ST. PAUL, Minn. – Concordia-St. Paul head baseball coach Neil Lerner has announced six freshmen
on National Signing Day 2024.

The 2024-25 recruits include Eric Berg (New Prague, Minn. / New Prague HS), Miles Jensen (Lakeville, Minn. / Apple Valley HS), Chase McQuade (River Falls, Wis. / River Falls HS), Kaden Russo (Elk Mound, Wis. / Elk Mound HS), Connor Strop (Eagan, Minn. / Eagan HS) and Louis Walker (Minneapolis, Minn. / Minneapolis Southwest HS).
 
Coach Lerner on the six additions: "I could not be more excited to welcome this group of players to our Golden Bear Baseball program. The goal of our coaching staff in the class was to bring in not only a great group of baseball players but also a quality group of young men, and it is very clear we have succeeded in doing this. The group overall is highly skilled and adds a great deal of size and athleticism to our program. We expect this group to provide immediate depth to our team, with many competing to make an immediate impact on the field."  Eric Berg (IF, 6-2, 180, Fr., New Prague, Minn. / New Prague HS)
 
New Prague High School: Collected six combined letters in baseball, football and hockey for the Trojans … Metro West All-Conference Honorable Mention recipient … slashed .300/.462/.475 with 24 hits that included six doubles and four triples in 80 plate appearances … scored 25 times, drove in 12 runners and stole four bases … helped his baseball team to a Class AAA MSHSL State Championship, along with a Section Championship.
 
Personal: Plans to major in business at CSP … has an older brother and sister.
 
Lerner on Berg: "We had a blast getting to know Eric and his family over the recruiting process and learned that, while Eric is a man of few words, he goes about his business in a loud way. When talking with some of his high school coaches and summer ball coaches, they all raved about how hard he worked, how he was a leader through his actions, and how he was just an ultimate dugout guy and baseball kid through and through. Eric is coming from a very successful New Prague high school team that won a state title in 2023, and we're excited for him to bring that winning attitude with him as he joins the CSP family. At the plate, Eric has consistently driven the ball to all fields and his athleticism and ability to play multiple positions will be great as he fights for opportunities when he gets to campus. We think he has the potential to step in and make an immediate impact in our program. We are thrilled to welcome Eric and his wonderful family to the CSP Baseball family and are looking forward to getting to work with him!" Miles Jensen (RHP, 6-3, 170, Fr., Lakeville, Minn. / Apple Valley HS)
 
Apple Valley High School: Collected four letters for the Eagles … 2023 All-Conference selection … on the mound, he led his team in wins in 2022 and 2023 and saves in 2021 … finished with a record of 3-0 in 2023 after tallying 22.0 innings pitch with 21 strikeouts, 16 hits and only seven earned runs allowed … added a .255 batting average with 14 hits that included a pair of doubles and triples, four RBIs and four stolen bases … is a member of the National Honors Society and Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
 
Personal: Plans to major in business with a minor in mathematics at CSP … was drawn to CSP due to the coaching staff and academics … his father played baseball at the University of South Dakota and his sister is a basketball and soccer player at Hamline University … also has a younger brother.
 
Dahlke on Jensen: Miles comes from a great family, and we had a blast getting to know them all through the recruiting process. Miles has a tall, lanky frame with plenty of room to grow. We expect that once he gets to campus and works with our strength and conditioning staff, he will take off! Miles has a great feel for the strike zone and has the ability to execute his secondary pitches for strikes while creating swings and misses. As he continues to develop and add velocity, we expect that skill to contribute to great success. We are excited to have Miles and his family join our CSP family and are looking forward to his development in the coming years."
  Chase McQuade (C, 5-10, 195, Fr., River Falls, Wis. / River Falls HS)
 
River Falls High School: Collected three letters in baseball and two letters in hockey for the Wildcats … was the named team captain … finished with a batting average of 309 and on-base percentage of 380 … added eight extra-base hits with six doubles, a triple and a home run … helped lead his team to a Section semifinal finish. 
 
Personal: Plans to major in business at CSP … was drawn to joining the Golden Bears baseball program after meeting the coaching staff, with a great influence by coach Ryan Holmgren, and seeing the campus … hopes to utilize his time at Concordia to reach his goal of being a collegiate baseball player and finding future job opportunities … is an only child.
 
