BURNSVILLE, Minn. – The Northern Sun (NSIC) released the 2024 NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll on Thursday morning and Concordia-St. Paul was picked to finish 11th.
 
The Golden Bears collected 49 points, only three from cracking the top-10 behind Sioux Falls. They were voted ahead of Minnesota Duluth (44 points), Northern State (31 points) and Bemidji State (13 points).
 
Head Coach Neil Lerner on the team: We have a veteran team with lots of NSIC experience and are excited to see the continued growth this group will make. We return eight position players who started regularly in 2023 along with nine of the 11 pitchers who had the most innings pitched on our 2023 club. We think this experience along with a solid group of younger players will help lead our club to a successful 2024 campaign. Guys had a great fall and off-season training time and are excited to get on the field for the 2024 season."
 
Two-time defending NSIC Regular Season Champions, Augustana, were picked to win the conference with 169 points and 13 first-place votes. The Vikings ended the season on an impressive run as they were the seventh seed in the Division II College World Series. Rounding out the top three are the Minnesota State Mavericks (156 points) and St. Cloud State Huskies (142 points), who won the 2023 NSIC Tournament after defeating the Mavericks in the championship.
 
The preseason coaches' poll is based off each coach ranking each team from 14 to 1 with the top team receiving 14 points, second 13, third 12, etc.
 
Concordia-St. Paul baseball program looks to improve from a 17-28 (11-22 NSIC) record and 11th-place finish in the conference from a season ago. CSP returns 25 total players from last season, which includes 11 starters (three pitchers). Neil Lerner's Golden Bears will also see 11 new faces on the roster, with the addition of eight incoming freshmen and three transfer students.
 
Kal Brohmer was named the Preseason NSIC Player to Watch for the Golden Bears. The junior slashed .354/.459/.449 a season ago with 31 runs and 26 RBI. While on base, he stole three bags on four attempts (75%). The Elko, Minnesota native led the team in batting average last season, propelled by his 15 multi-hit outings at the plate.
 
Lerner on Brohmer: "Kal is a true leader on our team - a hard worker who leads by example. He loves the game of baseball and his enthusiasm for the game is contagious. He has been a mainstay in the middle of our lineup since his freshman year, when he earned second-team All-NSIC. Kal can play multiple positions but has found a home at 1B for us. A career .320 hitter, we look for Kal to play a big part in our success this year."
 
For the second year in a row, Korey Dahlberg was named the Preseason NSIC Pitcher to Watch for the Golden Bears. In his sophomore campaign, the RHP compiled a 4-6 (.400) record with 47 strikeouts in 58.2 innings. The Farmington, Minnesota native tabbed a career-low ERA of 5.06 and tallied a career-high nine strikeouts in a complete game (seven innings) against Bemidji State.
 
Lerner on Dahlberg: "Korey has been in our starting rotation since his freshman year and took over as our #1 starter during his sophomore year. Korey is a guy that wants the ball and our guys feed off the energy that he brings to the mound and the baseball field. Korey has a bulldog mentality and it showed last year as he led our team in innings pitched and wins. We always feel like we have a great chance to win when Korey is pitching and we look forward to him taking another big step forward this year."
 
CSP opens the season on the road as they travel to Newman (Kan.) for a three-game series from Feb. 16-18 and they kick off conference play with a four-game series on Feb. 24-25 against Minot State. Action from Bob Barnes Field is slated for a four-game series on March 22-24 against Minnesota Crookston.
 
The eight-team double elimination NSIC Tournament takes place May 8-11, hosted by the University of Mary at Veterans Memorial/Municipal Ballparks, in Mandan & Bismarck, North Dakota. The tournament will be streamed on the NSIC Network, with tournament passes or single game access available for purchase.
 
#3 Kal Brohmer (IF/OF, 5-10, 165, Jr., L/R, Elko, Minn. / Lakeville South HS)

• 2024 NSIC Preseason Player to Watch for CSP
• 2022 Second Team All-NSIC
• Led the Golden Bears with a .354 batting average in 2023
• Tallied 15 multi-hit games
• Scored 31 runs and drove in 26 runners

 
#16 Korey Dahlberg (RHP, 6-0, 192, Jr., R/R, Farmington, Minn. / Farmington HS)

• Back-to-back NSIC Preseason Pitcher to Watch for CSP
• 2023 CSC Academic All-District
• 2023 NSIC All-Academic
• Started in 11 games with 58.2 IP and a 5.06 ERA
• Struck out 47 batters and walked only 19