All Things Gopher Baseball


Is this summary of portal activity correct so far?

Leaving:
Drew Berkland, OF (Signed with Notre Dame)
Kyle Remington, RHP (Signed with Illinois)
Noah Rooney, LHP (Signed with Notre Dame)
Kris Hokenson, OF
Jack Mosh, INF
Preston Leon, OF
Hunter Cook, RHP
Simon Skroch, LHP
Parker Lewin, OF

Arriving:
Isaac Morton, RHP (Texas A&M)...2 years left
Marcus Kruzman, RHP (St Thomas)...2 years left
Ben Gregory, RHP (Maryville, D2)...1 year left
Josh Kirchhoff, RHP (Iowa Central JUCO, Mizzou)...likely 1 year left but with JUCO, you never know
Davis Hamilton, INF (North Dakota State)...1 year left
Ty Allen, OF (Belmont)...2 years left

Updated
 

How does Murray State do it???


They recruit Jucos hard. They had like 20 Juco dogs on the roster. Bigger, stronger, faster, gritty dudes that carry their own bag.
 

Known 2026 conference series:

at Indiana, March 20-22
Ohio State, March 27-29
at Iowa, April 3-5
Northwestern April 24-26
Michigan May 8-10
 





His strikeout rate was down quite a bit this past season, but so was his walk rate, and ERA was over a run better. Really not sure what NCAA baseball level NAIA (and specifically Viterbo/their conference) compares to.
I'm taking a lot more from his numbers for St. Cloud the last summer and a half then I am his NAIA stats.
 

Hokenson to Murray State
Lewin to Saint Cloud State
Cook to Des Moines Area Community College
 



Looking at that list, can the U even compete against D3 talent? My how this program has fallen off.
What part of this list? I only attended a handful of games this spring and outside of Berkland’s offensive production, I’m not sure the remaining members of the “lost” list will truly be missed.
 

Any updates on new players (aside from the NAIA kid)? I assume they aren’t finished with transfers..hopefully. Is there a place to look for this information besides Face book and the app formally known as Twitter (you’re welcome, Prince fans).
 

Any updates on new players (aside from the NAIA kid)? I assume they aren’t finished with transfers..hopefully. Is there a place to look for this information besides Face book and the app formally known as Twitter (you’re welcome, Prince fans).
Based on Goldy Gopher's earlier post, I believe we are currently at 36 players for next year - not including Elbeery (so, he would be 37 if returning for another year).

Last I heard, the powers that be backed off on a proposed fall roster limit of 38, but sent a memo to all division 1 coaches urging them not to bring in a bunch players for fall not likely to make the roster (i.e. try to stay at 38 or under). I also am not aware of any grandfathering of existing players with regards to baseball and the final 34 man roster. All that is a long way of saying I think we may be close to done for 2026.
 

Is this summary of portal activity correct so far?

Leaving:
Drew Berkland, OF (Signed with Notre Dame)
Kyle Remington, RHP (Signed with Illinois)
Noah Rooney, LHP (Signed with Notre Dame)
Kris Hokenson, OF (Signed with Murray State)
Jack Mosh, INF
Preston Leon, OF
Hunter Cook, RHP (Signed with DMACC JUCO)
Simon Skroch, LHP
Parker Lewin, OF (Signed with St Cloud State)

Arriving:
Isaac Morton, RHP (Texas A&M)...2 years left
Marcus Kruzman, RHP (St Thomas)...2 years left
Ben Gregory, RHP (Maryville, D2)...1 year left
Josh Kirchhoff, RHP (Iowa Central JUCO, Mizzou)...likely 1 year left but with JUCO, you never know
Davis Hamilton, INF (North Dakota State)...1 year left
Ty Allen, OF (Belmont)...2 years left
Brandon Jaenke, RHP (Viterbo)...1 year left
Updated
 



Any updates on new players (aside from the NAIA kid)? I assume they aren’t finished with transfers..hopefully. Is there a place to look for this information besides Face book and the app formally known as Twitter (you’re welcome, Prince fans).

