SPORTS FEEVER – April 30, 2026

SPORTS FEEVER by Chris Fee of KROX Radio – chrisjfee@yahoo.com

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The NCAA is at it again. They are screwing up the best thing in sports…..March Madness!!! They have voted to have 76 teams instead of 68! I honestly have no idea why you would screw a good thing up……oh yeah…….$$$$$$$$$. That is what it is all about. 64 teams was perfect, but adding more mediocre teams is not going to help. It is too bad, but what can a guy do?

Speaking of the NCAA,
The NCAA is moving toward adopting an age-based “5-in-5” eligibility model that would give Division I student-athletes five years of eligibility starting the regular academic year after they turn 19 or graduate from high school — whichever comes first. This will have a big affect on junior/college hockey.

  • Eligibility window: Five years from the start date, allowing up to five seasons of competition in that period 
  • End of redshirts: The new model would eliminate redshirt seasons, replacing them with a fixed clock 
  • Exceptions: Possible allowances for pregnancy, military service, and religious missions 
  • No retroactive extension: Players who have already exhausted eligibility under the current 4-in-5 system (e.g., by spring 2026) will not get an extra year.
  • Core guarantees preserved: Degree-completion funding for up to 10 years after eligibility ends will remain in place.

The NCAA says the change aims to:

  • Standardize eligibility and reduce litigation over inconsistent rules.
  • Provide clearer, predictable outcomes for athletes and schools.
  • Address roster chaos from unlimited transfers, NIL deals, and redshirt extensions.
  • Status: Division I Board of Directors has directed the Division I Cabinet to advance the proposal 
  • Next steps: The Cabinet is expected to meet in May to discuss and possibly vote on the rule 
  • Potential start: If passed, it could take effect for the 2026-27 academic year 
  • Possible emergency vote: NCAA President Charlie Baker is pushing for a fast vote, possibly as emergency legislation, with implementation in June

For sports: The rule would apply across all Division I sports, with no sport-specific exceptions

For current seniors: No change — they still follow the 4-in-5 rule 

For future athletes: A fixed five-year clock could mean more players return for a fifth year, potentially increasing transfer portal activity and NIL opportunities.

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We always like to pass along good news of area high school alumni doing great things in college sports and beyond!

We have an update on Crookston High School grad Matt Contreras, who is playing baseball for Concordia College in Moorhead. In a win over Carlton College last week, he crushed his first collegiate home run over the right field fence to give the Cobbers a 9-5 lead.

Matt’s hard work has paid off as he has been playing well in the J.V. team and has been promoted to the varsity team and has played in the last five games!  He has three hits in 14 at-bats for a .216 average. He has two doubles and one home run with a slugging percentage of .571!!!  He has four rbi’s, three walks and only three strikeouts!

Not a bad start to his varsity college career!!

I have provided a link below if you want to watch. Fast foward it 47:23 remaining in the video if you want to watch his home run by clicking the link below.

Concordia College

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The Northwest Diamond Baseball conference standings and stats so far this season have been released. They are below.

