MILWAUKEE – Milwaukee heads back into Big Ten Country this week, taking on Purdue on Tuesday afternoon in a tune-up for the Horizon League opener which will see Milwaukee travel to the Bill Aker Baseball Complex in Kentucky to take on the Norse of Northern Kentucky for a three-game series beginning on Friday afternoon.
 
Tuesday's matchup at Purdue will be a 3:00 p.m. (CT) first pitch as Alexander Field. The series at Norther Kentucky will begin at 2:00 p.m. (CT) on Friday, followed by a 12:00 p.m. (CT) start on Saturday, and an 11:00 a.m. (CT) series finale on Sunday.
 
The Purdue game will be available for viewing on B1G+ (Subscription Required), while live stats of all four games this week will be available and found at the links on MKEPanthers.com. 
 
THE MATCHUPS & GAME LINKS
March 10 | Milwaukee at Purdue | Alexander Field | West Lafayette, Ind.
Tuesday at 3:00 p.m. | B1G+ / Live Stats | Follow Along (on X)

March 13-15 | Milwaukee at Northern Kentucky | Bill Aker Baseball Complex | Highland Heights, Ky.
Friday at 2:00 p.m. | Saturday at 12:00 p.m. | Sunday at 11:00 a.m. | Live Stats | Follow Along (on X)
 
LEADING OFF
» Milwaukee will play Purdue on Tuesday afternoon, before opening Horizon League play this weekend as the Panthers visit Northern Kentucky.
» This past week, the Panthers were unable to pick up a win, falling twice at US Bank Stadium to Minnesota, before dropping all three games at Southeast Missouri State this past weekend.
» Tuesday's game at Purdue will be the second-straight season that the Panthers will play in West Lafayette, falling to the Boilermakers a season ago by a 12-8 score.
» The last time that Milwaukee faced off against the Norse was at last season's Horizon League Championship, the Panthers defeated the Norse by an 8-6 score, to send the Panthers into the third round of the winner's bracket, while sending the Norse into the loser's bracket, where they eliminated Oakland before being eliminated by host Wright State.
» Purdue enters play this week with a 9-5 record but dropped 2-of-3 this weekend to No. 23 Oregon to open Big Ten play. The Boilermakers were not projected to finish in the top-six of the Big Ten, but did place Dylan Drake, Aaron Manias, and Cole Van Assen on the preseason watch list.
» Northern Kentucky is 7-7 to start the season but dropped all three this past weekend to No. 20 Florida State in Tallahassee. The Norse were outscored 37-9 in the series but will look to bounce back at home on Tuesday against Toledo before welcoming the Panthers to the Bill Aker Baseball Complex on Friday.
 
QUICK LOOK AT PURDUE
Finishing last season with a 31-23 record, including a win over Milwaukee, the Boilermakers wrapped up Big Ten play with an 11-19 mark, and did not qualify for the Big Ten Tournament in Omaha, which features the top 12 teams in the standings in four pods of three in pool play before winners advance to the semifinals and championship where Nebraska shutout UCLA, 5-0.

Greg Goff has a strong track record of building programs and is one of just two coaches to ever coach Purdue and amass over 500 career wins, the other behind Doug Schreiber, who has 562 wins to his credit, while Goff enters play this week with 516 career wins. In his seven seasons with the Boilermakers, Goff has 149 wins against 135 losses but has posted his two-best seasons over the last two years with 33 and 31 wins, respectively.

The Big Ten only ranks the top-six in its preseason poll but does name a Big Ten Players to Watch list, which includes infielder Dylan Drake, utility Aaron Manias, and pitcher Cole Van Assen.

