The post-John Anderson era gets under way this weekend.
John Anderson built the Gopher baseball program into a dominant Big Ten baseball program winning nearly 1400 games over 42 years, 18 NCAA appearances, 7 Big Ten regular season championships and 9 Big Ten Tournament titles. However, the program has struggled since 2019, and Anderson announced that 2024 would be his last.
Enter Ty McDevitt, the first new Gopher baseball coach since 1982. McDevitt has been the team’s pitching coach for six seasons and has been on staff for eight. He takes over a proud program that is trying to get back on its feet in the Big Ten.
The core of this year’s team is Josh Fitzgerald, Weber Neels and Jake Perry; all returning from prolific 2024 seasons and all are receiving preseason accolades. With this core, there will be a number of new names as McDevitt has brought in 10 transfers and seven freshman to the program.
The team has played six games as they have headed south to get the season started. The 2-4 record does not stand out but they opened the season with a nice 14-3 win over Houston, they lost their next four games by a combined six runs (including a 4-2 loss to #2 Virginia) and they ended their Texas trip with a 10-4 win over #7 ranked Oregon State. So there may be room for encouragement and even optimism that this year’s Gopher squad will return to being competitive in the Big Ten.
This weekend they have a 3-game series with Arizona State in Tempe before coming back home and having some games at US Bank Stadium.
Here is this year’s team.
The Lineup
C – Weber Neels – East Ridge junior who started 47 of 48 games last season. Neels was 2nd on the team in batting, 2nd in home runs and tied for first in RBIs. Expect to see Neels playing in nearly all of the games. One of the team’s best players who has started the season with a .136 average.
1B – Jake Elbeery – A transfer from Richmond who started at first base in the season opener at Houston. He started 54 games for the Spiders as a sophomore but missed most of his junior year with an injury. Through the first six games, Elbeery is leading the team .348 average.
2B – Easton Richter – Another transfer, Richter comes to the Gophers after playing two seasons for the Saint Louis Billikens. He is a Rosemount native who is coming back to Minnesota.
3B – Jake Perry – Perry had a breakout year for the Gophers in 2024 and was named to the preseason 23rd best third baseman, according to D1Baseball.com. Perry has not yet played in the Gophers’ first six games.
SS – Jake Spanier – a returning sophomore who made 27 starts as a true freshman last year. Spanier batted .361 in Big Ten play last season and is a key member of the infield as the team’s regular starter at shortstop.
LF – Drew Berkland – Berkland is entering his junior year for the Gophers after making 21 starts as a sophomore. He is currently leading the team with 3 HRs and 9 RBIs while hitting in the middle part of the order.
CF – Parker Knoll – a transfer from DIII Lawrence where Knoll was an All-American last year. This year he is getting significant playing time for the Gophers, starting four games at center field. Currently, Knoll is 2nd on the team in batting with a .316 average
RF – Josh Fitzgerald – Last year Fitzgerald was 2nd team All-Big Ten, having a great season bouncing back from an ACL tear in 2023. He made 38 starts in 2024 and led the team with a .360 average and had a .467 on base percentage. Fitzgerald was named the preseason 74th best outfielder in college baseball by D1Baseball.com.
DH – Kris Hokenson – Started 35 games last season and has made 4 starts in 2025. Hokenson can play OF and has been plugged in as DH as well. He is also one of the Gopher returners who is starting the season slow at the plate, batting .182.
Bench – Charlie Sutherland – A sophomore from Duluth who made 11 starts as a freshman. Sutherland looks to primarily play as a DH and has struggled at the plate to start the season. He has made 4 starts, played in 5 games and is batting .176.
Bench – Jameson Martin – Technically Martin has started five of the team’s six games and is currently the starter at third base. He is a true freshman and is manning the position admirably.
Bench – Sam Hunt – Hunt came to the Gophers last season after spending his freshman year at Vanderbilt. He is the team’s backup catcher and he made 24 starts a year ago.
Bench – Jake Larson – a significant contributor to the infield, primarily off the bench. Larson has made appearances in five games this year and is currently 0/3 from the plate.
The Rotation
All three starters from the 2024 roster are no longer with the program, so the rotation is going to have a very different look this year. It looks like the rotation and bullpen will be comprised of three transfers and the rest of the team’s innings will come from younger arms that are developing.
Starter – Cole Selvig – a sophomore from Eau Claire who spent his freshman season with the Texas Longhorns. Selvig transferred back to the Midwest and is quickly the Gophers’ top starter. He has made two starts this season and has a 1-1 record with 13 strikeouts in 11 innings pitched.
Starter – Kyle Remmington – another sophomore, Remmington was with the Gophers last year and led the team with 20 appearances out of the bullpen. Slotted to be the team’s #2 starter this season.
Starter – Justin Thorsteinson – in his second season with the Gophers after starting his career at Oregon State. Thorsteinson is a lefty and he made 18 bullpen appearances last year.
The Bullpen
Closer – Joe Sperry – I am making an assumption here that Sperry will be the one called upon when the Gophers need to close out a close game. Sperry is a JUCO transfer, originally from Rochester, and was named NJCAA third-team All-American last year. He also hit .395 with 19 home runs last season, but so far, he has only made appearances with Minnesota on the mound. He has entered the game three times where he has a 1-0 record, nine strikeouts in six innings pitched and the team’s only save.
Bullpen – Eli Sundquist – a transfer from Utah Valley in the WAC, Sundquist is a Chisolm native playing his final collegiate season back in Minnesota. He has made three appearances this season striking out seven batters in 3.2 innings pitched and has a 0.00 ERA.
Bullpen – Will Whelan – a lefty out of the bullpen from Centennial High School. Whelan had a good freshman season for Minnesota in 2024 and is poised for a breakout year as a sophomore. He has already thrown 5.2 innings out of the bullpen and looks to be an arm that they will lean on.
Bullpen – Seth Clausen – also returning to the bullpen is Clausen, a senior who has been with Minnesota for his entire career.
Bullpen – Tyler Hemmesch – a sophomore from Sartell, Hemmesch threw 15 innings as a freshman and threw for an inning and a third this year in his lone appearance.
It has been a challenging stretch for the program since 2020, perhaps this is the year Gopher baseball returns to being competitive in the Big Ten.