Lerner on McQuade: "We are extremely excited to add Chase to our baseball team next year. Over the spring and summer season, we got to know him and his family very well. We were super impressed with Chase's character along with that of his entire family. From the moment we started watching him, we could tell that Chase was a leader on and off the field, something we love having in our catchers. One thing that always stood out to us was how hard he worked at every aspect of the game while playing, especially with the little things that are required from a catcher. Even when he wasn't in the lineup, he was always at the front of the dugout supporting and leading his teammates. With some time in the weight room and work with our coaching staff, we are excited to see the progression of Chase at the next level. We see him competing for time behind the plate and potentially in the outfield as well." Kaden Russo (RHP, 6-3, 215, Fr., Elk Mound, Wis. / Elk Mound HS)
 
Elk Mound High School: Collected letters in baseball, basketball and football for the Mounders … three-time All-Conference selection in both baseball and basketball, along with a two-time All-Conference selection in football … All-District selection in baseball and two-time All-Northwest selection in basketball … was his team's Most Valuable Player and Pitcher of the Year in baseball and a team captain in football … slashed .306/.408/.214 with 53 hits that included 12 doubles, three triples and a home run in 173 plate appearances … drove in 54 runners, scored 43 times and stole 10 bags … on the mound, he finished with a 10-3 record and 2.00 earned run average with 145 strikeouts in 87.1 innings pitched … has helped his baseball team to a 43-14 record that includes Conference Championship and a Regional Championship … has helped his basketball team to a 49-26 record and a Conference Championship … has led his football team to 12 victories.
 
Personal: Plans to major in exercise science at CSP … has a younger brother.
 
Dahlke on Russo: "When we started to recruit Kaden and got to know him, it was clear how important family was to him. We could not be more excited to welcome a person of his character to our CSP Baseball family. Kaden is a big kid who presents some good velocity and feel for his secondary pitches. Being a multi-sport athlete in high school, he hasn't had a lot of time to focus solely on baseball, so we are really excited to watch his development as he gets to do so through work with our strength and conditioning staff as well as our coaches. We are eager to see which role on the pitching staff he can come in and compete for right away and are overall looking forward to him being a part of the CSP Baseball program!" Connor Strop (RHP, 6-5, 235, Fr., Eagan, Minn. /Eagan HS)
 
Eagan High School: Collected three letters in both baseball and football for the Wildcats … All-Conference selection … finished with a 4-1 record and 2.70 earned run average with 43 strikeouts in 37.0 innings pitched on the bump.
 
Personal: Plans to major in business with a minor in sales at CSP … was drawn to CSP by the coaching staff and facilities … has three brothers, two older and one younger.
 
Dahlke on Strop: "We are excited to add Connor to this class! He is another guy with lots of character coming from a great family and a well-respected high school program. Connor has been able to learn and develop under multiple Concordia St. Paul baseball alums: Eagan Head Coach Steve Butler and Pitching Coach Luke DeGrammont. He was used quite a bit as a high-leverage reliever during his junior year in high school and started some games during the summer. These experiences prepare him to compete for a significant role in our pitching staff right away. Connor is a big, physical kid who has great feel for his pitches and the strike zone. We are excited to welcome him to our family and start working with him to continue his path to success on a college baseball mound."
  Louis Walker (LHP, 6-4, 190, Fr., Minneapolis, Minn. / Minneapolis Southwest HS)
 
Minneapolis Southwest High School: Collected letters in both baseball and football for the Lakers … All-City Award recipient … was a team captain for his baseball team … in his junior year, he finished with a 5-3 record and 1.43 earned run average with 54 strikeouts in 44.0 innings pitched, and allowed only 27 hits, 14 walks and nine earned runs … slashed .293/.379/.397 with 17 hits that included five doubles and a home run … helped his baseball team to a 17-7 record and a Conference Championship.
 
Personal: Plans to major in history at CSP … was drawn to the Golden Bears baseball by coach Lerner and the rest of the coaching staff, along with the facilities … has a younger sister.
 
Dahlke on Walker: "Louis is another high character kid who comes from a great family, and we heard nothing but great things about him during the recruiting process! The tall, projectable left-hander was an absolute strike-thrower over the spring and summer seasons. He has some deceptiveness to his delivery, which makes him a tough at bat for a lot of guys. We are really excited to get to work with Louis; as he continues to fill out his frame with our strength and conditioning staff, we expect to see some major strides in his development, eventually becoming a guy that could compete for some big-time innings early in his career!"