TOPEKA, Kan. -- Conference play returns for the Ichabods as they head for a three-game road series against Central Oklahoma beginning Friday at 3 p.m. through Sunday. They return home to face No. 5 Central Missouri for one game on Tuesday, March 10 at 3 p.m. 

LEADING OFF

>> Washburn returns to MIAA play with a three-game series against Central Oklahoma before returning home for a midweek meeting with No. 5 Central Missouri.

>> The Ichabods face the Bronchos at Wendell Simmons Field in Edmond, Okla. beginning at 3 p.m. on Friday, March 6, 2 p.m. on Saturday and 12 p.m. on Sunday. They face the Mules at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, March 10 inside Steve Anson Stadium.

>> Washburn fell to 6-10 overall and is 3-1 inside the MIAA after falling 6-4 to Northwestern Oklahoma State on March 4.

>> The Ichabods are coming off a fourth straight winning season in 2025 going 28-25 overall and 18-18 inside the MIAA. They finished 7th in the regular season and won two games in the MIAA Tournament before falling in the semifinal round.

>> They were picked to finish fifth in the MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll for a second straight year.

BODS AND BITS

>> Washburn is scoring 7.56 runs per game on the year while opponents are scoring 7.63 runs per game. 

>> They are 1-2 playing at home at Steve Anson Stadium, 4-6 in road games and 1-2 in neutral field meetings.

>> At the plate the Ichabods are hitting .255 with a .395 OB% and a .387 SLG%. They have tallied nine home runs with 99 total walks.

>> The pitching staff has a 5.98 ERA with 132 strikeouts across 140.0 innings. They have allowed 160 hits and issued 85 walks. 

>> Washburn has a .962 fielding percentage as a team with 23 errors and six turned double plays.

>> On the basepaths the Ichabods have gone 34-45 in stolen base attempts while opponents have gone 20-29. 

>> Washburn has returned 19 players from the 2025 roster with eight of them as  seniors, four juniors and seven sophomore. 

STREAKS AND STATS

>> Jackson Mervosh and Trenton Barry each enter the midweek game riding five-game hitting streaks. Brandt Beeby had the longest streak this season reaching eight games.

>> Ian Luce has a team and season-high 16 game streak of reaching base. 

>> Washburn is reaching base at a .434 clip to lead off the inning. 

>> The Ichabods are hitting 3-10 (.300) when pinch hitting this season.

>> Washburn is outscoring opponents 15-7 in the ninth inning of games and 10-7 in the first inning.

AROUND THE ORDER

>> Ian Luce has started in all 16 games hitting .343 with a .975 OPS while reaching base in every game this season. He has eight extra-base hits including a pair of home runs with 12 RBI and is 4-6 in stolen base attempts. He is 11th in the MIAA in hits, 14th in total bases and 15th in runs.

>> Levi Risenhoover is hitting .241 while starting in all 15 games he has appeared in. He leads the team with four home runs and 19 RBI while carrying a .914 OPS. He is 3-5 in stolen base attempts. He is 5th in the MIAA and 75th nationally in home runs while ranking 8th in the conference in RBI.

>> Jackson Mervosh has played and started in all 16 games and is hitting .302 with a .833 OPS. He has a team-high six doubles and has driven in nine runs on the year. He has a .436 OB% and is 2-2 in stealing bases. He is 8th in the MIAA in doubles.

>> Brandt Beeby has played in 12 games making eight starts and is hitting a team-high .395 with a 1.115 OPS. He has driven in 11 runs while going 3-4 in stolen base attempts.

>> Chase Littrell is hitting .222 with a .805 OPS while playing in 14 games and making 12 starts. He has hit one home run with 10 RBI and is 6-7 stealing bases. He has a team-high 15 walks for a .472 OB%. He ranks 3rd in the MIAA and 49th nationally in walks per game.

>> Trenton Barry has palyed in 15 games making 13 starts hitting .267 with a .841 OPS. He has hit one home run with eight RBI and stolen a team-high seven bases. He is 11th in the MIAA in stolen bases.