PURDUE – PLAYERS TO WATCH
Westin Boyle - .386 AVG, .979 OPS, 22 H, 5 2B, 2 3B, 16 RBIs, .544 SLG%, .435 OB%
Sam Flores - .333 AVG, .964 OPS, 18 H, 4 2B, 3 HR, 11 RBIs, .574 SLG%, .390 OB%
CJ Richmond - .327 AVG, .975 OPS, 16 H, 2 2B, 3 HR, 9 RBIs, .551 SLG%, .424 OB%

PURDUE – PITCHERS TO WATCH
Joe Trenerry – 0-0, 4 IP, 0.00 ERA, 0.25 WHIP, 5 K, .000 B/AVG
Trevor Kester-Johnson – 0-0, 3 1/3 IP, 5.40 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 2 K, .231 B/AVG
Austin Klug – 2-1, 13 1/3 IP, 4.05 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 11 K, .260 B/AVG

QUICK LOOK AT NORTHERN KENTUCKY
Northern Kentucky wrapped up the 2025 season with a 31-25 record, including an 18-12 mark in the Horizon League, finishing just ahead of Milwaukee in the standings. After receiving a first-round bye in the Horizon League Championship, the Panthers put the Norse into the losers bracket with an 8-6 win. NKU bounced back with a win over No. 5 Oakland to eliminate the Golden Grizzlies before being eliminated by eventual champion Wright State.

Head Coach Dizzy Peyton has had to rebuild his starting rotation after the losses of Aaron Boster, Conner Linn, and Kaden Echeman, but does return Evan Fry, who led the team alongside Aaron Massie with four saves. Jake Paulick, Josh Williams, Nolan Sparks, and Jake Altman are key cogs back in the lineup for NKU, but many new faces make up the current iteration of Northern Kentucky.

This year the team is off to a 7-7 start and the Norse will host Toledo on Tuesday before opening league play against the Panthers this weekend. Northern Kentucky owns a 3-2 win over South Carolina and swept a home series against Eastern Illinois two weeks ago before being swept by Florida State this past weekend.

NORTHERN KENTUCKY – PLAYERS TO WATCH
Marcus Harrison - .390 AVG, .953 OPS, 16 H, 3 2B, 7 RBIs, .463 SLG%, .490 OB%
Jake Paulick - .262 AVG, 1.037 OPS, 11 H, 1 2B, 4 HR, 13 RBIs, .571 SLG%, .466 OB%
Alex Brazer - .256 AVG, .870 OPS, 10 H, 3 2B, 2 HR, 14 RBIs, .487 SLG%, .383 OB%

NORTHERN KENTUCKY – PITCHERS TO WATCH
EJ Miramontes – 0-2, 16 1/3 IP, 6.06 ERA, 1.47 WHIP, 14 K, .297 B/AVG
Logan Wilson – 0-1, 13 1/3 IP, 4.73 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, 10 K, .240 B/AVG
Elijah Green – 0-1, 12 2/3 IP, 9.95 ERA, 2.05 WHIP, 6 K, .306 B/AVG

UP NEXT
After visiting Northern Kentucky this weekend, the Panthers will play the final game of their season-opening 20-game road trip at Western Illinois on Tuesday, March 17 at 2:00 p.m. The home schedule will finally begin on March 20 against Wright State.

LAST MEETING
In last year's meeting with Purdue, Milwaukee was unable to erase an early 7-1 deficit after two innings of play as the Boilermakers went on to win, 12-8. Aiden Fishnick and Tyler Andrews are the only two pitchers back that threw in West Lafayette a season ago, while Tate Schmidt, Charlie Marion, Bradyn Horn, and Tristan Ellis combined for eight of Milwaukee's 12 hits a season ago.

After splitting the regular season series at three games apiece against Northern Kentucky, it was the Panthers to come on top in the rubber match in postseason play, upending the Norse by an 8-6 score on the second day of the Horizon League Championship. Matthew Mueller got the start for the Panthers, while Riley Peterson pitched two scoreless innings in relief and earned the win. Marion hit a home run for the Panthers in the win, accounting for two of the team's 11 hits. Ellis and Horn also had singles in the win, while Ellis also drew a walk.

ON THESE DATES
March 10 – 5-10 Record; Streak: Lost 1; Last Win: 2023 vs. Murray State (3-2)
March 13 – 4-9 Record; Streak: Won 1; Last Win: 2021 vs. UIC (3-0)
March 14 – 10-9 Record; Streak: Won 2; Last Wins: 2025 vs. Youngstown State (7-4 & 15-7)
March 15 – 8-10 Record: Streak: Lost 2; Last Win: 2019 vs. Wright State (11-10)

SOPHOMORE POWER
Against No. 1/2 LSU, sophomores Bradyn Horn and Cade Palkowski each hit home runs. For Horn it was the first of his career, while for Palkowski he matches his freshman-year total with one.

