North Iowa Area CC 2026 Outlook
January 20, 2026
Program: North Iowa Area CC
Head Coach: Tyler Brown: Interim Head Coach
NJCAA Region/Division: Region 11, DII
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: NIACCBaseball
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Roster Link
Several question marks surround this NIACC squad after three-year head coach Josh Merrill took the Eastern Oklahoma State job in the off-season. Tyer Brown, in response, was named interim head coach at the beginning of August, who was an assistant under Merrill for his three years at NIACC. With the departure of Merrill and more, this roster has turned upside down with majorgity of the pitching staff entering the portal this summer and much of their lineup graduating or leaving as well. Despite this, Coach Brown will look to improve on the 18-34 and early Region 11 Tournament exit. With much of the roster leaving question marks, there are still areas looking strong. The lineup still returns five sophomores who saw valuable time the year prior, along with a strong freshman class for both sides. This season will be filled with challenge but one Coach Brown looks set to lead his Trojan squad through.
PITCHERS
The pitching staff is truly where the majority of the question marks are for this NIACC squad. With the departure of the head coach and pitching coach, many of the top inning eaters left via the portal, leaving the 2026 team with a hole to fill. Looking to be the foundation and leader of this new look staff is returning sophomore Caden Watson. The right-hander comes back with 41.2 innings under his belt, pitching to a 4.97 ERA, with 43 strikeouts. During the ICCAC Fall Showcase, Watson showed well with the fastball, playing up to 89 mph, paired with a high-spin curveball in the mid-70s and a mid-70s change-up. Watson will look to shoulder the brunt of the load and lead this young staff this spring. With Watson looking to be one of the lone veterans, there are a pair of freshmen who have made a case to see innings this spring. Right-hander Teddy Juaire, out of Lakeville North, Minnesota, gave an impressive look this fall. The fastball has been up to 89 mph, with developing secondaries in the low-70s. Then there is left-hander Tyler Loesche out of Slinger, Wisconsin. This is a very intriguing arm for the NIACC rotation, standing in a wiry long-libed frame with more room to add. The fastball was in the upper-80s with a slider sitting mid-70s with a sweeper shape.
- SO. RHP Caden Watson was an intriguing arm starting on the mound for NIACC. The right-hander worked from an easy, fluid delivery, with the arm coming out of the ¾, staying loose, able to grab some velo with ease. Through game play, Watson showed a three-pitch mix with the fastball sitting 87-89 mph, with sinker tendencies, and the curveball was 74-76 mph, getting up to 2500 RPMs with late sharp break, and the change-up was mid-70s with a similar profile to the fastball. The fastball and curveball paired well with each other, with the curveball able to garner whiffs down in the zone.
OFFENSE
On the offensive side of things, the lineup loses five starters, but also returns a handful of sophomores looking to make a larger impact this year. The top producers returning to the Trojans' lineup are C Minchan Kim and OF Tommy Lyman. Kim comes off a freshman year where he slashed .313/.423/.417, with 23 RBI, and has looked to continue his development after a strong fall season. While Lyman slashed .285/.368/.437, with four home runs and 26 RBIs. Lyman is an extremely lean, athletic frame, as a 6.66 runner, posting a max EV of 92.3 mph. He has the framework to stick it in center field this fall and be a mainstay at the top of the order. Another interesting bat within the lineup is INF Hudson Waldow. The righty saw plenty of time last year, but the results reflect poorly on the year. It will be an interesting follow to see if he can take the next steps into his sophomore year. Two more sophomores looking to play larger roles this season after limited time as freshmen are C/1B Jacob Neutz and OF Ryan Coffman. Neutz ended his year with 110 at-bats with a .300 AVG, 434 OBP, and 20 RBIs. Posting EVs north of 100 mph this fall season, showing his clear development power-wise. Now Coffman suffered an injury this fall, so it is unlikely we see much of him this spring, but what he showed us this fall proves why he should still stay on radars. He’s an athletic outfielder who we’ve seen only develop since high school, now running a 6.88 with EVs in the lower-90s and an outfield velo of 93 mph.
- SO. OF Tommy Lyman gave an intriguing look throughout the showcase portion of the event on Friday morning. The athletic 5-foot-9, 186-pound frame started strong with a 6.66 60-yard time, following up with a strong round of BP, with some hard contact working on a line, reaching a max EV of 92.3 mph.
- SO. C Jacob Neutz put together a loud round of BP Friday morning during NIACC’s hitting portion of Friday's event. The right-hander posted a max EV of 101.3 mph and a max distance of 389 ft. The ball jumps off the bat from a violent swing, working the pull side with strong hands, working through the ball.
While five promising sophmores retuner, there will still be a need for freshmen to step up in a major way. OF Jack Gorman and C Gage Petersen have made their presence known through strong high school and fall campaigns. Gorman is an athletic build out of Eau Claire, Wisconsin, with power upside as he continues to gain strength through his frame. Posting EVs up to 97 mph with a 6.94 60-time in high school. While Petersen is out of Mason City, Iowa, looking to find his way in a filled backup stop at NIACC. We haven't seen Petersen since high school, but during his senior year, he posted a .366/.508/.570 slash line with a 1.078 OPS. These two will look to have a major impact within the lineup.