>> Easton Wasinger has played and started in ten games. He is hitting .270 with a .751 OB%. He has driven in eight runs and has a .400 OB%.

>> Owen Laessig has started in 12 games and played in 13. He is hitting .224 and has driven in eight runs.

>> Jarrett Herrmann has played in ten games making six starts. He is hitting .292 with a .433 OB%. He is 3-4 in stolen base attempts.

>> Brooks Richardson has played in 13 games making 12 starts. He is hitting .222 with two RBI and has a .349 OB%.

>> Jack Borgmann has played in 15 games making 13 starts. He is hitting .191 with a home run and six RBI while going 3-4 in stolen base attempts.

ON THE MOUND

>> Caleb Lunnon has made four starts for the Ichabods throwing 20.2 innings on the year. He has also struck out a team-high 21 batters with a 3.92 ERA for a 1-1 record. He is 10th in the MIAA in strikeouts and 13th in strikeout to walk ratio.

>> Maclane Finley leads team throwing 21.2 innings across his four starts this season. He has struck out 12 batters and has a 4.57 ERA and 2-1 record, tied for a team-high in victories. Opponents are hitting just .238 against him. 

>> Kai Bennett has thrown 16.2 innings over his three starts. He is second on the team with 20 strikeouts while holding opponents to a .246 batting average. He has a 6.48 ERA and is 0-2 on the year. He is 6th in the MIAA in strikeouts per nine innings.

>> Fidel Hatch has played in five games out of the bullpen throwing 10.1 innings. He has struck out three batters and has a 1.74 ERA with a team-high one save. He is 8th in the MIAA in saves. 

>> Max Strash has appeared in five games out of the bullpen for the Ichabods throwing 6.2 innings. He has six strikeouts and has a 1.35 ERA.

>> Mark Hoffmann has pitched in five games making a pair of starts. He has thrown 13.2 innings with nine strikeouts and a 3.95 ERA. He is tied for a team-high with a 2-0 record.

>> Scout Jellison has pitched in four games out of the bullpen throwing 3.2 innings. He has struck out five batters with a 4.91 ERA.

>> Carter Poole has made four appearances out of the bullpen throwing 2.1 innings. He has three strikeouts without allowing an earned run.  

>> Keegan McDonald has appeared in four games out of the bullpen throwing 5.0 innings with four strikeouts and a 7.20 ERA.

>> Gavin Wilhelm has pitched in four games out of the bullpen. He has a 1-0 record across 5.2 innings with seven strikeouts and an ERA of 6.35.

IN THE FIELD

>>  Excluding first basemen and catchers, Levi Risenhoover leads the team with 36 putouts followed by Chase Littrell with 34.

>> Trenton Barry has the most assists on the team with 44, while Jackson Mervosh is second with 33. 

>> Jack Borgmann has a team-high 92 putouts at first base while Brooks Richardson has 88 from behind the dish.

ICHABODS AROUND THE COUNTRY

>> Washburn's 47-man roster consists of players from eight different states.

>> There are 21 players on the roster who are from the Sunflower State.

>> Nebraska and Missouri are producing the second most Ichabods with seven each coming from the two bordering states.

>> Washburn has five players from Oklahoma and four from Colorado moving one state to join the Ichabod roster. 

>> One player comes from each of Texas, Iowa and Wisconsin to round out the roster. 

MIAA PRESEASON POLL

>> In the 2026 MIAA Coaches Preseason Poll, the Ichabods were picked fifth, the same place they were picked to finish in the 2025 preseason poll as well. They earned 93 total points in the poll.

>> Central Missouri was picked to repeat as the regular season champion, earning 12 of 13 first-place votes with 144 total points.

>> Pittsburg State and Central Oklahoma are picked to finish second and third respectively. 

>> Missouri Southern was slotted at No. 4 and earned the final first-place nod. 

NUMBERS AROUND THE NATION

>> As a team in 2026 Washburn stacks up to the rest of the nation and conference well in several areas...

