I think we’ll be more athletic in the field defensively.”

Head Coach David Darr

Park’s Wolfpack is looking to bounce back after a challenging campaign last spring.

The Wolfpack went just 4-19 on the season, finishing ninth in the Suburban East Conference with a 3-15 record.

Park had losing streaks of seven and five games last spring. In the playoffs, the seventh-seeded Wolfpack lost to second-seeded Eagan 12-2 in the Section 3 first round, topped Hastings 8-6 in the elimination bracket first round and then saw their season end in a 9-0 loss to Two Rivers in the elimination bracket quarterfinals.

Park’s pitchers struggled in several games, giving up 11 runs in four games, 10 in one and 12 in another. Park’s team ERA was 7.74 on the season.

It’s been a bit of a lean stretch the last couple of years since Park finished as state runner up in 2021, then went 20-8 and won the Class 4A state consolation title in 2022.

But that’s all in the history books now and the Wolfpack begin the 2026 season with a lot of new faces in the lineup.

Park must replace no less than 12 graduated seniors and seven regular starters in Max Kaplan, Emmet Smoot, Justin Waterman, Brady Zander, Connor Holton, Theis Nelson, Joey Chilton, Coltan Kalka, Masyn Hammer. Hayden Olson, Dylan Koenig and Danial Nesdahl.

Retuning for the Wolfpack are seniors Dom Nellessen, Ryan Roy and Fisher Enberg, along with juniors Esten Erickson, Nick Nienow, Aaron Gilbert, Jack Bachtel and Nolan Sease.

“We had some underclassmen, some sophomores and a couple of juniors that got some good – got knocked around a little bit – some good experience and we’re going to rely on those guys a lot to kind of have pretty good years,” said David Darr, who enters his fifth season as Park’s head coach. “Nothing is going to be new for them and they’re going to understand what day-in and day-out what they need to do to be as successful as we need them to be.”

Sease hit .390 and was all-conference as a sophomore. “He’s taken off from where he was last year in practice so far,” said Darr. “Esten Erickson was one of our top pitchers last year as a sophomore and we’re looking and we’re looking for him on the mound to do some really good things for us and put up some pretty good numbers. And then we have Nick Nienow and Aaron Gilbert are two guys that got some really good moments at bat last year.

“They’re a year older and stronger and more mature and kind of understand what they need to do and those guys and then you’ve got guys like Dom Nellessen and Ryan Roy who are seniors we will count on that have been with us since they were sophomores. Roy has signed to pitch for Gustavus next season.

Erickson and Sease will be Park’s top two pitchers for probably the first half of the season while Roy comes back from an elbow injury and should be ready to go the second half of the season.

“Then we’ve got a lot of guys who threw well at lower levels last year that we’re going to count on to get some outs,” said Darr.

Darr said he thinks the Wolfpack will be capable on both offense and defense this season.

“I think we’ll be more athletic in the field defensively,” Darr said. “Our outfield, we’ve got four guys that we really trust. They can run really well. We’re going to go get the ball in the outfield pretty well. And on the infield, we feel comfortable. We’ve got a good amount of guys that are going to pick it up pretty well. The whole goal is to not beat ourselves.”

Park hosts Hastings to open the season Friday, April 3, with a 4:30 p.m. start.

The Wolfpack play just two non-conference games during the regular season, at home against Hastings then a game at the end of the season at Owatonna. The Suburban East Conference is anticipated to be highly competitive once again. Cretin-Derham Hall won state last season, East Ridge took the crown in 2023 and 2024, and Stillwater won it all in 2022. SEC teams have won six of the last seven state championships.

“Every game is tough,” said Darr.