TEAM Win Loss Points Overall
Red Lake County 6 0 12 7-0
Ada-Borup-West 3 0 6 6-2
Sacred Heart 3 2 6 5-2
Northern Freeze 4 2 5 5-3
Fertile-Beltrami 1 1 2 3-2
NCE/UH 1 2 2 2-5
Fosston 1 1 2 3-2
BGMR 0 4 0 1-4
Kittson County Central 0 2 0 0-2
West Marshall 0 3 0 0-5
Win-E-Mac 0 2 0 3-3
2026 Northwest Diamond Conference Offensive Statistics
NAME Team AVG 2B 3B HR RBI R
Owen Strom WEM .667 1 2 1 3 11
Caleb Sather FB .600 2 0 0 9 5
Will Gieseke RLC .542 5 0 1 11 11
Ben Gullingsrud RLC .522 4 0 2 6 13
Brady Bjerk FB .500 0 0 0 3 5
Joey Erickson SH .474 2 0 0 5 6
Steven Sather FB .438 1 0 0 7 7
Rowan Benoit FB .429 0 0 0 2 5
Liam Larson SH .429 1 0 0 6 9
Kolten Schow WEM .429 0 0 1 6 2
Nick Schow WEM .429 1 1 0 5 7
Denny Lanctot RLC .421 2 0 0 5 7
Caspar Kritzberger ABW .417 3 1 0 1 11
Connor Nelson ABW .417 1 0 0 10 9
Kegan Schmitz RLC .400 2 2 2 12 6
Jake Howard FOSS .400 1 0 0 3 3
Jakob Rudie FOSS .400 1 0 0 4 4
Nathaniel Spry WEM .389 2 1 0 8 6
Ames Fassino ABW .381 2 1 0 4 10
Eizen Olson NF .381 0 0 0 0 2
Luke Finney ABW .375 3 0 0 4 2
Nathan Gust BGMR .375 2 0 0 0 2
Jayden Haugen WEM .375 0 2 0 0 7
Tanner Vig FOSS .375 1 0 0 3 1
Braeden Bueng ABW .364 2 0 0 9 8
Trig Anderson NF .357 3 0 0 2 6
Easton Fredericks FB .333 0 0 0 2 1
Tanner Torgerson NF .333 0 0 0 1 1
Bryer Strem FB .308 2 0 0 3 10
Hayden Johnson WEM .308 0 0 0 2 2
Jace Braseth NCE/UH .304 1 0 0 2 4
Asher Flaten NCE/UH .300 1 0 0 0 3
Isaac Sundby SH .294 3 0 0 5 11
Blaine Johnson SH .286 0 0 0 4 7
Brock Scalese KCC .286 1 0 0 0 1
2026 Northwest Diamond Conference Pitching Statistics
NAME Team Win Loss IP K ERA Save
Ames Fassino ABW 1 0 7 12 0.00 0
Brock Scalese KCC 0 0 9 9 0.00 0
Will Gieseke RLC 2 0 11 22 0.00 0
Ben Gullingsrud RLC 2 0 12 14 0.00 0
Tanner Torgerson NF 1 0 8.1 7 0.84 1
Mitchell Mulry FOSS 2 0 7.2 14 0.91 0
Caspar Kritzberger ABW 2 0 15 19 0.93 0
Alex Bray NF 3 0 13.2 17 1.04 0
Bryer Strem FB 1 0 6 8 1.17 0
Boe Nelson RLC 1 0 4 9 1.75 0
Asher Zavoral SH 0 0 4 4 1.75 0
Nick Satterlund SH 2 1 19.7 35 1.78 0
Gunnar Halverson RLC 1 0 7 8 2.00 1
Nathaniel Spry WEM 0 0 3.1 4 2.10 0
Hayden Haspel NCE/UH 2 0 13 19 2.15 0
Teegyn Johnson FB 1 0 3 2 2.33 0
Blaine Johnson SH 2 0 9 11 2.33 0
Colin Taggart RLC 1 0 5 12 2.80 0
Sawyer Torgerson NF 0 1 14.2 13 2.86 1
Owen Strom WEM 1 0 4 5 3.50 0
Jace Braseth NCE/UH 0 2 15.1 14 4.19 0

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The Pine to Prairie Baseball Conference standings and stats so far are below.