No big updates that I've seen. (See my post above)
Not sure what is the best place to get the info. D1baseball.com has a transfer portal section but it's behind a paywall. Otherwise looking through X (or even Prep Baseball Report) can sometimes yield some results. It's not consistent though.
 

Based on Goldy Gopher's earlier post, I believe we are currently at 36 players for next year - not including Elbeery (so, he would be 37 if returning for another year).

Last I heard, the powers that be backed off on a proposed fall roster limit of 38, but sent a memo to all division 1 coaches urging them not to bring in a bunch players for fall not likely to make the roster (i.e. try to stay at 38 or under). I also am not aware of any grandfathering of existing players with regards to baseball and the final 34 man roster. All that is a long way of saying I think we may be close to done for 2026.
I have us at 34 currently with Elbeery.
RHP-Jaenke, Kirchhoff, Gregory, Capomaccio, Sperry, Kruzan, Morton, Selvig, Hemmesch, Urban, Dobis, Ryerse, Kokenge, Vucinovich, Zach, Moore, Trettin=17
LHP-Whelan, Felling, Lindstrom-3
C-Neels, Hunt, Taxdahl-3
1B-Elbery, Sutherland-2
2B-Martin, Lozier-2
SS-Spanier-1
3B-Hamilton, O'Donnell-2
OF-Richter, Hellum, Allen, Quinn-4
 

I have us at 34 currently with Elbeery.
RHP-Jaenke, Kirchhoff, Gregory, Capomaccio, Sperry, Kruzan, Morton, Selvig, Hemmesch, Urban, Dobis, Ryerse, Kokenge, Vucinovich, Zach, Moore, Trettin=17
LHP-Whelan, Felling, Lindstrom-3
C-Neels, Hunt, Taxdahl-3
1B-Elbery, Sutherland-2
2B-Martin, Lozier-2
SS-Spanier-1
3B-Hamilton, O'Donnell-2
OF-Richter, Hellum, Allen, Quinn-4
The difference seems to be the 2 JUCO pitchers and Argento...?
 






Akin and Bello seem like good grabs. That probably wraps up the recruiting season for 2026, correct?

Interesting going for a high school kid and Bello strikes out too much but seems like he has some power to help with the loss of Berkland.

Are there any other needs for the Gophers? Catching?

GG
 





Akin and Bello seem like good grabs. That probably wraps up the recruiting season for 2026, correct?
I would think they would be close to done, but don't know how many they want for fall, and also if they know Elbeery isn't getting another year and/or that Vucinovich is going pro, it's possible they might still add one or two more...?
Are there any other needs for the Gophers? Catching?
There were moments in 2024 when I thought Hunt was starting to put it together. Hoping he can bounce back in 2026 - he is having a pretty good summer with Wilmar in Northwoods League, so that is encouraging. If it is Hunt backing up Neels again, I would be fine with that.

Otherwise, though, I don't know what they might be looking to add.
 

I would think they would be close to done, but don't know how many they want for fall, and also if they know Elbeery isn't getting another year and/or that Vucinovich is going pro, it's possible they might still add one or two more...?

There were moments in 2024 when I thought Hunt was starting to put it together. Hoping he can bounce back in 2026 - he is having a pretty good summer with Wilmar in Northwoods League, so that is encouraging. If it is Hunt backing up Neels again, I would be fine with that.

Otherwise, though, I don't know what they might be looking to add.
I do think they are looking to add at least another guy or two. I think Elbeery will be back and it is very likely that Vucinovich will sign and sounds like it had been trending that way the last couple weeks.
 


Leon transferring to Florida International.

Was he hurt this year? Is there a reason he didn't see the field at all? He had great numbers in JUCO and FIU is a step up from Minnesota. It's pretty rare for a player to not see the field but then step UP in the portal.
 




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