This Weekend
The Omaha baseball team opens the 2016 season this weekend, playing four games at the Perfect Game Spring Swing at Perfect Game Park in Emerson, Ga. The Mavericks kick it off with a single game against Eastern Michigan on Friday, Feb. 19 at 1 p.m. (CT), followed by two games on Saturday, Feb. 20 with EMU at 11 a.m. (CT) and NJIT at 6 p.m. (CT). UNO closes with a final game on Sunday, Feb. 21 against Eastern Michigan at 11 a.m. (CT). No live stats, audio or video will be available for this weekend's slate.

Quick Hits
•Head coach Bob Herold sits just one win away from earning his 500th career victory in 17 seasons of directing the Omaha program.
•The Mavericks open the year with 18 straight road games, their most since 21 away from home in 2009.
•The 2016 season marks Omaha's first with full NCAA Division I postseason eligibility for the Summit League and NCAA Tournaments. The Mavericks completed a required four-year Division I reclassification period from 2012 to 2015.
•UNO played 200 games during their Division I transition, going of 91-109 in that span.
•The Mavericks return 18 letterwinners, including five position starters: senior infielder Clayton Taylor, senior outfielders Cole Gruber and Alex Schultz, senior catcher Collin Leif and sophomore infielder Ryan Cate. Two starting pitchers also return with senior right-hander Tyler Fox and junior right-hander Shane Meltz.
•Four All-Summit selections highlight the Mavericks' returning corps: Taylor, Gruber, Schultz and Fox.
•UNO was picked fourth in the Summit League Preseason Coaches' Poll.
•Omaha is 126-109 all-time against the five other teams in the Summit League and 212-238 against all opponents on the schedule this year. The Mavericks have compiled a 46-31 record in Summit League play since 2012-13.

Scouting the Eastern Michigan Eagles
Eastern Michigan finished the 2015 season with  a record of 20-35 (9-18 MAC), and the Eagles were picked sixth in the West Division in the 2016 MAC Preseason Poll released earlier this month. Senior infielder Mitchell McGeein hit .277 last year, leading the Eagles in doubles (15), homeruns (10), RBI (36), slugging percentage (.515) and total bases (105). Junior right-handed pitcher Sam Delaplane will move into a Friday starter role after working primarily in relief last season, recording a 2.93 ERA with 48 strikeouts and seven saves.

Head coach Mark Van Ameyde is in his second season at EMU with a record of 20-35. Friday's matchup is the third meeting between Omaha and Eastern Michigan, with the all-time series tied at 1-1.

Scouting the NJIT Highlanders
NJIT completed the 2015 season with a record of 24-23-1. Senior left-handed pitcher Ian Bentley started 12 games on the mound last year, going 7-4 with a 3.42 ERA and 70 strikeouts while totaling seven complete games. Sophomore outfielder Jesse Uttendorfer led the Highlanders with a .320 batting average with 26 RBI.

Head coach Brian Guiliana is in his fourth season at NJIT with a record of 64-82-1. Friday's matchup is the first meeting between Omaha and NJIT.

Georgia On My Mind
Omaha will play 10 of its first 18 games of the season in the state of Georgia as part of the Perfect Game Spring Swing at Perfect Game Park in Emerson, Ga. The complex is a familiar place for the Mavericks, who played a three-game series against Chicago State there early in 2015, going 2-1.

Four Returning All-League Picks Highlight 2016 Roster
Four returning All-Summit selections highlight Omaha's 2016 roster: a three-time pick in senior infielder Clayton Taylor, two-time honorees in senior outfielders Cole Gruber and Alex Schultz and the 2014 Summit League Pitcher of the Year and all-league pick in senior right-hander Tyler Fox. Taylor, Gruber and Schultz combined to hit .338 last season with 27 doubles, four triples, 13 home runs and 79 walks drawn, and they went 37-of-48 on the basepaths.

Fox became Omaha's first player to be named Summit League Pitcher of the Year in his sophomore season, recording a league-leading nine wins to go 9-1 with a 2.59 ERA and 57 strikeouts in 78.2 innings pitched. The Thornton, Colo., native was a perfect 5-0 in league play with a 2.40 ERA in seven appearances. Fox followed up with a 5-4 record with a 2.88 ERA in his junior campaign, tossing a league-leading 93.2 innings in 15 starting appearances. He held opponents to a .243 batting average and ranked second in the conference for ERA while issuing a team-high 72 strikeouts.

