Stats • Watch • Complete Notes in pdf

RANKED MATCHUPS BOOKEND STEVE ANSON CLASSIC
Emporia State baseball begins and ends their weekend in Topeka with games against #23 MSU Denver with a Central region matchup against Sioux Falls inbetween on Saturday.

QUICK HITS
Emporia State is off to a 6-1 start this season which includes a blistering start on the offensive side of the ball. The Hornets have scored 90 runs in their first 7 games, which is the most since the 2017 season.
The Hornets have reached base at a .521 clip as a team to open the season, which includes drawing 66 walks in seven games.
Evan Abbott is off to a hot start to his Hornet career, which included 16 RBI in his first five games, an Emporia State D-II era record, and has 17 currently.
On the mound, Colby Deaver has put together two shutout performance in his first two starts with the Hornets. The sophomore from Blue Springs, Mo. has 16 strikeouts in 12.0 shutout innings.

ABOUT THE HORNETS
Emporia State has opened the season 6-1, their best start through seven games since the 2017 season. The Hornets have driven their success at the plate, as Emporia State has a team OBP of .521 to begin the season. Dylan Brisbois, Logan Myers and Evan Abbott are all hitting above .400 so far, with Abbott driving in a team-high 17 RBI and posting five multi-hit games in the first seven. Brisbois has driven in ten while Sammy Padilla has 14 of his own, nearly equaling his total of 16 in 37 games played in 2025. On the mound, Colby Deaver has put together a pair of notable performance in his first two outings with the Hornets, tossing 5.0 and then 7.0 scoreless innings with eight strikeouts in each without allowing a walk. The bullpen has stepped up on multiple occasions this season with seven players posting 0.00 ERAs, including Jake Khasaempanth, Owen Ruge and Grant Huffman who have multiple appearances.

SCOUTING THE ROADRUNNERS
MSU Denver enters the Steve Anson Classic with a 7-0 record to begin 2026, while being ranked 23rd in the week one NCBWA Poll. The Roadrunners have opened the season with seven games against the MIAA, opening the season with three wins against Missouri Western, before traveling to Wichita and sweeping the Newman Jets in four games. Similar to the Hornets, MSU Denver has excelled at the plate, posting a .346 team average and a team OPS north of 1.000. Erubiel Ortiz and Gavin Schmeh have been red hot to open the campaign, as Ortiz is reaching base at a .656 clip with nine RBI, while Schmeh has a .423 average with two home runs and five extra-base hits. On the mound, Livsey Nolan, Brayden McCullough and Jake Syerson all have two starts and have helped the Roadrunners to 69 strikeouts as a staff through seven games.

SCOUTING THE COUGARS
Sioux Falls will begin their 2026 campaign in Topeka this weekend after finishing the 2025 season with a 32-28 record and a 25-15 record and third-place finish in the NSIC. The Cougars advanced further in the NSIC Tournament than any team in program history. The lineup will be headlined by junior Mitch Iliff who hit .378 with a .627 slugging percentage last season, while belting 11 home runs and racking up 50 RBI. On the mound, Jake Ammann pitched 66.0 innings in 2025 as he posted a 6-4 record with 74 strikeouts. 

ABOUT THE COACHES
John Martin is 6-1 in his first year with the Hornets. He is in his 11th season at the NCAA level after spending the previous ten at Central Oklahoma and has a 324-182-1 record. 
Ryan Strain is 238-157 in his ninth season leading the Roadrunners. Strain has led MSU Denver to the NCAA Tournament in three of the last four seasons.
Grant Hieb is entering his tenth season at Sioux Falls and is 167-243 and is coming off his first winning season with the Cougars last season.

SIXTH SINCE '73
John Martin was named the head coach of Emporia State Baseball on August 25th, 2025 and is the sixth head coach of the Hornets since the 1973 season. Martin spent the previous ten seasons at MIAA foe Central Oklahoma, where the Bronchos won two MIAA championships and advanced to the NCAA Tournament on five occasions. The Emporia State alum went 318-181-1 in his tenure in Edmond, Okla. A native of Shawnee, Kan., Martin played one year at Hutchinson CC before coming to ESU for his three-year career as the starting catcher. During his senior season he hit .303 with 30 RBI and from his catcher position threw out 17 would be base stealers was the 2006 Roger Newell Award Winner. He was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 24th round of the draft. 

MY OH MYERS
Infielder Logan Myers (Jr./Pittsburg, Kan.) played in 99 career games through his first two-plus seasons with the Hornets and has 14 home runs, 24 doubles, 79 RBI and a .321 batting average in his career. Through the first seven games, Myers is hitting .423 with four doubles, one triple, seven RBI, and has reached base in 25 of 40 plate appearances.

BRADY BOMBS
Shortstop Brady Unrein (So./Wichita, Kan.) became a consistent starter for the Hornets at the shortstop position as a freshman in 2025, thanks in no small part to the power element he provided to the lineup with eight home runs. Unrein is hitting .391 in the first seven games with nine hits, nine walks and six RBI.

KING FELIX
Utility Dominic Felix (Sr./Tucson, Ariz.) has made six starts at three different positions through opening weekend, spending time at 1B, 3B and behind the plate. Felix has two doubles, seven RBI and has a .429 OBP.