2026 Pine-to-Prairie Conference Standings Updated 4/29/2026
TEAM Win Loss Points Overall Place
Ada-Borup-West 3 1 6 6-2 1
Win-E-Mac 2 1 4 3-3 2
NCE/UH 2 0 4 2-5 3
Fertile-Beltrami 2 1 4 3-2 4
Mahnomen/Waubun 1 2 2 4-4 5
Bagley 1 3 2 2-4 6
Fosston 1 1 2 3-2 7
Lake Park-Audubon 0 3 0 0-6 8
2026 Pine-to-Prairie Conference Offensive Statistics
NAME Team AVG 2B 3B HR RBI R
Owen Strom WEM .667 1 2 1 3 11
Caleb Sather FB .600 2 0 0 9 5
Gunner Nolan BGLY .583 3 0 0 8 6
Brady Bjerk FB .500 0 0 0 3 5
Tucker Zima M/W .458 1 1 0 8 8
Drew Adams M/W .458 0 0 0 5 6
Mason Drinkwine M/W .450 0 0 0 5 5
Tristin Bevins M/W .450 3 0 0 6 3
Steven Sather FB .438 1 0 0 7 7
Zach Zima M/W .435 2 0 0 1 10
Rowan Benoit FB .429 0 0 0 2 5
Kolten Schow WEM .429 0 0 1 6 2
Nick Schow WEM .429 1 1 0 5 7
Caspar Kritzberger ABW .417 3 1 0 1 11
Connor Nelson ABW .417 1 0 0 10 9
Jake Howard FOSS .400 1 0 0 3 3
Jakob Rudie FOSS .400 1 0 0 4 4
Ian Phrakonkham BGLY .389 2 0 0 1 8
Nathaniel Spry WEM .389 2 1 0 8 6
Ames Fassino ABW .381 2 1 0 4 10
Luke Finney ABW .375 3 0 0 4 2
Jayden Haugen WEM .375 0 2 0 0 7
Tanner Vig FOSS .375 1 0 0 3 1
Braeden Bueng ABW .364 2 0 0 9 8
Hayden Hanse BGLY .333 1 0 0 4 7
Easton Fredericks FB .333 0 0 0 2 1
Bryer Strem FB .308 2 0 0 3 10
Hayden Johnson WEM .308 0 0 0 2 2
Jace Braseth NCE/UH .304 1 0 0 2 4
Asher Flaten NCE/UH .300 1 0 0 0 3
2026 Pine-to-Prairie Conference Pitching Statistics
NAME Team Wins Losses IP K ERA Save
Ames Fassino ABW 1 0 7 12 0.00 0
Bradley Morse BGLY 1 0 7 6 0.00 0
Mitchell Mulry FOSS 2 0 7.2 14 0.91 0
Caspar Kritzberger ABW 2 0 15 19 0.93 0
Bryer Strem FB 1 0 6 8 1.17 0
Ian Phrakonkham BGLY 0 1 10.2 10 1.31 0
Drew Adams M/W 2 1 15 27 1.40 0
Nathaniel Spry WEM 0 0 3.1 4 2.10 0
Hayden Haspel NCE/UH 2 0 13 19 2.15 0
Teegyn Johnson FB 1 0 3 2 2.33 0
Owen Strom WEM 1 0 4 5 3.50 0
Jace Braseth NCE/UH 0 2 15.1 14 4.19 0

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The Section 8A Softball standings have a bit of a surprise, but don’t get too excited yet.

Red Lake Falls is 10-0 and outscoring their opponents 14 to 1 through 10 games.  They are coming off an impressive 22-0 victory over East Grand Forks and a 15-0 victory over NCE/UH.  In the two games, RLF threw a perfect game and a no-hitter in the other!!!

Lake Park-Audubon is in second place (according to the QRF) with a 6-2 record (4-2 in the section). Mahnomen/Waubun is in third with a 7-1 record. East Polk is 5-3 and in fourth and the surprise is BGMR coming in at fifth place with a 5-6 record and 3-2 in the section with both losses to Red Lake Falls. BGMR is playing a tough schedule and they have a 6-1 loss to Moorhead, an 11-3 loss to Fago Davies, a 5-0 loss to Red Lake Falls and a 12-2 loss to RLF. They also have one run losses to Kindred (ND), and Central Cass (ND). So they have played some tough teams.
Sacred Heart comes in at sixth place with a 6-3 record.  After that, things drop off a bit with the Northern Freeze, Ada-Borup-West, NCE/UH, Clearbrook-Gonvick, Fertile-Beltrami, West Marshall, Lake of the Woods, and Bagley wrapping out the teams.  Red Lake has played one game.