Taylor, a Mount Michael graduate, started every game last season and became Omaha's first three-time All-Summit pick. He led the Mavericks with a .490 slugging percentage and ranked in the top five in the Summit League for home runs, triples and hit-by-pitches. Taylor batted .308 with eight doubles, two triples, a team-leading eight home runs, 42 runs scored, a team-high 42 RBI, 25 walks and nine hit-by-pitches, and he owned 17 multi-hit games and a team-best 11 multi-RBI games.

Gruber, out of Papillion-LaVista, was the Summit League's leading hitter with a .399 batting average alongside seven doubles, a triple, two home runs, 43 runs scored, 23 RBI, 32 walks and six hit-by-pitches. He ranked eighth nationally for on-base percentage (.495), ninth for batting average and 38th for stolen bases per game (0.47), finishing 22-of-28 on the basepaths. Gruber had 18 multi-hit games, including four single-game performances with four hits.

Schultz, who hails from Sioux Falls, S.D., batted .316 with a team-best 12 doubles, one triple, three home runs, 42 runs scored, 23 RBI and 22 walks in 2015. He went 12-for-16 in stolen base attempts and had a team-high 22 multi-hit games with five multi-RBI performances.

League Leaders
Senior outfielder Cole Gruber compiled a Summit League-leading .399 batting average in 2015, as well as a league-best .495 on-base percentage. He was also second in stolen bases (22) and sacrifice flies (five), fourth for sacrifice hits (eight) and fifth for walks drawn (32). Senior outfielder Alex Schultz was fourth in the conference for stolen bases (12), and senior infielder Clayton Taylor finished the year third among league players for home runs (eight), as well as fifth for triples (two) and hit-by-pitches (nine).

On the mound, senior right-hander Tyler Fox was first in the league for innings pitched (93.2), second in ERA (2.88) and fourth in strikeouts (72).

Stealing the Spotlight
Senior Cole Gruber has made a name for himself in the Summit League for his sneaky work on the basepaths, as he led the league with 34 stolen bases in 2014 and was second with 22 swiped bags in 2015. Three years into his career, Gruber has worked his way up Omaha's career chart for stolen bases with 62 as a Maverick, which ranks third in school history. The Papillion-LaVista product is behind only Jake Wurth's 70 from 2001-04 and Bryan Frew's 72 from 2005-08.

What Does the Fox Say?
Senior right-handed pitcher Tyler Fox is back as Omaha's Friday starter in 2016, and he has been the Mavericks' most celebrated hurler over the last three seasons. The Thornton, Colo., native was the 2014 Summit League Pitcher of the Year and an All-Summit selection as a sophomore, and he has led UNO in both strikeouts and innings pitched each of the last two years. His 93.2 innings thrown as a junior were the third-highest single-season total in school history, behind only Ben Percival (100.1) in 2009 and Troy Cloyd (96.0) in 2005.

Fox has compiled a career record of 20-7 with a 2.95 ERA, and he ranks third in school history for career games started (39), fifth for wins (20), batters faced (956) and innings pitched (228.2). Entering his senior year with 168 strikeouts, he is two away from entering UNO's top 10 for career Ks.

Home Sweet Home Advantage
The 2016 season will see Omaha play 18 home contests, including 15 conference tilts. UNO will play at two venues, with 12 games at the Ballpark at Boys Town and a trio of premier games at Werner Park with Nebraska (April 6), Kansas State (April 20) and Air Force (April 26).

Since moving to Division I in 2011-12, UNO has enjoyed a combined record of 37-30 at home.

What Makes Up the Mavericks
•UNO returns much of its offensive production from last season, as this year's returners accounted for 68 percent of the Mavericks' hits, 73 percent of their runs scored, 67 percent of their RBI, 68 percent of their extra-base hits and 82 percent of their stolen bases in 2015.
•Omaha's returning pitchers were credited with 51 percent of the team's innings pitched last year, 52 percent of its strikeouts, 48 percent of its wins and 50 percent of its saves.
• The Mavericks return their top three hitters from a year ago with senior outfielders Cole Gruber (.399) and Alex Schultz (.316) and senior infielder Clayton Taylor (.308).
•Schultz had 215 at-bats in his junior season, the most of any hitter on the team.
•UNO's 2016 roster includes seven seniors, seven juniors, 10 sophomores, two redshirt freshmen and nine freshmen.
•The Mavericks hail from eight different states. Nineteen are from Nebraska, five are from Minnesota, and two apiece are out of Iowa and Missouri, while Florida, South Dakota and Utah are all represented once on the roster.

All in the Family
“Like father, like son” holds true for three current Mavericks who have followed in their fathers' footsteps by playing baseball at UNO. Senior infielder Clayton Taylor's father, John Taylor, lettered from 1981-82 and was an All-NCC selection. Freshman infielder Riley Herold will now play for his father, head coach Bob Herold, who was an NAIA All-American at UNO in 1971. And junior infielder Sam Palensky's father, Jim Palensky, played from 1984-85 and also previously served as an assistant coach with the Mavericks.

