DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) -- After winning Millikin’s first College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) regular season title in 2024, Big Blue Head Coach Brandon Townsend faces a major retooling project this season. Millikin went 29-16 last season sharing the CCIW regular season title, winning the CCIW Tournament and advancing to the NCAA Division III Baseball Tournament.
In 2025, Townsend must replace 15 seniors including four who earned CCIW All-Conference honors last season and one All-Conference player who transferred into a NCAA Division I program. The Big Blue do have four starters returning including senior shortstop Liam McGill, senior centerfielder Tyler Gade, senior first baseman Andy Niebrugge and junior right fielder Sam Bushur.
McGill will anchor the Millikin infield after starting 128 games at shortstop in the last three seasons. McGill is a career .300 hitting and holds the school record for career stolen bases with 75. He hit .317 last season with 27 RBI. Niebrugge has made 114 starts at first base in his Big Blue career earning CCIW All-Conference Second Team honors in 2023. Junior Elliot Fulscher is expected to start at second base and freshman Julian Cabanin will replace Kyle Gibson (transferred to Illinois State) at third base.
Two All-Conference Second Team players return to the Millikin outfield in Gade and Bushur. Gade hit .355 in 2024 with 32 RBI. Bushur hit .349 last season with 39 RBI. A trio of players is battling for time in left field including junior Kolby Koslofski, sophomore Kam Ross and freshman Trey Thompson.
Senior Hayden Stork will see most of the action behind the plate after hitting .303 in 34 games in various roles in 2024. Four players are vying for at-bats as the designated hitter led by senior Danny Lack, sophomore Blake Binkowski, junior transfer Blake Van Beers and senior Ben Combs.
Townsend expects a number of freshmen to contribute in various roles this season including Caleb Akins, Nolan Reiman, Ty Cribbett, Aiden Simmons, Kyle Campbell, Joey Niebrugge and Gavin Houchins.
The Big Blue pitching staff requires major retooling in 2025 with three newcomers expected to get most of the starts. Transfer junior Zach O’Donnell, transfer sophomore Jack Harris and Akins will headline the Millikin starting staff. The top four arms out of the bullpen include three returners in left hander senior Max Simpson, senior Griffin Neuweg, and senior Alec Mallinder. Neuweg as 2-1 last season in 17 appearances with a 3.15 ERA. Junior transfer left hander Josh Bennema will battle for innings out of the pen as well.
“On the mound and at the plate there is still a lot of competition for playing time and lots of guys will get opportunity early as we gain experience and grow throughout the season,” states Townsend. “We have new faces, but the Big Blue Baseball Program will still be built on defense and the same aggressive style of play.”
Townsend enters his 12th season leading the Big Blue Baseball program.
He is Millikin’s all-time winningest baseball coach with a career record of 223-205. He was the 2024 CCIW Co-Coach of the Year.
Millikin opens the season on February 16 at Hendrix College in Conway Arkansas facing Westminster College. The home opener at the Workman Family Baseball Field in scheduled for March 8 at 10 a.m. against Hamline University.