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There are no surprises in Section 8AA Softball. DGF and Hawley have the top two spots with respective records of 9-2 and 10-1. Both teams are unbeaten in Section play.
Wadena-Deer Creek is in third at 9-2, Roseau is fourth at 5-0, Park Rapids is fifth at 6-2.  Things drop off a bit the rest of the way with Thief River Falls at 4-4, Perham at 2-6, Breckenridge at 4-5, Warroad at 5-5, Barnesville 3-6, Ottertail Central 2-5, Menahga 0-8, Crookston 1-5, East Grand Forks 0-5, and Frazee 0-6.

Hawley and DGF are the heavy favorites to be in the section championship again this year. We will see if WDC and Roseau have anything to say about that!

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BGMR’s Kailey Hanson broke the Gator Softball school record with 18 strikeouts in a game last week!

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Barnesville Girls Basketball’s Anika Cossette recently signed to play basketball at M State Fergus Falls.

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The Northern Sun Conference baseball standings are getting interesting going into the final weekend of the regular season and there is a dog fight to make the top eight teams and play in the tournament next week in Sioux Falls, SD.

The top four teams are in for sure.
1. MSU-Mankato (28-5)
2. Augustana (27-6)
3. Mary (25-9)
4. Sioux Falls (20-13)
The final four spots have five teams looking to earn a trip to the tournament.
5. Winona State (18-15)
6. Wayne State (18-16)
7. UM-Crookston (18-16)
8. Minot State (18-17)
9. St. Cloud State (16-17)

Winona State plays 12th place Northern State three games this weekend.
Wayne State plays second to last place Jamestown three games.
UMC plays second place Augustana three games.
Minot State plays four games against Sioux Falls.
St. Cloud State plays three games against Mary.

Winona State and Wayne State look like they should make it.  UMC has a tough task as they take on second place Augustana for three games. If UMC can win ONE game out of the three at Augustana they should be in!  Minot State has four games against Sioux Falls and if they win two games, they should be in.  St. Cloud State has to basically win all three games against Mankato to make the tournament, but could make it with two wins.

Do you want to make the tournament?  Just win baby.  One team won’t make it and it looks like St. Cloud State is on the outside looking in.  If needed, UMC has a tie-breaker with Winona State winning two of three. UMC loses the tie-breaker with Wayne State and Minot State.  They split with St. Cloud State, so a tie-breaker would go deeper, although the two teams shouldn’t be able to tie unless there are some weather cancelations.

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The University of Minnesota Crookston athletic department announced the hiring of Patrick “Paddy” Luoma as video production manager at the University of Minnesota Crookston. Luoma comes to the Golden Eagles after spending the last five years as the video production coordinator at Garden Valley Technologies in Erskine.

Luoma has partnered with schools and athletic programs within the area to bring live events to audiences while mentoring students and helping teams grow their media skills. His work at Garden Valley centered around sports video production, including strong teamwork with different schools, preparation of teams, and the ability to problem solve in real time. Luoma has VIZ University certificates in TriCaster Advanced Operation, NDI and Performance Media Networking, EnGenius Certified Network Specialist, and EnGenius Certified Network Professional. He has experience editing video in Adobe Creative Cloud products, and has worked with VizRT products, NDI Tools, a variety of PTZ cameras, HUDL cameras, and Birddog products. 

