Northwestern College Men's Baseball

Wede's ninth as the head coach, after serving as an assistant coach for two seasons. Wede's teams have won 299 games and five conference championships. Northwestern has also been very strong in the post season winning 32 postseason games, best in the GPAC. Wede was named the GPAC Coach of the Year following the 2013 season. Wede is also very respected across the country; serving as the Chairman of the NAIA Baseball Rules Committee and representing the GPAC as the baseball coaches chair and the national rater. Wede has also served on the NAIA World Series Games Committee, All-American Committee, and National Tournament Procedures Committee. He is currently the second Vice-President of the NAIA baseball coaches executive committee. Northwestern leads the state of Iowa's 25 four-year baseball programs with 276 wins in the last nine years and with 128 in the last four years. In 2007, Wede's club finished 37-18, won the Region III Championship, and was the NAIA Plains Super Regional Runner-Up. The 37 wins broke the old school record of 29 wins in a season. In 2008, Northwestern won the GPAC regular season championship going 18-6 in league play and finished 29-18 overall. It was Northwestern's first conference title in baseball since the spring of 1980. The Red Raiders made their second consecutive trip to the NAIA Region III tournament, where they finished Runner-Up. In 2009, Northwestern went 19-23 overall and was 8-16 in the GPAC. In 2010, Northwestern tied the school record for wins with 37, going 37-20. The Red Raiders won the GPAC Tournament and qualified for the NAIA Opening Round. Northwestern went 3-2 in their first National Tournament and was the Oklahoma City Site Runner-Up, one of the final 19 teams in the NAIA. In 2011, Northwestern tied for the GPAC regular season championship, going 16-6 in GPAC games. The championship was Northwestern's third in four years. In 2012, Northwestern finished 30-23 overall and was the GPAC Tournament Runner-Up, losing the Championship game 1-0.  In 2013, Northwestern dominated the GPAC, finishing 17-3 during the regular season and winning the GPAC Championship by three games. Northwestern also claimed the GPAC Tournament Championship and qualified for the NAIA National Tournament Opening Round. In 2014, Northwestern finished 42-13 and 16-4 in the GPAC. NWC established a new school record with 42 wins. The Red Raiders started the season ranked 32nd and finished ranked 21st. Northwestern qualified for the NAIA National Tournament Opening Round for the second consecutive season. In 2015, Northwestern finished 25-28 overall and 11-9 in the GPAC, good for a third place finish. Senior outfielder Mitch Peschon was named a Second Team All-American for the second consecutive season. Wede has coached eight All-Americans at Northwestern, 23-1st Team All-GPAC players, 25-2nd Team All-GPAC players, nine Gold Glove winners, two GPAC Pitchers of the Year, two GPAC Players of the Year, 36 All-GPAC honorable mentions, 19 NAIA Scholar Athletes and two Capital One Academic All-Americans. The 2011 Northwestern baseball team was named a NAIA Scholar Team for having a GPA of 3.08. Former Red Raiders Ryan Brasser (LHP-2014), Mike Zoellner (LHP-2012), Brad Payne (SS/RHP-2010), and Mihai Burlea (RHP-2008) have continued their baseball careers professionally. While at Northwestern, Wede has also led three groups of players to Romania and the Repulic of Moldova for baseball/service trips. In the summer of 2008, Wede took four players and assistant coach Dave Nonnemacher to Nisporeni, Moldova for ten days to do baseball camps with kids and share their love for Christ. In July of 2011, Wede led a group of three current players and two former players to Cluj, Romania to teach the game of baseball to kids who have never played baseball before. The group also took time to speak to the kids about Christ and how their relationship with Him has impacted their lives. In July 2012 Wede returned to Cluj, Romania, with one alumni, to direct a week long baseball camp and to encourage the locals to form a regular pattern of playing baseball in the city. Wede played collegiately at Mt. Mercy College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and was a member of two Region VII Tournament qualifying teams. Mount Mercy, coached by Justin Schulte, averaged 42 wins a season during Wede's career. He and his wife, Nicole, have one son, Nikolai, and two daughters, Larkin and Shea. Wede at Northwestern Year Overall GPAC (Rank) Postseason   2007 37-18 14-8 (3rd) 6-5 NAIA Region III Champions, NAIA Super Regionals 2008 29-18 18-6 (1st) 4-4 GPAC Champions, NAIA Region III Runner-Up 2009 19-23 8-16 (10th) DNQ   2010 37-20 12-11 (6th) 8-2 GPAC Tournament Champions, NAIA National Tournament Opening Round Runner-Up 2011 26-19 16-6 (1st) 0-2 GPAC Champions 2012 30-23 11-9 (4th) 3-2 GPAC Tournament Runner-Up 2013 31-19 17-3 (1st) 4-3 GPAC Champions, GPAC Tournament Champions, NAIA National Tournament Qualifier 2014 42-13 16-4 (2nd) 4-4 NAIA National Tournament Qualifier 2015 25-28 11-9 (3rd) 2-2   2016 23-27 11-9 (4th) 1-2   Total 299-208 134-81 32-26 3X GPAC Regular Season Champions, 2X Post Season Champions, 5X NAIA Postseason Qualifier