SPEEDING SAMMY
Utility Sammy Padilla (R-So./Tucson, Ariz.) played a multitude of positions for the Hornets in 2025 after redshirting in the 2024 campaign, and has started all seven games this season in centerfield. Padilla has reached base in half of his plate appearances and has six extra-base hits on the season with 14 RBI. His 14 RBI is just two short of his total from 37 games played last season.

COOP AND A BLAST
Outfielder Cooper Schwindt (Sr./Shawnee, Kan.) started 47 of 48 games for the Hornets in 2025 during his first season at Emporia State. Schwindt tallied seven home runs, 12 doubles, 34 RBI and a .265 average as he finished second in doubles and third in RBI on the Hornets last season. Schwindt made his season debut last week in Edmond and went 1-4 with a walk in his two games played for Emporia State.

STEELE TRAP
Outfielder/First Basemen Noah Steele (Jr./Prairie Village, Kan.) hit .368 last season in the heart of the Hornet order and posted a team-high 15 home runs, while also leading the team with 64 hits, 53 RBI and a 1.144 OPS. Entering the 2026 season, Steele was named a Second Team Preseason All-American by D2 Baseball while also being named to the NCBWA All-Central Region Preseason Team. This season, Steele is hitting .385 with three doubles and four RBI. He has also drawn six walks and been hit five times on his way to a .568 OBP.

FROSH ON FIRE
Outfielder Evan Abbott (Fr./Kansas City, Mo.) has opened his Hornet career on fire, posting five multi-hit games through the first seven while driving in 17 runs. The freshman had 16 RBI through the first five games of the season, which passed Eric Shortell (2008) for the most in the first five games of a season in program history. Abbott is hitting .412 with two home runs, two doubles and three stolen bases.

ISLAND TIME
Utility Frankie Santiago (Jr./Cayey, Puerto Rico) has started six games for the Hornets, with one start at first base and multiple at left field and at designated hitter. The Puerto Rican native has four hits and nine walks this season, with his first home run coming in the 18-12 win over East Central at the Edmond First Pitch Classic.

CRUZ CONTROL
Infielder Nathon Cruz (Jr./Oranjestad, Aruba) has started five games at third base and is batting .400 with a double, triple and a home run that also came against East Central down in Edmond. 

HOT OFF THE STOVE
Pitcher Seth Stover (Jr./Columbus, Kan.) made 13 appearances in each of his first two seasons, with 24 being starts. In 2025, Stover made big leaps as a key part of the weekend rotation as he posted a 4.25 ERA in 72.2 innings pitched. Stover has two starts this season 

DEALING WITH DEAVER
Pitcher Colby Deaver (So./Blue Springs, Mo.) has opened the season on a heater, posting consecutive scoreless outings. In his Hornets debut, he struck out eight in 5.0 shutout innings, and then followed that with 7.0 shutout innings and another eight strikeouts in his last outing in Edmond. His performance down in Tucson earned him MIAA Pitcher of the Week honors.

CHOPPING WOOD
Pitcher Nick Woodcock (RS-Jr./Whitby, Ontario) is in year two with the Hornets and came onto the scene for the Hornets in 2025 before suffering an injury later in the season. Woodcock posted eight strikeouts in multiple outings last season, including eight in 3.0 shutout innings against Maryville early in the season. His first start of the year came against Northeastern State, where he pitched a career-high 4.0 innings and struck out another eight batters. The Ontario native struck out three or more batters in seven of his nine appearances last season.

GUTTY GRAEME
Pitcher Graeme Rios (Sr./Houston, Texas) made 15 appearances in his first season with the Hornets in 2025, making six starts and another nine appearances out of the bullpen, and already has two appearances in the early stages of the 2026 season. Rios has pitched 2.1 innings and picked up his eighth career win and sixth with the Hornets.

HORNET HISTORY
Emporia State is playing their 75th season of baseball in 2025 and have won over 2100 games in the program's history. Since 1994, the Hornets have advanced to the MIAA Tournament in 26 of 31 seasons (excluding COVID shortened season in 2020), including 19 straight trips from 2003-2022. 
The Hornets have also won the MIAA Regular Season Title on six occasions with the most recent coming in 2017 and the first happening in 1993. Emporia State has also won the MIAA Tournament twice with wins in 2007 and 2014. The Hornets have also been runners up in the MIAA Tournament on four occasions. 

NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY
In addition to the success in the MIAA, the Hornets have had a presence in the NCAA Tournament throughout their time in Division II. The Hornets have 14 NCAA regional appearances, including two Regional Championships which allowed Emporia State to advance to their two NCAA D-II College World Series Appearances. The first appearance happened in 2006 and the second happened in the 2009 season. In 2009, the Hornets advanced to the College World Series final where they fell 2-1 against Lynn. 

NAIA NATIONAL PRESENCE
Prior to their transition to the Division II level in the early 1990's, Emporia State had sustained success at the NAIA level. From 1969 under Jack Smitheran to 1991 in year four under Brian Embery, the Hornets were NAIA District 10 Champions 20 times, including 15 of 16 from 1975 to 1991. 
The success continued through the NAIA Area Tournament, as Emporia State won seven Area 3 Championships, advancing to the NAIA College World Series seven times. After advancing to the NAIA College World Series semifinals for the first time in 1976, the Hornets returned in 1978 as they won the NAIA College World Series with an 8-6 win against Missouri Southern.