UW-Whitewater will open its defense of the NCAA Division III Baseball Championship at a familiar placehome.
The Warhawks (41-4) who were ranked third in the nation in the final regular-season poll, will host one of 16 four-team regionals that begins Friday. UW-Whitewater will be making its 27th NCAA appearance and 18th under head coach John Vodenlich in 23 seasons.
Joining the Warhawks at Prucha Field at James B. Miller Stadium will be Macalester (Minn.) College (29-15), Bethany Lutheran (Minn.) College (31-6), and Luther (Iowa) College (33-11).
UW-Whitewater will meet Macalester in Fridays opener at 11 a.m. The three-day tournament is double-elimination.
The Warhawks will attempt to win the programs fourth national championship joining the 2005, 2014 and last seasons 2025 squad.
The list of eligible returnees off the 2025 team that went 49-6 almost assuredly would have made the Warhawks a prohibitive favorite to go back-to-back.
But the transfer portal and injuries made this season more challenging than one would have expected after the Warhawks routed Messiah University 21-5 to win the NCAA title June 4 of last year.
Portal strikes pitching staff
Three top pitchers from last years team put their names in the transfer portal and moved on. Logan Eisenbarth (9-0, 3 saves last season), Cade Hansen (12-1 in 84 innings) and Jack Hagen (4-1, 58 innings) all left for NCAA Division I programs.
Graduation took three power hitters off the roster: Adam Cootway (22 HRs, 72 RBI), Matt Scolan (19, 65) and Eli Frank (13, 60).
In total, 18 players, including 12 seniors, were lost from the 2025 Warhawks.
Its not nearly the team we had a year ago, Vodenlich said of the 2025 team that hit 111 homers. I learned a long time ago as a coach is the worst thing you could do is continue to compare players in years and teams.
Each year, we have to find a different combination.
Taking a page from Brewers
This years team has hit 52 homers, which is on pace to finish with a bit more than half the number last years team had.
But the team has drawn 218 walks and has stolen 129 bases.
Vodenlich, who is 818-229-1 in his 23rd season as the Warhawks head coach, is always open to change. As a quarterback on his Racine Case High School football team, Vodenlich played in a Wishbone offense that has been in place for years.
I thought I was a pretty good throwing quarterback, Vodenlich said. It took me several years to try to get the coach to throw the ball more.
Vodenlich changed the teams approach at the plate this season. They now use the Brewers approach.
We run the bases really aggressively, Vodenlich said. Were more a contact team. Were more balanced than weve been in the past.
Four starters from last year have continued to give the Warhawks a solid offense.
Centerfield Dominik McVay (.329, 57 hits, 13 SBs), second baseman Andy Theis (.299, 12 HRs, 12 SBs), catcher Aaron Holland (.271, 8 HRs) and third baseman Danny Hopper (43 hits, 26 RBI) have been consistent contributors.
Holland was a preseason Division III All-America selection and has returned to the teams leadoff spot.
Leftfielder Nelson Phillips started eight of the teams first nine games and was hitting .481 as the teams leadoff man. Then Phillips injured his ACL and was out for the season. Holland was moved back to the leadoff spot.
New contributors
Three newcomers have played a significant role offensively.
Sophomore shortstop Jackson Spring leads the team with a .392 batting average. He has scored 49 runs and has 51 RBI. Spring also leads the team with 22 stolen bases in 26 attempts.
Sophomore Evan Olson is the teams designated hitter. He ranks just behind Spring with a .372 batting average. He has scored 55 runs, which ranks second to Thies 58. Olson leads the team in bruises as he has been hit by pitches an amazing 24 times, which has helped produce a .533 on-base percentage.
The Warhawks were a bruised team after their first week of play in a trip to San Antonio to take on Trinity (Texas) University. The Warhawks won the season opener 6-2, but the host team won the next three games.
In addition, the Warhawks lost another one of their key pitchers, Brodhead High graduate Brady Malkow who underwent Tommy John surgery after injuring his elbow after 4 2/3 innings of one-run ball in the Warhawks victory.
Poor start; excellent finish
Sitting 1-3 with a new pitching staff after a 49-6 season did not set off the alarms in the coaches room.
But Vodenlich, along with assistants Tom Klawitter and Zac Bayreuther (both Janesville natives) as well as Peyton Schneider, Armando Hernandez and Mark Fuller, did not panic.
The Warhawks then went on an improbable 36-game winning streak. Whitewater won the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title by seven games after going 28-0 in league play.
The winning streak was snapped in the first game of the double-elimination WIAC Tournament last weekend by UW-River Falls. The Warhawks responded by winning four games in a row, including defeating UW-La Crosse twice on Saturday, to claim the programs 10th WIAC Tournament championship.
Without what would have been their six top pitchers, the Warhawks have exceeded expectations.
This team started the season in the shadow of the last two years and the tradition of the program, Vodenlich said. To be where we are right now, Im very happy, and the guys should be very proud.
It continues to write its own story. I love watching it happen.
The final chapters begin Thursday.
NCAA DIVISION III REGIONAL
At Prucha Field at James B. Miller Stadium
(Double elimination)
GAMES FRIDAY
Game 1Macalester (Minn.) College (29-15) vs. UW-Whitewater (41-4), 11 a.m.
Game 2--Bethany Lutheran (Minn.) College (31-6) vs. Luther (Iowa) College (33-11), 2:30 p.m.
GAMES SATURDAY
Game 3Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 2, 11 a.m. (Loser eliminated)
Game 4Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2, 2:30 p.m.
Game 5Winner of Game 3 vs. Loser of Game 4, 6 p.m.
GAMES SUNDAY
Game 6Winner of Game 4 vs. Winner of Game 5, 11 a.m.
Game 7 (if necessary), 2:30 p.m.