Baseball | 2/26/2026 12:40:00 PM

Games 14-16
#30 Emporia State Hornets (12-1, 3-0 MIAA)
vs. Northwest Missouri Bearcats (10-5, 2-1 MIAA)
Fri. Feb. 27 • 3:00 PM • Turnbull Field • Emporia, Kan.
Sat. Feb. 28 • 12:00 PM (DH) | Turnbull Field • Emporia, Kan.
Sat. Feb. 28 • 3:00 PM (DH) • Turnbull Field • Emporia, Kan.
Complete Notes in pdf • The MIAA Network • Live Stats

SERIES HISTORY
All-Time: ESU leads 67-47 • Last Meeting NW 8, ESU 5 (5/3/25)
Last ESU Series Win: 2024 (2-1) • Last ESU Series Sweep: 2016
Last NWMSU Series Win: 2025 (3-0)

RANKINGS
Emporia State: ABCA - 30; NCBWA (National 18, Regional 4); D2 Baseball - 23
Northwest Missouri: ABCA - NR; NCBWA (National NR, Regional 9); D2 Baseball - NR

QUICK HITS

• Emporia State is off to a 12-1 start this season, which is the best start for the Hornets since the 2011 season and ranked in all three polls.
• Colby Deaver has put together on of the best starts to a campaign in the D2 era for Emporia State, with 23.0 innings without an earned run and 35 strikeouts in his first four starts
• As a team, the Hornets have scored 153 runs through their first 13 games, which is three more than Emporia State scored through their first 13 games in 2017. The Hornets have scored double-digit runs nine times, including in their last four games entering the weekend.

ABOUT THE HORNETS
Emporia State has opened the season 12-1, marking their best start since opening 2011 with 15 straight wins. The Hornets are ranked in all three polls, entering the ABCA poll at #30 while ranking 18th in the NCBWA poll and 23rd by D2 Baseball. The hot start is due in large part to the offensive numbers for Emporia State through the first 13 games. The Hornets have totaled 153 runs so far, which includes nine games in double figures, including their last four entering the weekend. Emporia State's 153 runs are the most through 13 games in the D2 era, three more than the 150 scored to begin the 2017 campaign.
Several Hornets have averages north of .300 so far this season, which includes returners Logan Myers and Noah Steele who are hitting .447 and .404 respectively with on-base percentages north of .600. Steele is coming off an MIAA Hitter of the Week performance in the first MIAA series against Arkansas-Fort Smith, going 6-10 with two homers, including a grand slam and ten RBI. Myers has six multi-hit games, but has also drawn 21 walks, which is tied for the second most in the nation. Along with Myers and Steele, freshman Evan Abbott has been a staple in the second spot in the order, hitting .375 with four home runs and 26 RBI, a top five mark in the nation of his own. Abbott leads seven Hornets with double-digit RBI so far this season, which includes Dylan Brisbois, Frankie Santiago and Sammy Padilla who have 16, 15 and 14 of their own..
On the mound, the Hornets have a team ERA of 4.70, the fourth-best mark in the MIAA and have been highlighted by sophomore Colby Deaver. Deaver has pitched 23.0 innings in his first four starts and has yet to allow an earned run heading into the weekend. He has allowed just a .113 opponent batting average and has 35 strikeouts to just two walks, which equals the third-best strikeout-to-walk ratio in D2 among pitchers with more than 15.0 innings pitched. Seth Stover is second the team with 19.0 innings pitched and has started the opening game each weekend while allowing opponents to hit .238 against him. Quinton Chindamo has six appearances as a freshman, including his first career start last Sunday at Arkansas-Fort Smith where he struck out five in 4.0 scoreless innings. The bullpen consists of five players with five or more relief appearances, including Jake Khasaempanth who has a team-high eight and Grant Huffman who has a 0.00 ERA in 11.2 relief innings on his way to a win and two saves.

SCOUTING THE BEARCATS
Northwest Missouri is 10-5 to open the season with three consecutive series wins, including taking two of three against Fort Hays State in their first MIAA series last time out. The Bearcats have won four out of five one-run games they have played this season, and are outscoring opponents 17-3 over the final two innings. At the plate, the Bearcats are leading the MIAA with 17 home runs as a team, which is a top-20 mark in the nation. Frank Gall and Jeremiah Cabuyaban are leading the way with four each, while Gall has driven in a team-high 21 runs so far. On the mound, Logan Brasel has five appearances and three starts with a team-high 15.1 innings pitched. He has 14 strikeouts to just five walks allowed. Diego De Santiago and Jase Johnson each have six relief appearances and have ERAs for 2.08 and 3.38 this season. Johnson is also tied with Brasel with 14 strikeouts while allowing just one walk.

