BURNSVILLE, Minn. – The Winona State University Baseball team was selected seventh in the 2025 NSIC Baseball Preseason Coaches' Poll. Cole Fuecker and Pierce Gritzmaker were named the Preseason Player and Pitcher to Watch for the Warriors.
 
WSU garnered 97 points in the 2025 NSIC Baseball Preseason Coaches' Poll, locking them in seventh behind Concordia University, St. Paul (98), and ahead of the University of Mary (92). Augustana was selected first with 165 points and received nine first-place votes. Augustana Senior, Jack Hines was selected as the Preseason Player of the Year. Augustana Junior, Ashton Michek was selected as the Preseason Pitcher of the Year.
 
Winona State finished ninth in the NSIC in 2024. Entering his third season as head coach with the Warriors, head coach Seth Wing noted, "We have a great balance of experience and new players that provide depth at all positions and on the mound. We return our entire starting lineup from last year's team and have a blend of transfers, redshirt freshmen, and true freshmen that will add competitiveness and excitement to our lineup. We graduated a lot of starting innings pitched from last year's team, but we are returning a talented group that have been waiting to get more innings. As we gain experience, it should be a deep pitching staff. Being in year three as a coaching staff, we should start to take shape in what type of program that we will be moving forward."
 
Fuecker, a graduate student from Sauk Rapids, Minn., led the team last season, starting in all 49 games that he appeared in. During the 2024 season, he helped lead the team to a 21-28 record while recording a .356 batting average, OB% of.431, SLG% of .601, eight home runs, 35 RBIs, and going 11-14 on stolen bases for the season.
 
Coach Wing on Fuecker: "Cole plays the game with great passion and has as high of a baseball IQ that I have ever coached. A true middle-of-the-order hitter that makes all the players around him better and excited to see what he can do for us this season!"

Gritzmaker, a junior from Woodbury, Minn., helped lead the team with Fuecker, starting in nine games and appearing in 10. During the 2024 season, he recorded a W/L ratio of 2-1, pitched 46.1 innings, recorded an ERA of 3.88, struck out 40 batters, recorded a WHIP of 1.29, and a B/AVG of .269.
 
Coach Wing on Gritzmaker: "Pierce is an extremely talented and cerebral pitcher who is a true ace of our pitching staff. He is a highly dedicated student-athlete and carries one of the highest GPAs on the team. We love handing the ball to Pierce and are excited to see what he can accomplish during his junior year!"

The Warriors will open the 2025 season in Tucson, Ariz. on March 7 for the Tucson Inviational.

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