In his role at Minnesota Crookston, a newly created position for Golden Eagle athletics, Luoma will oversee all of Minnesota Crookston’s video production including live game broadcasts on the NSIC Network. He will work closely with Midco Sports and the NSIC’s new broadcasting partnership to ensure standards are being met, and elevating broadcast and camera quality, as well as training students and other staff to assist in game day production. In addition, Luoma will be responsible for video production including Hype videos, highlights, and other social media video packages. Luoma will also assist athletics with corporate partnerships. Luoma will work closely with the Communications and Marketing team of Shawn Smith, Hunter Plante, and Kieran Lang to promote Minnesota Crookston athletics. 

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JOKES

A German asks a Mexican if they have any Jews in Mexico. The Mexican says, “Sí, we have orange jews, apple jews, and grape jews!”

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 The Preacher explains that he must move on to a large congregation that will pay him more.
There is a hush within the congregation. No one wants him to leave.
Joe Smith, who owns several car dealerships in the city, stands up and proclaims:
“If the Preacher stays, I will provide him with a new Cadillac every year and his wife with a Honda minivan to transport their children!”
The congregation sighs in appreciation and applauds. Sam Brown, a successful entrepreneur and investor, stands and says: “If the Preacher will stay on here, I’ll personally double his salary, and also establish a foundation to guarantee the college education of all his children!”
More sighs and loud applause. Sadie Jones, age 88, stands and announces with a smile, “If the preacher stays, I will give him sex.”
There is total silence.
The Preacher, blushing, asks her: “Mrs. Jones, whatever possessed you to say that?”
Sadie’s 90-year-old husband Jake, is now trying to hide, holding his forehead with the palm of his hand and shaking his head from side to side while his wife replies:
“Well, I just asked my husband how we could help, and he said…… “Screw the Preacher.”

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Three guys die together in an accident and go to heaven. When they get there, St. Peter says, “We only have one rule here in heaven: Don’t step on the ducks!”
So they enter heaven, and sure enough, there are ducks all over the place. It is almost impossible not to step on a duck, and although they try their best to avoid them, the first guy accidentally steps on one.

Along comes St. Peter with the ugliest woman he has ever seen. St. Peter chains them together and says, “Your punishment for stepping on a duck is to spend eternity chained to the ugly woman!”
The next day, the second guy steps accidentally on a duck, and along comes St. Peter, who doesn’t miss a thing, and with him is another extemely ugly woman. He chains them together with the same admonishment as for the first guy.
The third guy has observed all this and not wanting to be chained for all eternity to an ugly woman, is very, VERY careful where he steps. He manages to go months without stepping on any ducks, but one day St. Peter comes up to him with the most gorgeous woman he has ever laid eyes on: a very tall, tan, curvaceous, sexy blonde. St. Peter chains them together without saying a word.
The guy remarks, “I wonder what I did to deserve being chained to you for all of eternity?”
She says, “I don’t know about you, but I stepped on a duck!”

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How are former Crookston Pirates athletes doing in college or elsewhere?
****LET ME KNOW OF OTHERS TO ADD TO THE LIST. Email me at chrisjfee@yahoo.com

Matt Contreras is a freshman playing baseball at Concordia College in Moorhead.

Teagen Lubinski is playing Junior Hockey for the Badlands Sabers in the NA3HL.

Parker Kelly is playing Junior Hockey for the Badlands Sabers in the NA3HL.

Addie Fee is a freshman playing tennis and hockey at Wisconsin-Superior.

Kambelle Freije is a freshman playing hockey at Wisconsin-Eau Claire

Riley Helgeson is a freshman playing football at Northern State.

Emily Bowman is a freshman playing Softball at North Dakota State College of Science.

Halle Winjum is a sophomore playing basketball at Minnesota Crookston.

Blake Melsa is a sophomore playing soccer and baseball at Alexandria Tech

Jackson Reese is a sophomore playing soccer at Alexandria Tech

Matt Contreras is a freshman playing baseball at Concordia College.

Naomi Johnson is a freshman playing soccer at Alexandria Tech

Paul Bittner is an assistant coach on the University of Wisconsin-Superior Men’s Hockey team.

