Eagles Baseball Preview

2/13/2024 12:00:00 PM

The Edgewood College Baseball team starts 2024 with high expectations after another strong finish in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) Tournament as they head down south to face Millsaps in a three-game series to open the season.

“I am excited about this team. We are a great mix of veteran, young, traditional and transfer. Over the fall and winter, we have become extremely close and worked very hard. It has been great seeing how quickly our new guys have turned into program veterans. Because our returners have poured into them and built them up. It is clear this group has learned from the teams of the last few years and the importance of their personal investment in the in our goals and each other,” said head coach Al Brisack.

“We certainly have depth of talent as well. The internal competition this talent has created should help us as the year goes on. Our conference gets better every year and we expect this to be the most competitive NACC slate yet. Any success we have will have to be earned every game," he continued

2024 Baseball Schedule

Edgewood College is slated to play 40 games during the regular season. They will host match ups at Stampfl Field against defending champion Aurora and runner up Benedictine, as well as UW-Whitewater. They will kick off their NACC slate at Rockford on March 23, before hosting Illinois Tech for their home opener on March 30. Aurora is ranked 15th in the inaugural D3Baseball poll, while UW-Whitewater placed 18th. Benedictine received votes in the poll.

“As mentioned before, the NACC has gotten better every year. Last year, saw three NACC teams ranked in the region and another just missing the rankings. We expect this year to be the strongest our conference has ever been. Top to bottom will present challenges and require our full attention. Our non-conference schedule will, as always, test us. We will have lots of “wind shield” time and must become comfortable playing on the road at some challenging venues. These games will provide some great opportunities for us to test ourselves and prepare for post-season play.”

Baseball Schedule

2024 Roster

This is the deepest team I have coached at Edgewood College. We have quality players at every position and very good guys pushing them. We will be a dynamic offense with different ways to attack teams. Our pitching will be deeper than last year and give us more match up opportunities. We are happy with the way our team has committed to defense. It has been fun watching them get better and better each practice.

2024 Baseball Roster

Head Coach Al Brisack

Al Brisack is entering his 25th year as Eagles skipper, with 448 wins and a 260-199 record in conference play. Brisack led the Eagles to their best season since 2010 last season, including a Saturday trip in the NACC Tournament.

I do believe we are most excited to connect with all our west coast alumni while we are in Arizona as well as our home games dedicated to the Cutting Edge Program, our Veterans Affairs Office and LSM Senior Day! We recognize how fortunate we are to have such a great following and to be able to play in front of so many great fans. Our attendance isn’t normal for Division III baseball so we can never take it for granted.

- Baseball head coach Al Brisack

By the Numbers

3rd - The 2023 edition of the squad finished 3rd in the NACC Tournament for the second straight season.

37 - The number of stolen bases Connor Goodwin swiped last season, topping the team's history books in the category.

186 – The numbers of at-bats Kyle Sagan had last season, a program-best. His 62 runs were also a program record and he looks to be a cornerstone of the Eagles' lineup in 2024

26 – The total number of victories last season, the most in a single season since 2010.

13.32 – Justin Grosse set the program-best in strikeouts per nine inning game last season.

4.08 – Gavin Vrana leads all qualified returning players in ERA as he aims to be a key part of the Eagles' rotation.

"Though we graduated a talented senior class last year with one member moving on to professional baseball (Joe Kalafut), we truly believe we are more talented this year," said Brisack.

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