Robby Laughlin was hired in June 2024 to join the Red Raider baseball coaching staff as an assistant coach. A 2018 Northwestern graduate with a degree in sport management, Laughlin has coaching experience at the NAIA, junior college, and NCAA Division III levels. Most recently, he was the head assistant and hitting coach at Central College, where the Dutch increased their home runs and stolen bases totals from the previous season. Prior to his stop at Central, Laughlin served as a hitting coach and recruiting coordinator at Dawson Community College and Bryant & Stratton College, coaching both teams to multiple offensive records along the way. Laughlin was previously a graduate assistant on Wede’s staff following his playing career. While working as a graduate assistant, he obtained a master’s degree in athletic administration from Concordia University-Irvine (Calif.). Hailing from Keosauqua, Iowa, Laughlin will reside in Orange City with his wife, Mariah (Davis) ’20 and twin daughters Kennedy and Kamryn. Coaching Experience:     2018-20: Student/Graduate Assistant, Northwestern College     2021: Hitting Coach & Recruiting Coordinator, Dawson Community College     2022-23: Hitting Coach & Recruiting Coordinator, Bryant & Stratton Community College     2024: Head Assistant/Hitting Coach, Central College     2024-pres: Assistant Coach, Northwestern College

Drew Nonnemacher joined Head Coach Brian Wede's staff in August 2022 as an assistant baseball coach and will lead the junior varsity squad heading into the 2023 season.  In his coaching career, he has served as the head varsity baseball coach at Remsen-Union for two seasons, the co-head coach at MMCRU for a season, and head varsity coach at MOC-Floyd Valley for five seasons.  "I am honored to have this opportunity to coach for the Red Raiders. I have been a Raider for life, as I grew up traveling with my dad and his teams to countless weekend GPAC doubleheaders. I was able to continue that lifestyle as a student-athlete for the duration of my college career as I played for Coach Wede, and now having the opportunity to coach alongside him is truly a highlight of my coaching career," said Nonnemacher. "Coaching baseball is fun, but having the chance to influence these young men in the Christian faith is what I’m most looking forward to. I am excited to lead with the light and love of Jesus Christ, and I look forward to being a member of a staff and a team that actively puts Christ first in all they do."   Nonnemacher graduated from Northwestern College in 2011 with a degree in Elementary Education. He also earned his Master's degree from Northwestern in 2018. Outside of joining the Red Raider baseball staff, he teaches sixth grade Social Studies at MOC-Floyd Valley, where he focuses on Ancient World History with his students. He and his wife, Karina Nonnemacher - who serves as the school nurse at MOC-Flopyd Valley - have four children: Jacoby (fourth grade), Elias (second grade), Beckett (TK), and Nikolas (preschool). The Nonnemachers' love to go on family adventures. "We love being busy and seeing faraway places! We spend lots of time with family, especially swimming with cousins and meeting up for family meals on Sunday afternoons. Our favorite teams are the Twins and the Packers! I have also really taken a liking to home DIY projects and routinely look forward to the next small project that I can complete to add something to our home or yard," says Nonnemacher.