A new era in Saint John's baseball history begins Friday (Feb. 27). 

SJU opens its 2026 season with a trio of neutral-site games against Buena Vista (Iowa) this Friday and Saturday, Feb. 27-28, at the Mid-America Sports Complex in Shawnee, Kan. – Live Stats | Live Video

THE SCHEDULE: The Johnnies and Beavers are scheduled for a 1 p.m. doubleheader on Friday, followed by a nine-inning game at noon Saturday. 

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: First-year head coach Scott Lieser takes over the helm as the Johnnies start the 2026 season with its first three-game series. 

New Coach at the Helm 
Lieser starts his eighth season at SJU after serving as an assistant under longtime head coach Jerry Haugen '76 the past seven.  

Haugen retired after the 2025 campaign, ending a 48-season tenure that saw the Johnnies capture three conference titles (1994, 1998 and 2018), four MIAC playoff championships (2012, 2015, 2016 and 2019) and make 17 conference playoff appearances (including the past 15 seasons in a row). 

He will serve as coach emeritus this spring.

During Lieser's time as an assistant, SJU achieved a 135-80 (69-31 MIAC) record, including a conference title and 2019 NCAA Division III tournament appearance. 
Lieser earned All-Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference honors twice and All-Central Region honors three times as a standout right-handed pitcher at neighboring St. Cloud State (2010-13). He compiled a 32-7 record with 226 strikeouts and a 3.10 ERA as a Husky. Lieser then reached the high-A level in the Milwaukee Brewers minor league system, recording a 4-5 record to go with a pair of saves and 87 strikeouts in 63 professional outings. 

Returning Leadership 
SJU graduated four All-MIAC selections from last season, including MIAC Co-Player of the Year and All-American third baseman Joe Becker '24 and starting pitchers Will Fazio '25 and Connor Hartley '25. 

But the Johnnies return seven batters who hit at least .285 (five of whom accrued an average of .300 or better) last season. Junior Alex Matchey (Stillwater, Minn.) is SJU's lone returning All-MIAC selection after batting .366 (.400 in conference play) with a .475 slugging percentage and .441 on-base percentage. He appeared in 35 games with 27 starts, 18 in left field and eight at second base, and finished second on the team in batting. 

Matchey drove in 24 runs and scored 20 while ending the season with an eight-game hitting streak. He batted .500 (19-for-38) with runners in scoring position. 

Senior right fielder Brendan Hemr (Blaine, Minn./Centennial) earned 2025 MIAC All-Playoff honors with a .571 batting average to go with an RBI and three runs. He was the lone Johnnie to play all 41 games last season and tied with first baseman Owen Best '27 for the team lead in doubles (11).  

He also led the team in hits (51), was second in RBI (39) and extra-base hits (19) and third in batting (.352), slugging percentage (.579), home runs (6) and runs scored (28). Hemr tied with Becker for the team's most multiple-RBI games (11) and was second in multiple-hit games (13). 

Junior designated hitter Zach Helfmann (St. Louis Park, Minn.) joined Hemr on the All-Playoff team a year ago. He played 38 games (36 starts at designated hitter) and was second on the team in home runs (8) and slugging percentage (.609), and third in extra-base hits (18) and RBI (31). Helfmann batted .304, including going .382 (13-for-34) with two outs, and recorded the Johnnies' longest hit streak of the season at 14 games. Helfmann chased Becker's 15 home runs with eight of his own in 2025. He is expected to fill the role of the Johnnies' primary designated hitter again this spring.

Senior Reed Marquardt (Lindstrom, Minn./Chisago Lakes) manned the middle infield the past two seasons and will replace Becker at third base this season. He enters the season 16 hits away from 100 in his career. 

Marquardt and Hemr joined Helfmann above .300, along with Matchey and sophomore outfielder Nolan Dumonceaux (Forest Lake, Minn.). Dumonceaux, also a defensive back and the primary long snapper for the Johnnie football team, played in 14 games last season with three hits in 10 at-bats and four runs scored. 

Promising Arms Return
The Johnnies return 10 pitchers who appeared in four or more games on the mound last season. Of that group, six pitched more than 10 innings.  

Junior Carter Theisen (Rosemount, Minn.) has the most experience with 44.1 innings in 10 appearances last season. He led the returners in the bullpen with 31 strikeouts, which ranked third on the team behind All-MIAC selections Fazio and Hartley. He was also third in wins (5), starts (7) and batters struck out looking (10). 

