The first year of
Rob Ehlers' tenure saw Shawnee State more than triple its win total -- from eight in 2023 to 26 in 2024 -- while ripping off 12 consecutive wins in a row to boot.
The second year of the Ehlers Era saw Shawnee State improve its win total again, winning 29 games in 2025 despite playing less contests overall than the year prior (47 in 2024, 45 in 2025) due to numerous weekends and midweeks full of inclement weather that forced schedule changes on a near weekly basis.
Despite this, the 29-16 record that the Shawnee State baseball program put together in 2025, and its six All-River States Conference players -- up from four during the 2024 season -- represented yet another season of progress as Shawnee State has collected third-place River States Conference finishes in the regular season standings.
Expectations are for the third year to continue the growth that the first two seasons have already cultivated.
Shawnee State wins 16 of first 23
Right from the jump, Shawnee State proved to be prepared for the moment in front of it.
Out of its first eight series (those involving two or more games), Shawnee State took seven of them, scoring nine or more runs 11 times over the stretch to get out to a 16-7 start to the year.
During this stretch of the season, which ran from Feb. 1 to March 14, Shawnee State claimed three River States Conference Player or Pitcher of the Week honors, including
Wyatt Haupt,
Ethan Ison, and
Jace Parnin en route to the start. The Bears won each of their first three River States Conference Series by taking two out of three games from Brescia (Ky.), Indiana-Kokomo and Midway (Ky.) -- all teams that made the River States Conference Baseball Championship Tournament.
Bears rip off 11 straight wins
Despite dropping seven of its next nine games, Shawnee State rebounded in a big way when April got into full swing. From April 8 to May 2, Shawnee State scored seven or more runs in nine out of the 11 games during that stretch while giving up five or less runs in eight of those contests to not only lead the Bears to 29 wins, but victories in each of its first two contests in the River States Conference Baseball Championship Tournament.
During this win streak as well as that of the former, SSU's overall hitting was on full display as a total of seven players hit above .330 for the season -- with six players adding in .OPS marks above .960. Shawnee State finished over 10 games above .500 for the first time since 2011 as a result.
Parnin enjoys monster run towards end of season
As part of Shawnee State's 11-game win streak, the Bears got large contributions from essentially everyone in its lineup.
None, however, arguably made more of an impact on Shawnee State's late-season success than
Jace Parnin.
In Shawnee State's regular-season series finale against Rio Grande, as well as SSU's postseason opener against Brescia (Ky.), Parnin proceeded to reach base across 16 consecutive at-bats -- going 13-for-13 with three home runs, nine RBI, and 11 runs scored during that stretch of time.
Parnin ultimately raised his batting average from .302 to .362 over that stretch of time -- before ultimately finishing the 2025 season as one of the seven players to hit above .330 for the season by notching a .344 average.
Six named All-RSC
Behind its late-season tear, six individuals were named as All-RSC honorees -- as
Nolan Tressler was named as a first team honoree,
Diego Mendoza a second team recipient, and
Zach Gaspar,
Tyler Lund,
Jakobe Reese and
Hunter Warner all third team All-RSC honorees as well.
The six all-conference players that Shawnee State had were the most that the program has produced in a single season since 2011.
Bears shine brighter in classroom
While Shawnee State continues to climb the ladder in terms of its on-field success, its off-field characteristics continue to shine, as well.
Academically, Shawnee State ultimately had 21 players named as Academic All-RSC recipients -- while eight players were named as NAIA Scholar-Athletes.
Gaspar -- who was an all-conference talent as well as one of the eight NAIA Scholar-Athletes -- ultimately became the second CSC-NAIA Academic All-American in program history, joining Jacob Kline as the only Shawnee State baseball players in program history to achieve such an honor. Gaspar, Parnin, Ison and Shawnee State sophomore
Carson Wireman were each named CSC-NAIA Academic All-District honorees prior to the announcement of Gaspar earning CSC-NAIA Academic All-American honors in July.
Additional
Along with the above accomplishments, Gaspar, Mendoza, Lund and Tressler each surpassed the 100-hit mark for their college careers, as well.
For more information regarding the baseball program, visit
https://ssubears.com/sports/baseball or
https://www.instagram.com/ssu_baseball/.
