NDSU Sports Signings

North Dakota State Baseball Signs Four Players During Early Signing Period

FARGO, N.D. – North Dakota State University head baseball coach Tod Brown announced the addition of four players on the first day of the early signing period on Wednesday, Nov. 12. The group includes two pitchers, a pitcher/utility player and an outfielder.

Outfielder Logan Busch (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.), right-handed pitcher Logan McShane (Greenfield, Wis.), right-handed pitcher Brady Moxam (Oakville, Manitoba) and right-handed pitcher/utility player Blake Tritch (Chaska, Minn.) signed National Letters of Intent to continue their education and play baseball for the Bison.

"I'm excited about the addition of these four student-athletes to the program," Brown said. "We feel that all four of them will help continue the success of NDSU baseball."

Busch, 6-foot-1, 190 pounds, was an outfielder at Century College in White Bear Lake, Minn., last season where he was selected to the NJCAA All-Region XII team. Busch played in 39 games and posted a .339 batting average with 30 runs scored, 36 RBI, seven home runs and 17 stolen bases.

This past summer, Busch was part of the state champion Saint Paul Capitals amateur baseball team where he hit .468 with seven home runs and 10 doubles.

McShane, 6-foot-3, 185 pounds, posted a 6-3 record with a 1.30 ERA his junior season at Wisconsin Lutheran High School. He made 12 starts with eight complete games and compiled 74 strikeouts in 64.2 innings pitched. McShane only allowed 12 earned runs and held opposing batters to a .161 average.

In addition to baseball, McShane also plays football and basketball for Wisconsin Lutheran. He was part of the 2014 Wisconsin Lutheran state championship basketball team and is the quarterback for the number one-ranked football team in Wisconsin Division 3.

Moxham, 6-foot-3, 190 pounds, pitched for Vauxhall Academy and for Team Manitoba 18U at the Canada Cup. He also competed in Tournament 12, one of Canada's premier baseball tournaments, in Ontario at the Rogers Centre, home of Major League Baseball's Toronto Blue Jays. Moxham compiled a 6-2 record in 53.1 innings pitched with 86 strikeouts and only 15 walks while competing for Team Manitoba 18U this past summer.

Moxham went 3-2 with 23 strikeouts and only 11 walks at Vauxhall during the 2014 season. He allowed 12 earned runs on 19 hits in 29.1 inning pitched and was selected as the Underclassmen Award winner for Vauxhall.
Tritch, 6-foot-1, 180 pounds, was an all-conference honorable mention selection for Chaska High School in 2014 and has been selected as a 2015 team captain. A three-year letterwinner and four-year starter, Tritch batted .378 with nine doubles, two triples and 12 RBI in the spring of 2014.

An All-Siebert Fall League selection, Tritch played amateur baseball for the Hit Dawg Academy during the summer and fall of 2014 and was the leading pitcher for the Hit Dawgs.

North Dakota State finished the 2014 season with an overall record of 25-26, winning The Summit League tournament for the first time in program history and advancing to the NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament for the first time since 1956. 

NDSU Men’s Basketball Inks Miller, Geu on Early Signing Day

FARGO, N.D. – North Dakota State University head men’s basketball coach David Richman announced the addition of two high school student-athletes  on Wednesday, Nov. 12, the first day of the one-week early signing period.

Dylan Miller of Hillsboro High School in Hillsboro, Ill., and Deng Geu of Washington High School in Sioux Falls, S.D., have signed National Letters of Intent to continue their education and play basketball at NDSU. Both are expected to join the Bison in the fall of 2015.

Miller, a 6-9 forward, was named to the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association all-state fourth team in Class 1A/2A as a junior in 2014. He has averaged 17 points, nine rebounds, and over four blocks per game for his career, topping 1,000 career points by the end of his junior season. Miller played AAU basketball for the Peoria/Illinois Irish.

“We are very pleased to welcome Dylan to the Bison family,” said Richman. “Dylan’s character and mentality will mesh very well with our culture, and that was extremely important to us in the process.”