Walks  - 99 (4th MIAA / 30th nationally)

Doubes per game - 2.19 (5th MIAA / 48th nationally) 

Sacrifice flies - 9 (4th MIAA / 47th nationally)

Stolen bases per game - 2.13 (4th MIAA / 58th nationally) 

Triples per game  - 0.31 (6th MIAA / 70th nationally)

Scoring - 7.6 runs per game (4th MIAA / 87th nationally) 

ERA - 5.98 (6th MIAA / 97th nationally)

Strikeouts per nine innings - 8.5 (5th MIAA / 95th nationally)

HEAD COACH HARLEY DOUGLAS

>> Former Washburn All-MIAA outfielder Harley Douglas enters his 12th season at the helm of the Washburn baseball program in 2025.

>> In his eleven plus season, Douglas carries an all-time record of 290-252 with seven appearances in the MIAA Tournament and led the program to its first-ever NCAA Tournament in 2022.

>> He has also coached a total of 72 all-MIAA selections, including the MIAA Player and Pitcher of the Year in 2016.

>> Prior to returning to his alma mater in 2012 he was the head coach at St. Marys HS from 2003-06 and at Rossville HS from 2007-10. 

>> Douglas is a two-time Washburn graduate, receiving his Exercise Physiology degree in 2002 before earning an Education degree in 2004. He also earned a Master's Degree in Adaptive Special Education from Emporia State in 2010. 

ASSISTANT COACHES

>> Connor Crimmins is in his eighth season with the Ichabods on the coaching staff.

>> He began his coaching career spending the prior two seasons on Brad Hill's Kansas State staff serving as a graduate assistant

>> While at Washburn, Crimmins played both football and baseball, finishing his career on the diamond top 10 in sacrifice flies (4th/11), doubles (6th/38) and RBI (t-7th/132), while having the 12th-most at-bats (575).

>> He graduated from Washburn in 2016 with his bachelor's and earned his master's in college student development and counseling from K-State.  

>> Rane Pfeifer is in his third season on the coaching staff after finishing his playing career with the Ichabods in 2023. 

>> He finished his career second all-time in opponent batting average (.218), third in games started (36), fourth in strikeouts (210) and 19th in innings pitched (165.2)

>> Pfeifer graduated from Washburn with a bachelor's degree in business management in May 2022

>> Caden Bressler moves from the starting rotation to the coaching staff for the 2026 season in his first as a coach.

>> He finished his three-year career with the Ichabods in 2025where he appeared in 62 games as a hitter and 32 on the mound. He throw 113.2 total innings with a 6-6 record and three saves.

>> Bressler graduated with his bachelor's degree in kinesiology from Washburn in 2025. 

SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION

CENTRAL OKLAHOMA BRONCHOS

>> Central Oklahoma lost a three-game seires to Missouri Western last time out falling to 10-7 on the year and moving to 1-2 in the MIAA.

>> Last season the Bronchos went 36-17 overall and 23-13 inside the MIAA. They advanced to the NCAA Central Regional, falling in two games.

>> Robbie Rea is in his first season as the head coach at Central Oklahoma after spending the previous three as an assistant coach.

>> Central Oklahoma is scoring 6.35 runs per game while opponents are scoring 6.71 runs per game against them. 

>> The Bronchos offense is hitting .283 as a team with a .404 OB% and a .400 SLG%. They have nine home runs and have tallied 73 total walks with 124 strikeouts.

>> They rank 6th in the conference in on base percentage and 7th in the MIAA in total hits.

>> Drake Lee has played in 14 games making 13 starts while hitting a team-high .400 and with a 1.104 OPS. He leads the team with three home runs and has driven in 14 RBI. He is 10th in the MIAA with a .660 SLG%. 

>> Caleb Castle has played and started in all 16 games hitting .321 with a .818 OPS. He has driven in 12 runs and leads the team going 5-6 in stolen base chances.

>> The pitching staff has a 6.32 ERA as a team across 142.1 innings. They have struck out 140 batters while walking 71 and allowing 183 total hits.

>> The Bronchos rank 4th in the conference in both walks allowed per nine innings and strikeouts per nine innings.

