Coach Danny Kneeland has many pipelines that help with his recruiting process and bring good talent to Mankato. When asked about his pipelines, he immediately mentioned that San Diego—San Diego University baseball has granted the MoonDogs numerous players, including Ari Armas, Ivran Romero, and more recently, Peter Michael and Nico Libed.
Ari Armas- Ari played for the MoonDogs in the 20222 and 2023 season. In Ari’s 2022 season, he would play in 37 games and had 113 at-bats, 29 runs, 31 hits, 20 RBIs, and 3 homeruns. He ended his 2022 season with a .274 batting average. In his 2023 season, he would play in 34 games and had 129 at-bats, 15 runs, 31 hits, 22 RBIs, and 1 homerun. He ended his MoonDogs season with a .240 batting average. Ari is now with the Chicago Cubs, as he was drafted in the fifth round in 2024!
Ivran Romero- Ivran played for the MoonDogs in 2021 and played in 5 games, with starts in all 5. He had 1 win, 26.1 innings pitched, and 23 strikeouts. He would end his season with the MoonDogs with a 0.68 ERA.
Peter Michael- Peter played for the MoonDogs in 2023 and 2024. In his 2023 season, he played in 10 games and started in 1, with 1 win. He pitched 10.2 innings with 11 strikeouts. He ended his 2023 season with a 10.97 ERA. In his most recent season, he played in 10 games, and started 3, with 3 wins and 1 save. He pitched 39 innings in his games with 62 strikeouts. He ended his 2024 season with a 3.23 ERA. Peter would receive a pitcher of the night and week honors in this 2024 season as he helped the MoonDogs with some wins and nearly pitched 4-5 innings per game. Peter is now at Louisiana pitching, and started fall ball with a good career!
Nico Libed- In Nico’s 2024 Season with the MoonDogs, he played in 32 games and had 93 at-bats, 16 runs, 22 hits, and 12 RBIs. He ended his season with the MoonDogs with a batting average of .237. Nico had a good arm behind the plate but was very diverse in being able to play on the field.
With players like this, MoonDogs fans should be excited to see what the University of San Diego and Coach Kneeland are able to work out for the 2025 season.
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The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. Entering its’ 32nd season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 26 teams, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. A valuable training ground for coaches, umpires, and front office staff, over 350 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time All-Star and 2016 Roberto Clemente Award winner Curtis Granderson, three-time Cy Young Award winner and two-time World Series Champion Max Scherzer (TEX), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist and Brandon Crawford (STL) and World Series Champion Chris Sale (ATL). As well as 2019 Rookie of the Year and 2019/2021 Home Run Derby Champion Pete Alonso (NYM) and 2023 World Series Champion, 2021 and 2023 All-Star, MLB Gold Glove and Silver Slugger winner and two-time All-MLB first team shortstop Marcus Semien (TEX). League games are viewable live on Northwoods League+ (at watch.northwoodsleague.com), ESPN+, and the Northwoods League Network. Learn more and find complete streaming schedules at watchnwl.com. For more information, visit www.northwoodsleague.com or download the Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play