University of St. Thomas Athletics
South Dakota State University
Tommies hit road to face SDSU
5/7/2026 9:09:00 AM | Baseball
Tommies wrap up road portion of regular season at SDSU
ST. PAUL, MINN.- The St. Thomas Tommies are set to hit the road for their final Summit League road series of the 2026 season. The Tommies will face the Jackrabbits of South Dakota State for a three-game series May 8-10.
St. Thomas at South Dakota State
Game One: Friday, May 8th (1p.m.)
Game Two: Saturday, May 9th (3 p.m.)
Game Three: Sunday, May 10th (1 p.m.)
Be sure to follow along for live stats and radio through links found at tommiesports.com/sports/baseball/schedule – and on Twitter @TommieBase and Instagram at @TommieBaseball.
Last time out
St. Thomas traveled to Iowa City for their final midweek matchup of the season against the Hawkeyes. The Purple fell 14-4 in the contest. Freshman Terek Verhage led the offense with two hits while senior Joe Roder chipped in two RBIs.
History with South Dakota State
The Tommies hold a 7-16 overall record against the Jackrabbits dating back to when the two teams first met back in 2022. Most recently the Tommies won game two of the three game series in April at Koch Diamond.
Scouting the Jackrabbits
The South Dakota State offense is led by Nolan Grawe who is hitting .320 on the season and Luke Luskey who is batting .316 with 10 home runs. On the mound, the Jackrabbit staff holds a 7.55 ERA. Grawe also leads the league in doubles, and Luskey leads the Summit in RBIs and HBP.
21 Innings, two days
St. Thomas and Northern Colorado set records for their 21-inning marathon game that took two days to complete. The game was suspended in the 11th inning on Friday, April 17th and picked back up again on April 18th. There were nine scoreless innings before both teams scored two in the 19th. The game ultimately ended via a walk off in the bottom of the 21st.
Reaching the Summit
Junior Owen Bond is making a name for himself amongst Summit League foes. Bond holds a league leading .470 on-base percentage and five triples. Bond is second in the league in batting average with a .353.
Joe Roder also leads the Summit League in walks with 27.
Recchio Off and Running
Tanner Recchio has been causing chaos on the base paths this season as he leads the Summit League with 32 stolen bags and ranks 11th in the country. Recchio leads the league by a 17-base margin, and the next closest is teammate Adam Puder with 15.
Summit League Peak Performers
Tanner Recchio 3/10/26
Joe Roder 3/31/26
2026 Roster
The Tommies welcomed 17 newcomers to the 2026 roster
Roster makeup
Class:
Freshman/Red-shirt freshman: 15
Sophomores: 13
Juniors: 7
Seniors: 4
Graduate Students: 2
State:
Minnestoa: 25
Wisconsin: 8
Colorado: 3
Illinois: 2
Iowa: 2
Nebraska: 1
Leader of the pack
Head Coach Chris Olean enters his 17th season at the helm of the Tommie baseball program in 2026. Olean has totaled a 414-256-1 overall record (338-148-1 in NCAA Division III) since being named head coach prior to the 2010 season.
Olean is a three-time NCAA DIII Region Coach of the Year and closed out its DIII era by winning championships in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) and region en route to a national runner-up finish and 37-10 record.
During the last 12 DIII seasons, the Purple won eight MIAC Championships, capped by third-place national finishes in both 2012 and 2014, in addition to the runner-up finish in 2021.
Olean mentored seven DIII All-American pitchers. He was voted MIAC and Midwest Region Coach of the Year in 2012, 2013, and 2021. In addition, Olean works with the Tommie pitching staff, which was a perennial top-10 group in DIII baseball.
Follow Along
Any and all information pertaining to the St. Thomas baseball team can be found at tommiesports.com and on Twitter @TommieBase and Instagram at @TommieBaseball.