ABOUT THE COACHES
John Martin is 12-1 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 330-182-1 career record. 
Tony Jandron is 37-30 in the early stages of his second season at Northwest Missouri. In 2025, Jandron led the Bearcats to the MIAA Baseball Championship game before falling to Martin's UCO squad.

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. 

BEHIND THE PLATE
Dylan Brisbois (R-Jr./Omaha, Neb.) is in year four with the Hornets and has broken into the lineup consistently in a big way to begin 2026. Brisbois is batting .386 in 12 games played and is third on the Hornets with 16 RBI this season. He has tallied five multi-hit games, including three in the first four from Tucson to open the season. In addition to his strong start at the plate, Brisbois has thrown out five runners this season, including three in the first two games of the Steve Anson Classic.

AROUND THE DIAMOND
Logan Myers (Jr./Pittsburg, Kan.) has played in 105 career games through his first two-plus seasons with the Hornets and has 14 home runs, 27 doubles, 83 RBI and a .329 batting average in his career. Through the first 13 games of 2026, Myers is hitting a blistering .447, with a .649 OBP due in large part to his 21 walks, which ranks second in the nation. He has scored 22 runs and has seven extra-base hits from the leadoff position. Myers has also already equaled his career-high from last season with four steals. 

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. Steele has seemingly picked up where he left off last season from a run production standpoint. He is tied with Myers with 22 runs scored and has 19 RBI of his own, the second-best mark on the team. Also like Myers, Steele has a .600 OBP as he has drawn 15 walks and been hit by eight pitches. Steele was named the MIAA Hitter of the Week after going 6-10 with two homers and ten RBI against Arkansas-Fort Smith (2/20-22).

Brady Unrein (So./Wichita, Kan.) has started 50 games in his Hornet career, with the first 45 coming at shortstop before lining up in centerfield in the last two games at the Steve Anson Classic. Unrein made his presence known as a freshman last season, tallying eight doubles and eight home runs while posting a .993 fielding percentage at shortstop. This season, Unrein is hitting .306 and has a .469 OBP through the first 13 games on his way to scoring a team-high 21 runs of his own.

Nathon Cruz (Jr./Oranjestad, Aruba) is in his first season with the Hornets and has made 11 starts at the hot corner while posting a .340 batting average. Cruz has two doubles, two triples, one home run, nine RBI and 11 runs scored so far this season.

Dominic Felix (Sr./Tucson, Ariz.) is in year two at Emporia State and after playing both corner positions throughout the 2025 season, has added catcher to his list of positions this season. Felix has eight starts this season, with at least two at all three positions. He is hitting .308 with three doubles, seven walks and seven RBI through eight seven games.

Tyler Coffin (Fr./Kansas City, Mo.) has played in four games for the Hornets in his first season, including starting the final two games of the Steven Anson Classic. Coffin is 3-8 with a walk and two runs scored in the early stages of his Emporia State career.

OUT IN THE FIELD
Sammy Padilla (R-So./Tucson, Ariz.) played a multitude of positions for the Hornets in 2025 after redshirting in the 2024 campaign, but has started ten games in centerfield this season. Padilla is one of many with double-digit RBI, driving in 14 so far this season, just two shy of his total last season. He is hitting .286 with five doubles and seven walks. 

Frankie Santiago (Jr./Cayey, Puerto Rico) has started 12 games and played in all 13 this season in his first year with the Hornets. The Puerto Rican native has 13 hits and 16 walks this season, while driving in 15 runs behind two doubles, one triple and four homers. In the MIAA opening series against Arkansas-Fort Smith, Santiago homered in all three games, and went 3-4 with four RBI in the series finale against the Lions.

Evan Abbott (Fr./Kansas City, Mo.) has opened his Hornet career on fire, posting seven multi-hit games through the first 13 while driving in 26 runs, which is a top ten mark in the nation. 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. On the season, Abbott is hitting .375 with four doubles, four home runs and 26 RBI, and has five games so far with three or more RBI. In the series finale against Arkansas-Fort Smith, Abbott launched his first career grand slam.