John Hadley VI got in on the action against Duke on Feb. 21, connecting on the first home run of his career in the form of a grand slam to give Milwaukee a 6-0 first-inning lead against the Blue Devils. Hadley VI added another home run in the middle game of the series at Evansville on Feb. 28.

FRESHMEN FIRSTS
Two freshmen for Milwaukee had their first career hits for the Panthers during the opening weekend against No. 1/2 LSU. Ryan Lemm had a two-run single in game three of the series, while Max Glusick had a pair of singles off the bench in the series finale.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN
Before its first home game on March 20 against Wright State, Milwaukee will travel a total of 7,840 miles, beginning on Feb. 13 against LSU and continuing through its season-opening 20-game road stretch.

The Panthers will begin the year with its longest of the road trip, as Franklin Field to Alex Box Stadium is 997 miles. The team's second trip, to Duke covers 871 miles. The "closest" trip for the Panthers during the 20-game stretch will be on March 10, when Milwaukee visits Purdue.

BACK IN THE BLACK & GOLD
Seventeen players are back with Milwaukee this season, including position players Connor Bozak, Tristan Ellis, John Hadley VI, Bradyn Horn, Camden Kuhnke, Charlie Marion, Cade Palkowski, and Tate Schmidt.

The returning pitchers include Tyler Andrews, Tristan Arnold, Aric Ehmke, Aiden Fishnick, Matthew Mueller, Riley Peterson, Gavin Theis, Alex Vander Loop, and Mason Weckler.

THROUGH THE PORTAL
The Panthers added 10 transfers for the 2026 season including position players Christian Holmes (UIC), Dominic Kibler (Kent State), Dylan O'Connell (Western Kentucky), Grant Ross (Illinois), and Joey Spence (Texas A&M Texarkana).

Pitchers joining the program include Justin Breitenstein (Southern Indiana), Tyler Hrin (Howard College), Sotaro Ishida (Cochise), Cullen Riel (Mineral Area), and Lucas Watson (Regis [Colo.]).

NEW TO THE CREW
Milwaukee welcomes seven true freshmen to the roster for the 2026 season, this year's incoming freshman class includes position players Max Glusick, Connor Harvie, Turner Kuhnke, Ryan Lemm, and Peter Visconti II, along with pitchers Riley Golden, and Braden Theis.

ALL-LEAGUE RETURNERS
Milwaukee returns two players that earned Horizon League honors last season Graduate student Gavin Theis was named Horizon League Pitcher of the Year and earned All-League First Team honors, while Tate Schmidt was selected to the Horizon League All-Freshman Team.

THE THEIS IS RIGHT
Gavin Theis was dominant for Milwaukee during Horizon League play in 2025. He recorded 53 strikeouts over 61 innings of work with a perfect 7-0 record. In Horizon League games started by Theis, the Panthers were 9-1 and 14-4 overall in games he started.

HOME RUNS IN A SEASON
Last season, Milwaukee hit 56 home runs, the third most in a season by a Panther squad since joining Division I in 1990-91. The program record is 77 home runs, set in 1999, while the second-most in a season was 74 in 2001.

HOME COOKING
Over the last 21 seasons (2005-25), Milwaukee has taken "home field advantage" to another level, posting winning home records in all but two seasons (8-14 in 2022; 0-0 in 2020).

The Panthers went unbeaten at home in 2013 (13-0) and have posted three straight 12-7 home records in 2023, 2024, and 2025.

IN EXTRA INNINGS
In 2025, Milwaukee was 1-3 in extra-inning games and holds a 17-19-1 record in extra-inning contests dating back to the 2015.

PRESEASON POLL
The Horizon League preseason poll projected the Panthers to finish second with 18 points. Wright State was tabbed as preseason favorite with 24 points and four first-place votes. Northern Kentucky, Youngstown State, and Oakland round out the five-team league.

ON THE HORIZON
Northern Illinois will join the Horizon League on July 1, 2026, and become a full-time baseball member beginning with the 2027 season.

The addition of NIU replaces Purdue Fort Wayne, which announced it was discontinuing baseball and softball following the conclusion of the 2025 season. The Horizon League will be at five full-time baseball members in 2026 before returning to six in 2027.