The 2018 baseball season marks the second year for Tyler Niedfeldt as the head coach — his seventh year in the program. Matt Eigen has been promoted to coaching the JV team and Niedfeldt says Eigen will bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to the program.

 

Ryan Szymanski  will head up the ninth grade team, Justin Thorn the eighth grade and Mark Kolbinger the seventh grade teams. Niedfeldt will have Jason Pfingsten and Todd Bestgen return as volunteer coaches for a second year in a row.

 

“I love being the head coach,” said Niedfeldt.  “My favorite part about coaching is being able to create and maintain relationships with these student-athletes.  So much of coaching goes well beyond the diamond.”

 

Niedfeldt has eight seniors and five juniors on his squad. The seniors include Jonathan Mohrman, Nathanael Nelson, Zach Davidson, Matt Krenz, Kreeden Bloomquist, Brenton Arbuckle , Matt Moe and Weston Schug.

 

The juniors are Dawson Hill, Dalton Fouguette, Zachary Wenner, James Schafer and Noah Mohs.

 

“We will carry about 14-15 on the varsity at any given time,” said the head coach.  “We will have the ability to move some kids around based on our needs, mostly pitching.”  

 

Niedfeldt says his numbers are very similar to previous years, which are very good (45 9th-12th).  

 

“We have right around 40 for our seventh and eighth grade teams,” he said.  “I am happy with our numbers.”

 

Niedfeldt says he is excited with the number of guys he has on his team who are “baseball-first, type of players”.  

 

“We already have three players who have committed to play college baseball and we have another three-to-four who are college baseball hopefuls,” he says.  “This is something we have not had here in many years.”  

 

The coach says he has excellent senior leadership and  is hopeful his team surprises some unsuspecting squads. 

 

“I know that this team will not be satisfied with a .500 season,” he says.  “We are pushing and challenging one another to bring greatness to Becker baseball and we want it to start this year.  We are striving for a conference championship.”

 

That conference title will be a challenge as teams like Cathedral, Albany and Little Falls are stacked with great weapons.

 

“Foley has had a solid team of young players who are now ready to make a push, too,” said Niedfeldt.  “The conference is strong and on any given night, anyone can win.  We were one win away from potentially being the fourth seed in the section last year.”  

 

The second goal is to do well at sections but the teams to beat are Rocori and Monticello, who are tough opponents.  The other six teams all finished last year with nearly the same winning percentage, Niedfeldt said.

 

With the fields still covered in that nasty white stuff and temperatures barely out of the 30’s, Niedfeldt and his coaching staff have had to improvise to try and get their teams ready once the cold spell breaks.

 

 “The teams that can stay focused while indoors will be the teams with the mental edge right out of the gate,” he said.  “We are getting a great foundation set for the season and we will be ready to hit the ground running when we get a chance to get outside.  We are blessed with amazing indoor facilities that most of the schools around us do not have.”

 

With his first full year of head coaching under his belt, Niedfeldt says he’s feeling better prepared and ready for action for 2018.

 

 “Many of the off/pre-season things have gotten better for me this year,” he said.  “The timing on when to order things, communicating with parents and players, putting out off season workouts and apparel order forms in a timely manner.”

 

Niedfeldt says he is grateful to his assistant coach, Steve Hill,  who has been great for him to absorb as much information on how he has been able to manage teams in the past.

 

“I use that information on how I can manage this team,” Niedfeldt says. “Once we get to baseball, the “x’s and o’s” are a relief.”

 

 “We have a strong team of good pitching and solid defense.  We will look for some younger kids to accelerate their progress and step in and have a role on the varsity squad as well.”