With the Mallards preparing for their 11th season in the summer collegiateNorthwoods League, college teams across the country are starting to finishtheir spring campaigns. The Mallards are well-represented in this mix, withnineteen current players factoring into championship-caliber finishes. Thefollowing list of teams have seen success this regular season and will besending some of their talent to Madison.

Blackhawk College: Led by sophomores Chris Burgess (RHP) and Jay Golden(INF), the Braves finished their season in the National Junior College AthleticAssociation (NJCAA) ranked third overall with a 44-9 record. The team won theArrowhead Atlantic Conference easily, but were eliminated in regional play.

Central Michigan: The Chippewas finished in first place in the WesternDivision of the Mid-American Conference. New Mallards infielder Nate Theunissenhelped the team en route on to a 29-25 overall record. Up next for CentralMichigan is the MAC Championship Tournament, to be held May 25th to the 28th.

Elon University: The Phoenix won the Southern Conference regular seasonchampionship behind strong contributions by speedy sophomore outfielder NikoFraser. Elon also faces a conference tournament May 25th to the 29th.

University of Florida: In a stacked SEC Conference, the Gators tied forfirst with South Carolina after compiling a 22-8 conference record. Mallardsplayers Jonathon Crawford (RHP) and Zack Powers (INF) both made an impact forFlorida this season as freshmen. The SEC Tournament will be played May 25ththrough the 29th in Hoover, Alabama.

Georgia Tech: Third-year Mallard Jacob Esch (RHP/INF) helped the YellowJackets to a first-place tie in the Coastal Division of the ACC. Also held May25th to the 29th, the ACC Tournament will also feature new Mallards pitcherZach White and the Wake Forest Demon Deacons.

Heartland Community College: The best team in Division II of the NJCAA,Heartland finished its season 53-9. The team won the Region 24 Championshipsand will be heading to the NJCAA World Series May 28th to June 4th. JeradGrundy (LHP) and Zac Zellers (OF) had stellar seasons and will be making theirMallards debut this season.

University of Illinois: The Fighting Illini played well in the Big Ten andshared a regular season championship with Michigan State. Two-year Mallardsplayers, brothers Josh (INF) and Justin (OF) Parr, along with pitcher MattMilroy and former Mallards catcher Adam Davis helped Illinois to a 25-25record.

Madison College: The Wolfpack won the North Central Community CollegeConference with an 11-1 regular season conference record and a 42-14 overall.Behind the strong pitching of Ladysmith native Joel Effertz (RHP), the #7ranked Madison College defeated Kankakee College to advance to the NJCAA WorldSeries.

Michigan State: "Sparty" tied for first with Illinois for the BigTen championship, but has a better overall record than the Illini at 34-19.With contributions from Mallards infielder and Verona native Justin Scanlon,the Spartans will be heading into the Big Ten Tournament (May 25th to the 28th)with the number one overall seed.

Minnesota State – Mankato: The Mavericks won the Northern SunIntercollegiate regular season championship with an impressive 31-3 conferencerecord. Nick Sutherland (RHP) did not play for the Mavericks this season, buthe will be ready to pitch for the Mallards after experiencing postseason playas a transfer student.

Texas A&M: In one of the toughest conferences at the college level, theAggies tied with the Texas Longhorns for the regular season Big 12 conferencechampionship. Led by sophomore pitcher Estevan Uriegas and junior outfielderMatt Juengel, Texas A&M emassed a 38-18 overall record and is ranked 13thin the latest NCAA Division I polls.

Players Earning Post-Season Awards

Jerad Grundy (Heartland Community College): 1st-Team All M-WAC Conference

Tyler Jones (#18, C): 1st-Team All Northeast Conference

Matt Juengel (Texas A&M): All Big 12 Honorable Mention

Josh Parr (Illinois): 2nd-Team All Big-Ten, Sportsmanship Award

Zack Powers (Florida): SEC All-Freshmen Team

Zac Zellers (Heartland Community College): 1st-Team All M-WAC Conference

Former Mallard Adam Davis (Illinois) was also named to the 2nd-Team, All BigTen