Thank you fans for making the 2024 season a great one!  The St. Cloud Rox finished their 2024 season with an overall record of 43-26, marking their eighth 40-win campaign in the last nine full seasons of Northwoods League baseball. The Rox 25-11 second-half record also earned them a second-half Great Plains West championship. That title earned the Rox a spot in the Northwoods League postseason, which they used to defeat the Willmar Stingers in the Great Plains West championship series. St. Cloud ended the season by hosting the Great Plains championship game.

The Rox played their best baseball down the stretch, posting three different win streaks of five games or more during the second half. Their first five-game win streak finished with a walk-off single by Camden Kaufman (New Mexico State University) on July 10th against Bismarck. A walk-off home run from Noah Greise (University of Nebraska Omaha) later capped a season-long 11-game win streak on July 27th against Thunder Bay. Finally, the Rox used a seven-game August acceleration to clinch both a playoff spot and their second-half title.

In the postseason, the Rox met the Willmar Stingers, their Highway 23 rival, for a third consecutive year. And for the second straight year, St. Cloud went on the road to take the three-game series. After dropping a tight series opener at home, the Rox claimed back-to-back elimination games in Willmar, winning by scores of 11-2 and 6-0. Starting pitchers Ty Bothwell (Indiana University) and Hunter Day (Missouri State University) willed the Rox to victory, combining to allow just two runs across 15 ⅔ innings.

During the regular season, the Rox finished with four NWL Player of the Night selections. Tyler Bishop (University of Nebraska Omaha) captured the honor twice, once with a 5-RBI game against Minot and again with a 7-RBI doubleheader against Bismarck. He reached base safely in 46 straight games to end the year, breaking a Rox record. St. Cloud also notched three NWL Pitcher of the Night honors, including one from Bothwell in the postseason.

St. Cloud sent five players to the Northwoods League All-Star Game, held on July 23rd in Mankato, Minnesota. Ben Higdon (University of Southern Mississippi) took part in the Home Run Challenge, blasting 10 long balls before collecting a hit in the All-Star Game. Bishop joined him in the All-Star lineup, playing all nine innings. Pitchers Phil Brennaman (Youngstown State University), Brandon Jaenke (Viterbo University), and Kaden Pfeffer (Miami University) also represented the Rox on the mound. Brennaman posted a first-half earned run average of 0.50, while Jaenke led the Rox in strikeout rate.

The Rox ended 2024 with three players selected to the Northwoods League Postseason All-Star Team. Higdon qualified as a designated hitter, ranking top-seven in the league for batting average (.352), home runs (11), and on-base plus slugging (1.024). Higdon also earned the Rox Most Valuable Player award, leading the team in games played, hits, and runs scored. First baseman Jackson Hauge (University of Kansas) also made the team, ranking third in the league with 12 home runs and fifth with a .597 slugging percentage. Pfeffer qualified with a total of 52 innings pitched that ranked within the league’s top 10. Dallin Harrison (University of San Diego) ended the season as St. Cloud’s Pitcher of the Year. Among all Northwoods League arms with at least 35 innings pitched, Harrison’s 1.17 ERA set the pace.

Numerous Rox records fell during the 2024 season, as first-year field manager Nick Studdard’s offense delivered a historic year. The Rox set single-season team records for runs scored (494), home runs (66), runs batted in (455), stolen bases (180), on-base percentage (.391), slugging percentage (.401), and OPS (.791). They also tied their single-game record with five home runs against Minot on July 25th. Meanwhile, St. Cloud’s pitching staff led the league in earned run average (3.99), batting average against (.237), and strikeouts per nine innings (9.63).

Several Rox players also carved their names into the team record books. Higdon and Hauge each broke the single-season home run record, which had stood for a decade, with 12 long balls apiece. Hauge additionally set a new slugging percentage outright at .597. Sawyer Smith (University of Kansas) tied both the single-game and single-season stolen base records at 5 and 30, respectively. Bishop tied the single-game runs record (5), Francesco Barbieri (Ave Maria University) matched the single-game walks record (4).  On the pitching side, Jaenke broke the single-season K/9 record at 16.05.

Off the field, the Rox continued to be intertwined in the fabric of the community with over 50 appearances by team members to local youth and service groups. The Rox Community Foundation highlights included giving out a record twenty $1,000 scholarships to area graduating seniors and raising nearly $15,000 through special jersey auctions supported by Newport Healthcare, Advantage 1 Insurance and St. Cloud Financial Credit Union.

The Rox averaged more than 1,600 fans per home game for the second consecutive season, ranking in the upper third of Northwoods League teams. Fans throughout the season got to enjoy seven postgame fireworks shows and great theme nights including the Rox recognizing Joe Mauer’s Hall of Fame induction on July 21^st. The entire Rox team wore Mauer’s number 7 in his honor. Mauer sent a video that was played on the videoboard during the game thanking Rox fans for recognizing him.

Finally, the Rox posted another big year in the MLB Draft, having seven players selected. Former Rox standout Charlie Condon became the highest draft choice in Northwoods League history, going third overall to the Colorado Rockies. A month earlier, Condon also captured the Golden Spikes Award while playing for the University of Georgia Bulldogs, which is awarded yearly to the nation’s top amateur baseball player. Janzen Keisel (2022), Connor Wietgrefe (2023), Micah Ashman (2023), Andrew Morones (2021, 2023), Brandt Thompson (2024), and Ryan Jackson (2022) heard their names called during the draft as well.

A big thank you again goes to all the fans, corporate partners, host families and season ticket holders for helping make the 2024 season a great one.  The entire Rox organization looks forward to seeing you back at the Rockpile in 2025!