“On the court, Dylan has the chance to be an impact guy for us early in his career,” Richman continued. “His size, skills and athletic ability will make him a versatile player for us on both ends of the floor. Most importantly, Dylan’s work ethic and winner’s attitude will help to continue moving Bison basketball forward.”

Geu, a 6-8 forward, averaged 10 points to help lead Sioux Falls Washington HS to a third-place finish at the South Dakota Class AA state tournament as a junior in 2014, earning a spot on the all-tournament team. Geu played AAU basketball for the Dakota Schoolers. He moved to Sioux Falls from Fargo midway through his sophomore year of high school.

“We couldn’t be more excited to bring Deng back to Fargo and welcome him to the NDSU family,” said Richman. “Deng has the character and personality we want to surround ourselves with at North Dakota State University. He was the homecoming king at Sioux Falls Washington High School after only being there for a year and a half. That says a lot about the type of young man he is.”

“Deng’s basketball talents and abilities are great now, and we feel he is only scratching the surface of where he can end up,” Richman said. “His length, skills and athleticism make him a guy that we feel can be a big contributor in the future. These two young men will be tremendous pieces in us becoming the benchmark in The Summit League for years to come.”

The defending Summit League champion Bison open the 2014-15 season at No. 10 Texas on Friday, Nov. 14. Tip is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. (CT).

NDSU Women’s Basketball Signs Two High School Standouts on Early Signing Day

FARGO, N.D. – North Dakota State women's basketball head coach Maren Walseth announced Wednesday, Nov. 12, the signing of high school standouts Kennedy Childers and Megan Gamble to National Letters of Intent to attend North Dakota State University and play basketball beginning in the fall of 2015.
 
"I am extremely excited to welcome both Kennedy and Megan to our Bison family," Walseth said. "Kennedy is a fantastic shooter and a fierce competitor, while Megan is a speedy guard who will push the tempo. Megan and Kennedy have both been a part of winning programs and have experienced success at a high level, and I expect both to contribute to our future success."
 
Childers, a 5-foot-9 guard from West Des Moines, Iowa, has enjoyed a standout prep career at Iowa 5A powerhouse Dowling Catholic High School.
 
A three-star athlete who was the 31st-ranked guard in her position by ESPN, Childers has helped Dowling Catholic to two 5A state championship appearances and one state championship. She was limited to only seven games her junior season due to injury.
 
Childers has also excelled in the classroom, having earned Academic All-Conference for the Central Iowa Metropolitan League the past two seasons and Presidential Honor Roll honors each semester at Dowling Catholic.
 
Childers played AAU basketball for Kingdom Hoops Elite. This past summer she helped her team win the 2014 USJN National Championship in Augusta, Ga.
 
She is the daughter of Chris and Kris Childers.
 
Gamble, a 5-foot-7 guard from Omaha, Neb., is a two-time all-state honorable mention selection at Central High School.
 
A three-year starter for Central, she helped her team to a Class A state championship appearance in 2012 and a third-place state finish in 2013. Gamble averaged 13 points per game and dished out five assists per game during her junior season. The 5-foot-7 guard also earned all-Metro Team accolades and was selected as a team captain twice by her teammates.
 
She is the daughter of Teri Murphy and Dexter Dawson.
 
North Dakota State begins the 2014-15 regular season on Friday, Nov. 14, at home in the Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse against Kent State. Tip-off is scheduled for noon. 

NDSU Women’s Golf Inks St. Croix Lutheran’s Groom

FARGO, N.D. – St. Croix Lutheran Academy's Emma Groom has signed a National Letter of Intent to continue her education and play women's golf at North Dakota State University.

NDSU head coach Matt Johnson made the announcement on Wednesday, Nov. 12, the first day of the one-week early signing period.

Groom, a four-time state qualifier for St. Croix Lutheran, is a four-time all-conference and three-time all-state performer. She was named All-State Academic and won the Individual Section Championship last May. She has been the team captain the past two seasons and will serve as captain again this spring.

A native of Eden Prairie, Minn., Groom played for Team Minnesota in the Minnesota vs. Wisconsin match play tournament and was the overall series 'B' Minnesota Junior PGA Champion last summer.