>> Braxton Jones had made four starts throwing 21.0 innings with a 3.00 ERA. He is 2-0 on the year and has a team-high 32 strikeouts with opponents hitting .241. He is 2nd in the MIAA and 16th in the nation in strikeouts.

>> Tristan Wittau has appeared in six games out of the bullpen throwing 8.2 innings. He has a 1.04 ERA while striking out 10 and holding opponents to a .077 batting average.

>> Central Oklahoma leads the all-time series between the two teams 34-27. They are 25-14 against the Ichabods in Edmond. 

>> The first meeting of the series came on March 21, 1986 with an 8-6 win for Washburn in Oklahoma City. Last season the Ichabods took the season series 2-1 in Topeka.

CENTRAL MISSOURI MULES

>> Central Missouri moved its winning streak to nine games in a row with a sweep over Newman last time out as they improved to 15-2 overall and 6-0 in the MIAA.

>> They are ranked No. 5 in the latest NCBWA national poll.

>> Last season the Mules went 48-14 overall and 29-7 in conference play. They made it to the College Baseball World Series where they lost two games to one to Tampa in the Championship.

>> Kyle Crookes is in his 12 season leading the Central Missouri program where he has a 461-149 career record.

>> Central Missouri is scoring 10.53 runs per game while opponents are scoring 4.59 runs per game against them. 

>> The Mules offense is hitting .350 as a team with a .481 OB% and a .474 SLG%. They have six home runs and have tallied 121 total walks with 90 strikeouts.

>> They rank 1st in the MIAA and 5th in the nation in walks while leading the conference and 2nd nationally with 92 stolen bases.

>> Cole Funkhouser has played in 15 games making 12 starts and is hitting a team-high .455 with a 1.113 OPS. He has 15 RBI and is 11-11 in stolen base attempts. He is 2nd in the MIAA in OB%, 3rd in batting average and 4th in stolen bases.

>> Brock Kobel has played and started in 14 games hitting .444 with a team-high 1.213 OPS. He has driven in 17 runs with a home run while going 8-10 in stolen base attempts. He is 4th in the MIAA in batting average, 6th on OB% and 8th in walks.

>> The pitching staff has a 4.11 ERA as a team across 138.0 innings. They have struck out 167 batters while walking 81 and allowing 105 total hits.

>> The Mules lead the conference in strikeouts per nine innings while ranking 2nd in ERA and hits allowed per nine innings.

>> Greyson Chappel has made five starts and leads the team throwing 17.1 innings without allowing a run. He has struck out 27 batters with opponents hitting just .179 against him. He is first in the nation in ERA and 2nd in the MIAA in strikeouts per nine innings.

>> Sawyner Allen has made four starts for UCM throwing 14.2 innings. He is 1-0 on the year with a .89 WHIP while striking out 20 batters.

>> Central Missouri leads the all-time series between the two teams 95-30. Washburn is 12-41 against them in Topeka. 

>> The first meeting of the series came on March 14, 1985 with a 8-7 win for the Ichabods at home. Last season the Mules won two out of three games in the series with each team winning at home.

MILESTONE MARKERS

>> Griffin Huiatt is 3rd in program history with 58 career appearances. He ranks tied for 5th among all players with seven career saves. 

>> Jackson Mervosh is tied for 26th in Washburn history with 30 doubles. With a .344 batting average his career number ranks 30th best in program history.

>> Fidel Hatch is tied for 16th in program history with four career saves. 

WASHBURN BASEBALL HISTORY

>> The 2026 season will be the 74th year of Washburn Baseball.

>> The Ichabods have a 1393-1323-3 record in program history. 

>> There have been 35 seasons with 20+ wins; 25 seasons with 25+ wins; and 13 seasons with 30+ wins.

>> Washburn has earned 34 All-Region selections and 14 All-America awards.

ON DECK

>> Washburn heads on the road again to face Missouri Southern for a three-game set beginning Friday, March 13.

>> Senior day for the Ichabods will be on the regular season finale May 2 against Pittsburg State at 1 p.m.

>> The single elimination MIAA Tournament will be held in Edmond, Okla. at Wendell Simmons Field between May 6-10.