Reese Swanson is a sophomore playing hockey at St. Olaf.

Carter Coauette is a sophomore playing football at Minot State.

Isaac Thomforde is a sophomore playing Tennis at Northwestern College in St. Paul.

Halle Bruggeman is a Junior on the University of Wisconsin-Stout Women’s Rugby team.

Ethan Boll is a Sophomore on the University of North Dakota Football team.

Breanna Kressin is a Junior on the Hockey Cheer Team for THE University of Minnesota Golden Gopher Hockey team.

Jacey Larson is a Junior playing hockey at Dakota College at Bottineau.

Aleah Bienek is a Senior playing hockey at Trine University in Indiana.

Seth Heppner – Head Coach of Men’s and Women’s Golf at Jessup University

Brady Heppner – Head Coach of Women’s Golf at UMC and Assistant Hockey Coach

Crookston School District Coaches
Blake Bergeron is the head Pirate Wrestling Coach.
Colton Weiland is an assistant Pirate Wrestling Coach
Jason Cassavant is a Jr. High Baseball Coach and Head American Legion Baseball coach
Sarah Reese 
is the Pirate Head Girls Soccer coach
Marley Melbye is an assistant girls golf coach
Connor Morgan is the Pirate Boys Hockey assistant coach
Ben Trostad is the Pirate Boys Hockey assistant coach
Ethan Magsam is the Pirate Boys Hockey assistant coach

Non-Crookston High School coaching/Admin/etc

Elise Tangquist is the Head Girls Golf Coach at Horace High School in Fargo, ND.

Carmen (Kreibich) Johnson is the head Little Falls Volleyball coach.

Tim Desrosier is an Assistant Coach for Warren-Alvarado-Oslo Pony Boys Basketball

Pat Wolfe is the head wrestling coach for Fosston/Bagley.

Austin Sommerfeld is an Assistant Athletic Director for Strategic Communication at the College of St. Scholastica in Duluth.

Collin Reynolds is the head baseball coach for the University of Colorado Buffalo Club Baseball team.

Trent Stahlecker is a School Security Specialist & he works for the Brevard Public Schools, Florida.

Cody Weiland is an assistant wrestling coach at Proctor/Hermantown.

Josh Edlund is the head football coach and phy ed teacher at Flandreau, South Dakota.

Allison Lindsey Axness is Assistant Varsity Volleyball Coach at Champlin Park

Jeff Olson is the Head Wrestling Coach and Head Baseball coach at Delano.

Jake Olson is an Assistant Football Coach and Head Boys Tennis coach at Delano.

Matt Harris is an Assistant Principal/Athletic Director at Saguaro High School in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Marty Bratrud is the Superintendent and High School Principal at Westhope High School.

Gordie Haug is an assistant football coach at the University of North Dakota.

Mike Hastings is the Wisconsin Badgers Men’s head Hockey coach.

Mike Biermaier is the Athletic Director at Grand Forks Schools.

Stephanie (Lindsay) Perreault works with the North Dakota State stats crew for Bison football, volleyball, and basketball in the winter. Stephanie’s husband, Ryan, is the assistant director for Bison media relations.

Jason Bushie is the hockey athletic trainer at Colorado College.

Chris Myrold is the Director and Fitness at Mission Ranch and Fitness in Camel, California.

Kyle Buchmeier 
is a Tennis Pro at the Reed-Sweatt Family Tennis Center in Minneapolis

Jaren Bailey is serving our country and is Lance Corporal in the Marines.

Ben Andringa is serving our country in the Army and is now a Ranger.

Philip Kujawa class of 2004, from Crookston High School. He is an Army recruiter in Rochester.

Rob Sobolik is the General Manager of the Fargodome

That’s it for this week. Thanks for the comments, and if you have anything to add or share, please e-mail chrisjfee@yahoo.com or call. Thanks for reading and listening to KROX RADIO and kroxam.com..

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