PORTLAND, Ore. — The Montana State Billings baseball program had a banner year in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference with 11 players earning all-conference recognition.
Pitcher Sam Coxen was named GNAC freshman of the tear and Derek Waddoups earned GNAC coach of the year honors. Coxen becomes only the second MSUB player ever to be named freshman of the year, following Cooper Dulich in 2022.
Waddoups earning GNAC coach of the year marks just the fourth time in program history a Yellowjacket coach has received the honor, and first since Aaron Sutton in 2019. This season, Waddoups surpassed 100 career wins as skipper and has now posted his first 30-win season at MSUB.
His 115 career wins ranks second in school history, just 20 wins shy of Rob Bishop (2011-2016).
Highlighting the 2025 All-GNAC selections, five Yellowjackets — Hayden Mullins, Zack Blaszak, Bodee Wright, Kaden Kirshenbaum, and Ryan Jeffrey — received first-team honors. Second-team accolades went to Coxen, Jackson Betancourt, Jack Nehler, and Ryker Fortier. Rounding out the awards were honorable mentions for Jarret Elmer and Brennen Chappell.
Kirshenbaum led the way as the group’s lone returning selection. Kirshenbaum topped the GNAC with 18 doubles and 29 walks, while also ranking second in RBIs (49), third in slugging percentage (.599), and third in home runs (8).
Wright, a senior, has earned All-GNAC recognition in three straight seasons. He’s batting .333 this season and ranks in the MSUB top 10 all-time in batting average (.344) and hits (176), and is just two triples away from the program record. Blaszak is enjoying a career-best season offensively, batting .377 and tying the MSUB single-season hits record (75). The duo has combined for 728 career assists and 135 double plays — both program records for a middle infield partnership.
Jeffrey also having a breakout year, hitting for the highest average of his career (.339), while also slugging five home runs, 15 doubles, and driving in 41 runs. Mullins has has collected four wins and three saves, ranking eighth and third in the GNAC, respectively. Mullins has held a 2.41 ERA and a .225 BAA through his 16 appearances and 37.1 total innings pitched while tallying 33 strikeouts.
Already an NCBWA and CCA All-Region selection in 2024, Nehler holds the highest career batting average in MSUB history (.390) and is hitting .382 this season — second-best in the GNAC. Fortier impressed in his first year with the Yellowjackets, hitting .354 with 35 runs and 28 RBIs.
Betancourt, the GNAC leader in career starts (47), capped off his collegiate career with a standout season: 3.43 ERA, 76 innings pitched (most in the conference), 59 strikeouts (3rd), and four wins (7th). Coxen matched the program’s single season wins record for a freshman (7) and is two away from MSUB’s all-time mark. He posted a 3.81 ERA (4th in GNAC), held opposing hitters to a .247 average, and notched 46 strikeouts over 49.2 innings.
Chappell is coming off a 1-run complete game performance against Central Washington and has been an elite strike-thrower all year, walking just 13 batters in 49 IP. The Kimberly, Idaho, native has tallied three wins on the season while dishing out 44 total strikeouts.
Elmer, the Yellowjackets' backstop, is receiving his first all-conference honor in his senior campaign. Elmer has collected 147 putouts, 12 assists, and just three errors for a fielding percentage of .981. Offensively, Elmer is slugging .354 with a .292 on base percentage with 21 runs and 26 RBIs.
The Yellowjackets enter the GNAC tournament as favorites in their opener against Central Washington, a team they’ve beaten six times in eight meetings this year — including a four-game sweep on the road. In Game 2, MSUB will face top-seeded Northwest Nazarene, currently leading the NCAA West Region rankings.
The two teams split their regular season series 4-4, setting up what could be a highly competitive matchup. On Thursday, the Jackets are set to play No. 3 Central Washington at 11 a.m. and top-seeded Northwest Nazarene at 5.