On the sibling side, Sam Palensky's brother, Caleb, was an All-Summit infielder and lettered from 2011-14. Freshman infielder Jack Kalina's grandfather, Phil Gradoville, played at UNO, and freshman right-handed pitcher/infielder Grant Suponchick's brother, Beau Suponchick, lettered two seasons for Omaha (2011-12).

Herold at the Helm
Head Coach Bob Herold is in his 17th year as the skipper of the Omaha baseball program in 2016, having compiled a career record of 499-353-2. Herold earned his 400th career win on April 22, 2011 against Fort Hays State, becoming the third coach in school history to reach the milestone. He joined Bob Gates (464-273) and Virgil Yelkin (439-196) in the prestigious club, and with Omaha's 7-0 shutout at Bradley on April 22, 2014, he officially became the winningest coach in UNO history with his 465th victory.

Over his Maverick career, Herold has guided Omaha to seven NCAA Division II postseason appearances and four conference championships. In 2013 and 2014, he was honored as Summit League Coach of the Year.

Herold's most recent draft pick was right-handed pitcher Joe Holtmeyer, who was taken in the 22nd round (No. 682 overall) of the 2011 Major League Baseball amateur draft by the Boston Red Sox. Holtmeyer was the fifth Maverick drafted under Herold and the second-highest pick of any player during the Herold era.

Herold is assisted by assistant coaches Chris Gadsden, in his 17th year, and Evan Porter, in his fourth year, as well as volunteer assistant coach Dan McGinn, who is in his 15th year.

Fresh Faces
A total of 17 newcomers -- freshmen, redshirts or transfers -- are on the Omaha roster in 2016. Nine true freshmen are in the mix: Eric Watters (Des Moines, Iowa), Cal Hehnke (Grand Island, Neb.), Riley Herold (Omaha, Neb.), Grant Suponchick (Papillion, Neb.), Henry Wittren (Rochester, Minn.), Jack Kalina (Papillion, Neb.), Andrew Hall (Colorado Springs, Colo.), Josh Scribner (Peculiar, Mo.) and Connor Clark (Omaha, Neb.). Nick Lawson (Omaha, Neb.), Brad Olsen (Omaha, Neb.) and TJ Graumann (Brainerd, Minn.) all redshirted in 2015, with Olsen having transferred from Wayne State College.

Five transfers also join the Mavericks this season: David Flattery (Fort Dodge, Iowa) from Iowa Central CC, Sam Palensky (Papillion, Neb.) Colton Adams (Beatrice, Neb.) from Southeast CC), Eric Moreno (Scottsbluff, Neb.) from Lamar CC) and Skyler Sylvester (Salt Lake City, Utah) from Williston State College.

Omaha Homaha
Fifteen of the 35 players on UNO's 2016 roster hail from the Omaha area. The local pipeline has brought three Mavericks apiece from Millard North and Millard West, two each from Burke, Papillion-LaVista and Papillion-LaVista South and one apiece from Bellevue West, Mount Michael and Gross Catholic.
    
Summit League Preseason Poll Released
Omaha was picked fourth in the 2016 Summit League Preseason Coaches Poll, the conference office announced Feb. 11. Defending league champion Oral Roberts was tabbed the league favorite and received all five of its possible first-place votes for 25 total points. Fort Wayne, last season's tournament runner-up, came in second with 19 points, and South Dakota State was third with one first-place vote and 17 points. With Omaha garnering 15 points for fourth, North Dakota State (eight) followed in fifth and Western Illinois (six) rounded it out in sixth.

2016 Slate Takes Mavericks Around the Nation
Omaha's 2016 schedule includes 56 games, and the team will play in 12 states against schools from 12 other Division I conferences. Three opponents – Iowa, Morehead State and defending Summit League champion Oral Roberts – played in the 2015 NCAA Tournament.

Entering the season, the Mavericks have never faced five of their opponents: NJIT, Morehead State, Presbyterian, Bowling Green and Seton Hall. Omaha holds a combined all-time record of 212-238 over all teams on the regular-season slate.

Next Up
Omaha returns to action next weekend, heading back to Emerson, Ga., for four non-conference games at Perfect Game Park. The Mavericks open on Friday, Feb. 26 with Saint Louis at 2 p.m. (CT), followed by a doubleheader against Morehead State on Saturday, Feb. 27 at Noon. They close the weekend on Sunday, Feb. 28 against Arkansas State at 11 a.m. (CT).