Aberdeen, SD (NSUWolves.com) – Northern State University head coach Dean Berry announced 11 additions to the Northern State baseball program today, bringing the 2025 class to 17. Nik Bantle (Saskatoon, Sask.), Lance Behrens (Prior Lake, Minn.), Palmer Boyd (Sioux Falls, S.D.), Hunter Brown (Des Moines, Iowa), Tommy Brown (Roseville, Calif.), Dillon Castellanos (Rocklin, Calif.), Diego Gonzalez (Poinciana, Fla.), Kaleb Hubble (Tucson, Ariz.), Gehrig Larrigan (Yuba City, Calif.), AJ Mendez (Buena Park, Calif.), and Carson Zimmel (Moorhead, Minn.) will join the Wolves this fall.
“We are excited to announce our 2025 signing class,” explained Berry. “In total, we added 17 players with this class, and we feel confident that each of them will make an impact during their career at Northern State.”
The 11 additions round out the class of Kolby Culbertson (Coon Rapids, Iowa), Brody Henderson (Lake Mills, Wis.), Jordan Hull (Mahtomedi, Minn.), Dalton Kesti (Farmington, Minn.), Braxton Kusler (Sioux Falls, S.D.), and Maddox Plack (Harrisburg, S.D.).
Berry added, “Of the 17 that are signed, 11 are pitchers and six are position players. We graduated four of our top-5 pitchers in terms of innings pitched and over 60% of the total innings pitched by our staff in 2024; so there will certainly be a lot of competition this fall. We are counting down the days until we can get back on the field with this group!”
Nik Bantle – Pitcher, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan / Centennial Colligiate / Bismarck State College
Nik Bantle is a 6-foot-1, 200-pound pitcher out of Bismarck State College. Playing prep ball with Centennial Colligiate, Bantle was a 3-year starter and team captain. Bantle made nine appearances in two seasons with the BSC Mystics. He recorded 15 strikeouts in those outings.
Lance Behrens – Infield, Prior Lake, Minn. / Prior Lake HS / Dakota County TC
Lance Behrens is a 6-foot, 195-pound pitcher out of Prior Lake High School and Dakota County Technical College. As a prep, Behrens was a 2-year starter throwing 22 innings. He recorded 30 strikeouts. In two seasons at DCTC, he notched 61.0 innings of work with 87 strikeouts. The Blue Knights won the Region 13 Championship in the spring of 2024 with a 39-13 record. He is the son of Darrin and Kristin Behrens.
Palmer Boyd – Pitcher, Sioux Falls, S.D. / Harrisburg HS
Palmer Boyd is a 6-foot-1, 160-pound pitcher out of Harrisburg High School. Boyd was a 3-year starter and team captain for the Tigers. As a junior he threw 37.0 innings with a 3.30 ERA, 2-1 record, and 39 strikeouts. Harrisburg won the Class A Legion Championship that season. He is the son of Aaron Boyd and Shannon Schaefer.
Hunter Brown – Pitcher, Des Moines, Iowa / Southeast Polk / Ellsworth CC
Hunter Brown is a 6-foot-6, 220-pound pitcher out of Southeast Polk High School and Ellsworth Community College. As a prep, Brown was a 3-year starter earning all-district and all-conference honors in his final two seasons. In 2024, Brown tallied 15 appearances for the ECC Panthers. He recorded 12 strikeouts. He is the son of Cher and Layne Brown.
Tommy Brown – Pitcher, Roseville, Calif. / Roseville HS / Yuba College
Tommy Brown is a 6-foot-3, 215-poung pitcher out of Roseville High School and Ruba College. As a prep, Brown was a 2-year starter, posting a 4-4 record. He is the son of Amanda Brown.
Dillon Castellanos – Outfield, Rocklin, Calif. / Whitney HS / Yuba College
Dillon Castellanos is a 6-foot-1, 190-pound outfielder out of Whitney High School and Yuba College. As a prep, Castellanos was a 2-year starter hitting .374. He tallied first team all-league accolades and was named to the optimist all-star team. In two seasons at Yuba College, Castellanos hit .360 with a 1.000 slugging percentage. He was honored on the all-league first team. He is the son of Rachel and Josh Castellanos.
Diego Gonzalez – Pitcher, Poinciana, Fla. / Sunshine State Elite Academy / Iowa Lakes CC
Diego Gonzalez is a 6-foot, 195-pound pitcher out of Sunshine State Elite Academy and Iowa Lakes Community College. In the spring of 2024, Gonzalez made 12 appearances, throwing 51.1 innings with nine starts. He tallied 59 strikeouts. As a freshman, he went 2-5 with 27 strikeouts in 30.2 innings of work. He is the son of Leonel Gonzalez.
Kaleb Hubble – Pitcher, Tucson, Ariz. / Marana HS / Rainy River CC
Kaleb Huble is a 6-foot-2, 190-pound pitcher out of Marana High School and Rainy River Community College. At RRCC, Hubble tallied 103 innings of work with 114 strikeouts, posting six wins. He was named to the all-conference first team and all-region second team. In addition, Hubble was a MCAC All-Academic recipient. Rainy River tallied two 30-win seasons with Hubble on the roster. He is the son of Andrew Hubble.
Gehrig Larrigan – Catcher, Yuba City, Calif. / Yuba City HS / Yuba College
Gehrig Larrigan is a 6-foot, 190-pound catcher out of Yuba City High School and Yuba College. As a prep, Larrigan was a starter hitting .211 in 2020-21. In the 2024 season at YC, he hit .333 with 29 RBI, 31 runs scored, and five stolen bases. Larrigan was named to the Bay Valley All-Conference team. He is the son of Patrick Larrigan and Mary Lynne Engelken.
AJ Mendez – Catcher/OF, Buena Park, Calif. / Buena Park HS / East Los Angeles College
AJ Mendez is a 5-foot-10, 185-pound catcher and outfielder out of Buena Park High School and East Los Angeles College. He was a 3-year high school starter and team captain, hitting .300. Mendez earned Freeway League All-Conference accolades and was named the Defensive Player of the Year. At ELAC, Mendez hit .280 with four homeruns. He was named to the All-South Coast All-Conference second team. He is the son of Araceli and Alex Mendez.
Carson Zimmel – Pitcher, Moorhead, Minn. / Moorhead HS / Bismarck State College
Carson Zimmel is a 6-foot-2, 205-pound pitcher out of Moorhead High School and Bismarck State College. As a prep, Zimmel was a 2-year starter and team captain for the MHS Spuds. He played two seasons at BSC earning all-conference accolades in 2024. He is the son of Curt and Amy Zimmel.