By: Evan O'Kelly, Associate Commissioner for Communications
PORTLAND, Ore. – Until proven otherwise, Northwest Nazarene remains the team to beat in Great Northwest Athletic Conference baseball.
That’s what the voting indicated in the preseason coaches poll released Thursday, as the Nighthawks received 3 of 5 first-place votes and 23 total points to top the list of the conference’s baseball teams. NNU has won each of the last two GNAC regular-season and conference tournament titles and is coming off the best season in league history advancing to the Division II World Series in 2025.
Cruising through the GNAC Championships, NCAA West Region Championships and NCAA Super Regional Championships last spring, the Nighthawks capped their campaign by going 2-2 at the World Series to mark the furthest ever advancement by a GNAC team. Overall NNU went 46-16 and won the conference regular-season title by six games with a mark of 27-5 in league contests. NNU set numerous GNAC single-season team records, including most wins, runs scored (475), hits (664), RBIs (419) and walks drawn (239). It has taken head coach
Joe Schaefer seven seasons to climb to No. 5 on the all-time conference wins leaderboard, leading NNU to a record of 136-61 (.690) in league play and 205-124 (.623) overall. Schaefer’s four regular-season titles are tied for third-most in GNAC history and his three tournament crowns are second most.
Joe Schaefer (right) is in his eighth season leading the Nighthawk baseball program.
NNU returns its top hitter from a season ago in first-team all-GNAC selection
Kaleb Karpstein. The senior slashed .383/.480/.544 with five home runs and 42 RBIs last year to help fuel the postseason run. Gavin Brubaker started 60 games, hitting .300 with four long balls, 33 RBIs and 16 stolen bases.
Adrian Arechiga is another regular starter who is back after leading the GNAC with 25 stolen bases to go along with five homers, 50 RBIs and a batting average of .312 in 54 starts.
Carter Walsh, the 2024 GNAC Freshman of the Year, is back for his junior season after starting 48 games, stealing 14 bags and slashing .276/.348/.414. Closer
Wade Duncan, who is ninth on the GNAC career list with 13 saves, returns for his senior season.
NNU will have to replace a pair of All-American pitchers in Ernesto Lugo-Canchola and Cole Calnon. That duo combined to go an incredible 25-0 in pitching decisions last season, with Calnon authoring a GNAC-record nine complete games and Lugo-Canchola breaking the record for most wins in a season with 13. NNU will also have to replace 25 of its 63 home runs from last year and 104 of its 417 RBIs, with 2025 seniors Bryan Rojas and Nin Burns II combining to accumulate those figures.
Montana State Billings is coming off its second NCAA West Region Championships appearance in program history and another successful season behind 2025 GNAC Coach of the Year
Derek Waddoups. The Yellowjackets went 33-22 overall and finished second in the GNAC standings at 21-11 in conference action. MSUB received one first-place vote and 18 points in the preseason coaches poll to occupy the second position.
Jack Nehler is among the most experienced players in the conference, suiting up for 120 games and ranking fifth in GNAC history with a .389 career batting average since his debut in 2023. Nehler ranked second on the team last year hitting .379 while starting 51 contests primarily at first base.
Ryker Fortier started 52 games and ranked third on the team with a .348 batting average, while stealing a team-high 18 bases and driving in 32 runs.
MSUB's Jack Nehler ranks fifth in GNAC history with a career .389 batting average.
On the mound, first-team all-GNAC selection
Hayden Mullins is among the top returners after posting an ERA of 2.70, a WHIP of 1.11 and striking out 37 hitters in 46 2/3 innings across 20 relief appearances in 2025. The ‘Jackets also have
Sam Coxen and
Brennen Chappell back in the rotation, after each started a dozen games last season and had 53 and 50 strikeouts, respectively. MSUB will need to replace its top starter in second-team all-conference lefty Jackson Betancourt, who had a 3.61 ERA with team bests of 67 strikeouts in 89 2/3 innings pitched. Zack Blaszak is a key departure from the offense, after posting a team-leading .382 average with 15 steals, four homers and 38 RBIs while starting all 55 games.
