COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA
Led by Head Coach Marc Rardin, Iowa Western Baseball is set to open their season February 15th in western Kansas.
The Reivers, ranked 2nd in the NJCAA preseason poll, will face Garden City and Seward County on their opening weekend.
Rardin (NJCAA HoF Class of '15) begins his 18th season in Council Bluffs with top assistant Tyler Herbst beginning his 6th year on staff. A trio of new assistants has been added to the mix as former Reivers Pascal Paul (Indiana State) and Drake Robison (Chattanooga State CC) have left Council Bluffs to take on new coaching challenges. The Reivers have added Dillon Napoleon, Brad Powell and Scott Platt to the staff for the upcoming season. Coach Jake Ratz was with the team during the Fall but left at the end of the semester to take an assistant position with Butler University in Indianapolis.
After a 52-11 season and a runner-up finish in their 19th appearance at the JUCO World Series in Grand Junction, Colorado last Spring, Iowa Western has reloaded offensively and hopes that an influx of new arms and fielders can bolster an already strong line-up of returners.
On the mound, the Reivers return last year's number one starter, Braedyn McLaughlin, and lefty Jared Simpson who combined to go 16-2 w/ sub 2.50 ERA in 2019. Brandon Doty, Shea Zetterman, Alex Firsdon, and Derek Shoen also return with experience on the mound. The Reivers will also have Sam Riola, Conner Mackay, Ryne Schooley, and Zachary Miller available after the quartet redshirted last season.
Offensive returners include starting Shortstop and Louisville commit, Cooper Bowman. The sophomore from Rapid City, played in 61 games for the Reivers last season, batting .412 while leading the team in runs scored (90) and stolen bases (30). Catcher Jaden Rolffs is also back. In 57 games played, Rolffs led the team with a .457 batting average, collecting 14 doubles and 14 home runs in the process. Other returnees in the field include Shoen, Aaron Gerdes, Spencer Parker, Colin Kasperbauer, Jevon Mason, Cyler Melvin, and Tyler Ward.
Newcomers of note include a pair of Canadian National Team members and three NCAA transfers that could have an immediate impact.
Evan O'Toole and Noah Hull, two freshmen that played for Team Canada last fall look to bolster the Reivers on the mound and in the field. O'Toole, a 6'3" right-hander out of Nova Scotia and Hull, a 6'3" 1st baseman from Ontario played for Team Canada at the WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup in Gijang, South Korea with the team going 4-4 in its eight games. That experience should prove to be beneficial to the maturation of their play at the collegiate level.
Nick Juaire, a redshirt-freshman out of Farmington, Minnesota who spent his first collegiate season with TCU joins the Reivers behind the dish, while the Reivers add 6'9" righty Jack Neely (Texas) and 6'3" righty Tanner Kohlhepp (Tennessee). Both pitchers saw action in their freshman seasons with Neely hailing from San Antonio, Texas and Kohlhepp out of Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
As always, the Reivers will expect big contributions from many more fresh faces as the season continues. The team is scheduled to play 16 games before opening at Doc Ross Field on March 7th against Iowa Lakes.
Home games can be followed with live stats available here - https://goreivers.com/sports/bsb/2019-20/schedule with select games live-streamed with play-by-play and video.
Follow @ReiverBaseball on Twitter for live updates from all games.