Junior Hunter Hoen (Belle Plain, Minn.) recorded a 3-0 record in nine outings (six starts), holding opponents to a .223 batting average, which ranked fifth on the team. He was fourth with three wins, batters struck out (17) and games started (6) in 2025. 

Senior Jack Dobesh (Edina, Minn.) sits atop the returning arms with a 2.45 ERA last season in 11 innings of relief work. He held opponents to a .231 average at the plate with two saves. 

Junior P.J. Johnson (Glenwood, Minn./Minnewaska Area) and sophomore Ben Rudser (Woodbury, Minn./East Ridge) each recorded a sub-3.00 ERA. Johnson limited the opposition to a .171 batting average in four relief stints while Rudser allowed three earned runs in his first two outings of 2025 but shut out opposing lineups in his final three appearances.

Speed on the Basepaths
Nine different Johnnies stole a base in 2025, with four runners – Owen Amrhein (Waconia, Minn.), Riley Schwellenbach (Woodbury, Minn./East Ridge), Hemr and Matchey – notching four or more. 

Schwellenbach led SJU with 16 (tied for the MIAC lead) on 19 attempts, followed by Ryan Janzen '25 (8), Hemr (7), Amrhein (4) and Matchey (4). Schwellenbach, a junior outfielder who also earned his first All-MIAC honor in football as a wide receiver this fall, led SJU with a perfect field percentage on 60 putouts in the outfield a year ago. 

Overall, SJU ranked eighth in the MIAC last season with 44 stolen bases. Saint Mary's was the MIAC leader with 75 on 96 attempts. Augsburg (40), Bethel (29) and St. Olaf (28) finished behind SJU.

New Faces
SJU welcomes a handful of transfers who are likely to make an immediate impact. Junior catcher Mason McCurdy (Lake Elmo, Minn./Stillwater Area) joined the Johnnies from Division I Creighton while freshman shortstop Will Koeppen (Minnetonka, Minn.) was recently at Division I St. Thomas.  

Sophomore outfielder Grayson Fuchs (Paynesville, Minn.) batted .297 with a .404 on-base percentage in 31 games with Division II St. Cloud State last spring. 

The 2026 Non-Conference Schedule
The Johnnies' 40-game schedule includes 20 nonconference contests against 13 different opponents. The 13 teams combined for a 310-234 record (.570) in 2025. Six reached the NCAA tournament and combined for a 220-92 record (.705): Bethany Lutheran (29-14); Buena Vista (Iowa, 32-11); Ohio Northern (29-14); Ramapo (N.J., 28-16); Rutgers-Camden (N.J., 30-17); and Wisconsin-La Crosse (35-11). 

After the Buena Vista series, SJU travels to Indianola, Iowa to face Simpson March 7-8. The Johnnies then fly to Orlando March 14-20 for eight games between Davenport and Winter Haven, Fla.  

They return home for a March 24 doubleheader at Bethany Lutheran before the MIAC opener on March 28. 

The MIAC (Home) Schedule
That conference opener comes in the form of a doubleheader against Saint Mary's in Collegeville, one of four other MIAC twin bills SJU is scheduled to host:

-St. Scholastica (Tuesday, April 7)
-St. Olaf (Saturday, April 18)
-Carleton (Wednesday, April 29)
-Bethel (Monday, May 4) 

The four-team, double-elimination MIAC Tournament is scheduled for May 7-9 at CHS Field in St. Paul. The winner earns the conference's automatic bid to the Division III playoff field.

A LOOK AT THE BEAVERS: Buena Vista (1-2 overall) returns to the diamond after last week's (Feb. 21-22) series against Bethany Lutheran was postponed due to weather. Buena Vista took one of three in its inaugural series against MIAC foe Hamline (Feb. 14-15).  BV fell 4-0 in game one, where four errors plagued the Beaver defense. Buena Vista earned a victory in game two's high-scoring affair, winning 17-11. The Beaver defense committed an additional four errors in the win, resulting in seven unearned runs. In game three, Buena Vista squandered a six-run fourth inning, taking an 8-2 lead before ultimately falling 11-9. Sophomore Connor Duong leads BV offensively in hits (7) and doubles (3), with a share for a team-high in home runs (2), RBI (6) and runs (5). On the bump, junior Ean McDaniel (0-1) boasts nine strikeouts and a lone earned run through five innings of work. 

SERIES HISTORY: Saint John's and Buena Vista are knotted up at two apiece in the programs' four matchups. Most recently, SJU defeated BV 16-7 in Tucson, Ariz, in 2018. All four contests have been held at neutral sites.