Placing third in the preseason coaches poll was Western Oregon, receiving 15 points to finish three behind the Yellowjackets. The Wolves went 18-26 overall in 2025 and took fourth in the final standings at 14-18 in conference games.
Kellen Walker is in his 14th season piloting the program and stands second all-time in league victories with a conference record of 267-142 (.653). Walker’s overall record at WOU is 351-233 (.601), his five regular-season titles are second-most and his six conference tournament crowns are most ever by a GNAC baseball coach.
While NNU’s Lugo-Canchola and Calnon had most of the pitching headlines in 2025, WOU returner
Devin Bell had an equally impressive campaign in many ways. He posted a microscopic 0.92 WHIP to go along with a 2.39 ERA in 11 starts, striking out 77 hitters in 75 1/3 innings. The all-GNAC first-teamer is set to begin his junior campaign as the GNAC’s all-time leader in opponent batting average (.177) and fewest hits allowed per nine innings (5.34).
Jacob Memmott, the other Wolf to take a turn in the rotation in virtually every series last season, is also back after eating up 45 innings in 2025.
Western Oregon's Devin Bell is the top returning pitcher in the GNAC this season.
WOU will rely on the leadership of returners
Zane Garvey in the infield and
Owen Bischoff in the outfield. Garvey led the team with a .333 batting average while reaching base at a clip of .465 and starting 42 games. Bischoff led the team with nine steals and 12 doubles while ranking second with a .323 batting average in 2025.
Collin Irwin is back behind the plate, after ranking third on the team with a .315 average and driving in 26 runs while starting 42 of 44 games.
John Oleson is another full-time starter returning to the team, after hitting .308 with a team-best 32 RBIs while starting all 44 contests a season ago.
Finishing just one point behind WOU and earning the other first-place vote in the preseason poll was Central Washington. The Wildcats took third in the GNAC standings in 2025 with a league record of 15-17, while going 25-26 overall and advancing to the conference tournament.
Desi Storey has led the Wildcats for 35 seasons, holding a career record of 730-846-2 (.464). Since the conference was formed in 2002, his 316 league victories are the most of any GNAC coach as he begins his 25th season in the GNAC era.
Logan Blank is among CWU’s most experienced returners, after starting 39 games and hitting .289 with four steals and 19 RBIs last spring.
Max Bledy returns to the outfield after hitting .333 in 33 starts last year.
Logan Pierce is back on the roster after starting nine games on the hill and contributing 53 1/3 innings pitched last season. The Wildcats will have to replace GNAC Player of the Year Brandham Ponce, who broke the GNAC single-season record with 19 home runs while hitting .362 and driving in 65 last year. Also absent from this year’s team are starting pitchers Daniel Charron and Jonathan Garza II, who combined to start 26 games, toss 149 2/3 innings and strike out 117 hitters.
Max Bledy is back in the CWU lineup after hitting .333 in 2025.
Finishing fifth in the preseason poll with five points was Saint Martin’s, after going 3-46 last year including 3-29 in GNAC play. The Saints will look for a fresh start behind new head coach
Jacob Garsez who comes to Lacey, Wash., with nine years of head coaching experience.
Back for the Saints is
Peter Hollabaugh, who had a team-leading four home runs and 29 RBIs while hitting .267 and starting 47 of 49 games last season.
Evan Nicol returns after ranking second on the team with a .322 batting average, and
Kyle Schabot is back after posting a team-best nine steals and hitting .310 in 2025. Back from last year’s pitching rotation is
Blaze Wong, who led the team with 39 strikeouts and 56 innings pitched across 14 appearances last season.
The
2026 GNAC Baseball Championships will run May 7-8 at Northwest Nazarene University in Nampa, Idaho. The top-three teams in the 2026 GNAC regular-season standings will earn spots in the conference tournament, with the winner claiming the GNAC’s automatic berth into the 2026 NCAA West Region Championships.
The 2026 season kicks off on Jan. 30 with all five of the league’s teams in action during the opening week. Conference play begins the weekend of March 6 and runs through the first week of May as the teams kick off the 32-game race to the conference tournament.
Peter Hollabaugh and the Saints will look for a turnaround 2026 season under the guidance of new head coach Jacob Garsez.