Cooper Schwindt (Sr./Shawnee, Kan.) started 47 of 48 games for the Hornets in 2025 during his first season at Emporia State and has started the last after an injury early to open the season. Schwindt has made seven starts, all at designated hitter, and is hitting .286 with seven runs, three doubles, four walks and a .394 OBP.

Gus Keller (So./Pittsburg, Kan.) has two starts and has appeared in eight games for the Hornets, with both starts coming in left field while making appearances in centerfield and as a pinch runner and hitter. Keller is 3-10 at the plate with a pair of walks while driving in four runs. He also three stolen bases and five runs scored. 

ON THE MOUND
Seth Stover (Jr./Columbus, Kan.) made 13 appearances in each of his first two seasons, with 24 being starts, while seeing a major improvement in both ERA and innings pitched as a sophomore. Stover has started the first game each weekend so far in 2026. His first outing of the season in the season opener went 5.0 shutout innings against Adams State in Tucson.

Colby Deaver (So./Blue Springs, Mo.) has opened the season on a heater, posting four consecutive outings without an earned, pushing his streak to 23.0 inning to open the season. In his first two outings, he struck out eight batters in 5.0 and 7.0 innings respectively, which earned him MIAA Pitcher of the Week honors after his first outing. Last time out against Sioux Falls at the Steve Anson Classic, Deaver struck out ten in 6.0 scoreless frames, pushing his season marks to 26 strikeouts in 18.0 innings. His 23.0 innings without an earned run are the most to begin a season in the D2 era for the Hornets, and his 35 strikeouts in four outings passed Jake Barton (34, 2020) for the most to open a season. In D2, Deaver ranks fourth in strikeout-to-walk ratio, second in strikeouts and fourth in WHIP, and is one of six pitchers with two or less walk in at least 20.0 innings pitched.

Grant Huffman (R-Sr./Lee's Summit, Mo.) is in his fourth year with the Hornets and is off to his best start yet. The Lee's Summit native has pitched 11.2 scoreless innings across five relief appearances, racking up two multi-inning saves and a win so far this season. Huffman has six strikeouts while allowing just seven hits and two walks. At the Steve Anson Classic, Huffman picked up a 2.0 inning save against MSU-Denver, and then followed that with 4.0 scoreless and the win in the 10-9 win over the Roadrunners on Sunday, who were ranked #23 in the NCBWA poll.

Grayson Barnes (R-Fr./Tuttle, Okla.) has made three starts and one relief appearance this season after transferring in from Central Oklahoma. In his four outings, Barnes has five strikeouts, including four in 4.0 innings against Southeastern Oklahoma at the Edmond First Pitch Classic.

Jake Khasaempanth (Jr./Riverside, Calif.) has made a team-high eight relief appearances in his first season with the Hornets. Khasaempanth has six strikeouts in 8.1 innings and has held opponents to a .250 batting average. His first Hornet outing came against Minot State in Tucson (1/31), as he entered with no outs and the bases loaded and pick up two strikeouts to help strand all three runners. 

Owen Ruge (Fr./Emporia, Kan.) has made five appearances in the first ten games for his hometown team and has a 1.69 ERA in 5.1 relief innings. Ruge has allowed just two hits so far this season and is allowing just a .118 opponent batting average.

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.

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.

Quinton Chindamo (Fr./Parkville, Mo.) has made five appearances in his first season at Emporia State and has four strikeouts in 5.1 innings pitched. The freshman from Parkville opened the season with 3.0 scoreless innings in two outings in Tucson on opening weekend.

THE BOYS ARE PLAYIN SOME BALL
Emporia State has opened the season 12-1 and 3-0 in the MIAA. Their 12-1 start to 2026 is the best start for the Hornets since the 2011 season when Emporia State won their first 11 games and 20 of their first 21. The Hornets have also scored 153 runs in their first 13 games, a top ten mark in the nation while ranking top five in walks, doubles and on-base percentage.

EMPORIA STATE IN THE POLLS
The Hornets are ranked in the latest edtion for all three services (ABCA, NCBWA, D2 Baseball) which a #30 rank by the Coaches, #18 ranking by the NCBWA and a #23 spot from D2 Baseball. Emporia State joins Central Missouri and Pittsburg State as the MIAA schools ranked by all three. 

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.