Luther College Men's Baseball

Nikkel's third year as skipper of the Norse program In 2016, he led the Norse to a record of 34-14, the Iowa Conference Tournament championship and a trip to the NCAA III National Baseball Tournament Central Regional In 2016, The Norse set single season school records for wins (34), hits (485), and doubles (116) In 2016, senior catcher Mitch Knippenberg was named a third team ABCA/Rawlings All-American, only the second Luther player in school history to earn this honor In 2016, Four Norse were named all-conference including Iowa Conference Pitcher of the Year junior Nate Beckman Took over the Norse baseball program after serving as the top assistant and recruiting coordinator at Augustana College, Sioux Falls, S.D for four years During this stretch Augustana produced four 30-plus win seasons; made two NCAA II National Tournament appearances; made four NSIC Tournament appearances capturing the tournament championship in 2014 During his coaching career he has recruited and coached nine players who have gone on to play professionally Four-year letter winner as a catcher at SMSU and twice served as team captain Following his playing days he was an assistant coach at Southwest Minnesota State for three years (2007-2010) He has also served as Head Coach for the Marshall, Minn., American Legion baseball team for two years (2009-2011) and the Grand Rapids, Minn., VFW baseball team for three years (2004-2007)