NICC Baseball signs inaugural recruiting class

The Cougar baseball team will not officially take the field until fall 2025, but the coaching staff has been hard at work recruiting since arriving on campus in October.

Head Coach Conner Klostermann and Assistant Coach Corey Harrell received commitments from 31 student-athletes for their inaugural recruiting class. The athletes will come to Northeast Iowa Community College (NICC) from several states and two countries, including Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota and Canada.

"We have made a concerted effort to hit the ground running in this initial recruiting cycle," Klostermann said. "The first and most important step to building a program is assembling a roster to be as strong as possible in the always competitive Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC). There has certainly been a lot of momentum and excitement building for the program over the past few months, and the recruits that we have committed to our program thus far, along with their families, are all very excited for the opportunity ahead."

The following athletes, what high school they attended and what position they will be playing for the Cougars is listed below:

Alstad, Kaden - Decorah High School - IF/RHP
Austin, Jacob - Vauxhall Academy (AB) - IF
Bengtson, Dulton - Braham High School (MN) - IF/RHP
Burington, Michael - Linn-Mar High School - RHP
Curran, Michael - Shoreland Lutheran High School (WI) - UTIL/RHP
Devine, Seamus - Durant High School - RHP
Garvin, Dean - Linn-Mar High School - C
Goodrich, Austin - Marion High School - IF/RHP
Grimm, Lincoln - Marion High School - RHP
Hansen, Will - East Buchanan High School - LHP
Harrington, Gavin - Lewis Central High School - C
Hotchkiss, Isaac - Cedar Rapids Washington High School - IF
Jones, Tate - Van Meter High School - IF
Kelly, Kaden - Bettendorf High School - RHP
Kirst, Gehrig - North Scott High School - OF
Knopik, Peter - Little Falls High School (MN) - RHP
Kreps, Aaron - Lewis Central High School - RHP
Lesser, Logan - Morden Collegiate Institute (AB) - RHP
Meade, Robert - Clear Creek Amana High School - IF/RHP
Recker, Dylan - Beckman Catholic High School - IF/RHP
Regenold, Peyton - Don-Bosco High School - OF
Rinas, Ashton - Fargo Davies High School (ND) - IF
Schmidt, Jake - Beckman Catholic High School - IF
Schmitz, David - Don-Bosco High School - RHP
Sheckler, Ethan - Fennimore High School (WI) - UTIL/RHP
Strassburg, Maddox - Cedar Falls High School - C/IF
Swart, Blake - Mid-Prairie High School - OF
Teske, Colin - Green Mountain-Garwin High School - RHP/SS
Turner, Ryan - Glenwood High School - RHP
Underbakke-Hennessy, Jake - West Liberty High School - IF
Wulff, Andrew - Cedar Rapids Jefferson High School - C

The College's inaugural intercollegiate competitive season starts in spring 2026, with scrimmages taking place starting next fall. Coach Klostermann intends to continue to grow the roster over the next several months. Stay up-to-date with all Cougar Baseball news by following them on X (formerly Twitter).