North Dakota State completed its fall season with a seventh-place finish at the Denver Ron Moore Intercollegiate. NDSU's spring schedule begins Feb. 23-25 at the Grand Canyon Invitational in Phoenix Ariz. 

Eight Sign with NDSU Women’s Track & Field

FARGO, N.D. – North Dakota State University head women’s track & field and cross country coach Stevie Keller announced the signing of eight high school student-athletes on Thursday, Nov. 13, during the early signing period.

Emma Kusch Dahle, a distance runner from Winnipeg, Manitoba; Maddy Nilles, a thrower from Sherrill, Iowa; Shelby Gunnells, a thrower from Solon, Iowa; Bailey DeMar, a jumper from Bethel, Minn.; Ellen (Maea) Wall, a multi-event athlete from Bemidji, Minn.; Alaysia Freetly, a mid-distance runner from Appleton, Minn.; Maggie Schwarzkopf, a thrower from Bismarck, N.D.; and Lindsay Wangerin, a thrower from Plentywood, Mont., all signed National Letters of Intent to continue their education at NDSU and compete for the Bison.

“We are very excited about the start to our 2015 recruiting class,” said Keller, the first-year head coach of the Bison women. “Today we have eight outstanding student-athletes committed to Bison track & field and cross country. This class brings great experience and talent that will help continue our tradition of excellence. We are looking forward to having them join us next year.”

Kusch Dahle (Kelvin HS) has put together an impressive prep career in Canada, clocking personal-best times of 4:45 in the 1500m and 10:01 in the 3000m. She was the Manitoba provincial runner-up in cross country this fall after finishing third as a junior. In June, she placed third overall in the Manitoba Half-Marathon and was the top finisher among girls 19 and under. Kusch Dahle owns Kelvin High School records in the 1500m and 3000m, both indoor and outdoor. She took 11th in the 3000m at the 2014 Canadian Junior National Championships.

Nilles (Dubuque Wahlert HS) won back-to-back Iowa Class 3A state titles in the discus as a sophomore and junior for Dubuque Wahlert, as well as being a three-time state meet qualifier in the shot put.

Gunnells (Solon HS) is the reigning Iowa Class 3A state champion in the shot put, winning the title as a junior in 2014 after being the runner-up as a sophomore in 2013. She captured the Drake Relays high school shot put title in 2014, taking the top spot among Iowa preps in all classes combined. Gunnells also placed fifth at the state meet in the discus as a junior.

DeMar (St. Francis HS) placed fourth in the triple jump in Minnesota’s Class AA as a junior in 2014, as well as qualifying for the state meet in the long jump and 4x100m relay. She holds the St. Francis school record in the triple jump, as well as being named the team MVP and all-conference.

Wall (Bemidji HS) was a Minnesota Class AA state meet qualifier in three events as a junior, placing ninth in the long jump and competing in the 400m dash and 4x400m relay. She placed eighth in the 400m at the state meet as a sophomore in 2013.

Freetly (Lac qui Parle Valley HS) finished 10th in the Minnesota Class A state cross country meet as a senior this fall after taking 22nd as a junior in 2013.  She placed fifth in the 1600m run at the Minnesota Class A state championships as a sophomore and took 10th as a junior. A five-time state meet qualifier in cross country, Freetly earned all-state finishes three times.

Schwarzkopf (Bismarck Century HS) claimed the North Dakota Class A state title in the shot put as a sophomore in 2013. She placed third in the shot put and fourth in the discus at the state meet as a junior in 2014. In all, she has been a five-year state meet qualifier and a five-time state placewinner in the throws, helping Bismarck Century to four team titles during her career.

Wangerin (Plentywood HS) was third at the Montana state meet in the javelin as a sophomore in 2013 and fifth as a junior in 2014. She holds the Plentywood school record in the javelin with a mark of 133-8. Wangerin also took second in the high jump as a sophomore and third as a freshman at the Montana state meet.

The NDSU track & field team will host the Dakota Duals Classic on Friday, Dec. 5, to open the 2014-15 season.