BURNSVILLE — The St. Cloud State baseball team has been picked to finish third in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference in a preseason coaches poll announced by the NSIC on Thursday, Jan. 22. Infielder/outfielder Liam Moreno was named a player to watch and Bryce Brassfield was named a pitcher to watch.
In 2025, the Huskies went 28-26 and finished fifth NSIC, the 15th consecutive season the Huskies have finished in the top-five and 16th time in 17 seasons under head coach Pat Dolan (there was no conference season in 2020 due to the pandemic). Four Huskies earned All-NSIC honors, including returners Moreno and junior Wilmis Castro, who earned first- and second-team honors, respectively. The Huskies had 67 home runs, which ranked second in program history (96 in 2016).
“Fortunately, all but one of our returning seniors returned versus entering the transfer portal and we signed one of our best and oldest recruiting classes ever,” Dolan said in a news release. “We believe we should have the quality upperclassmen depth both on the mound and on the field to be competitive in the NSIC.”
Liam Moreno
SCSU ATHLETICS
Moreno, a redshirt senior from Sun Prairie, Wis., had a standout first season playing for the Huskies last season, earning All-NSIC first-team honors while starting 53 games and playing in all 54. Moreno hit .350 with a .994 OPS, eight home runs, 33 RBI, 15 doubles, 60 runs and 20 stolen bases. He led the Huskies in runs and stolen bases, while ranking among the NSIC’s top-10 in many offensive categories. He had a .982 fielding percentage with 35 putouts and 75 assists while committing two errors.
“Liam is a returning NSIC All-Conference player that has played NCAA DI baseball (at Missouri State) and three years with the Madison Mallards in the (Northwoods League),” Dolan said. “He was elected a captain for his senior year and will be a leader for our team this season.”
Bryce Brassfield
SCSU ATHLETICS
Brassfield, a senior right-hander from Gilbert, Arizona, made 13 starts in his first season with the Huskies after transferring from Phoenix College and was 4-3 with a 5.60 ERA, 1.60 WHIP and 65 strikeouts in 66-1/3 innings. He had five or more strikeouts in six of his 13 starts, including his last three, and pitched six or more innings five times. He made his best start of the season against Minot State on April 26, pitching six innings, giving up one earned run with eight strikeouts and earned the win.
“Bryce is one of our top returning pitchers and is a two-year captain,” said Dolan. “We are looking forward to him being a reliable arm on the mound for us this season.”
1. Minnesota State (8 first-place votes) 190 points
2. Augustana (7) 189
3. St. Cloud State 163
4. Wayne State 154
5. Sioux Falls 144
6. Minnesota Duluth 116
7. University of Mary 115
8. Minnesota Crookston 112
9. Southwest Minnesota State 90
10. Winona State 89
11. Concordia-St. Paul 76
12. Jamestown 48
13. Minot State 44
14. Northern State 29
15. Bemidji State 16
Mick Hatten is a reporter and editor for stcloudlive.com. He began working for Forum Communications in November 2018 for The Rink Live and has covered St. Cloud State University hockey since 2010. Besides covering Huskies hockey, he is also covering other sports at SCSU and high school sports. A graduate of St. Cloud State, he has more than 30 years of experience as a journalist and has been a youth hockey coach since 2014. mick@stcloudlive.com
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