Best of the Beavs: The Pioneer's top 2025-26 moments from each Bemidji State team

May 13—With the Bemidji State women's track and field team wrapping up the NSIC Outdoor Championships over the weekend, the local collegiate athletic season has come to a close.

It's a bittersweet time for the Beavers as they reflect on the highs that the past year brought while also saying goodbye to graduating seniors. The Pioneer covered all of BSU's 14 NCAA-sponsored teams.

Here were the best moments from each one of them that stuck out to us:

Sometimes, the best way you can prepare for a play is when you have no time to think about it. That was the case for Connor Carver against Northern State on homecoming, Oct. 4.

Late in the fourth quarter, the Bemidji State football team held a 17-14 lead, but was looking for the dagger. Carver, a wildcat quarterback, was put into the game at the last second, but didn't have time to take off his receiver gloves.

He threw his first and only pass of the day, a 44-yard touchdown to Jake Hill, to ice

the

Beavers' homecoming win.

The traditional jump into Lake Bemidji was refreshing for the BSU, not only because it was an 80-degree day, but also because it was the first win of the season. The Beavers had struggled up to that point in the season, starting 0-5 and looking for any kind of spark. In the end, Carver gave them that spark, finishing 4-2 the rest of the way.

— Leo Pomerenke

I don't think head coach Jim Stone could've imagined a tighter scenario for Central Region Tournament seeding if he tried.

The Bemidji State women's soccer team regained its form as a national power in 2025, especially at Chet Anderson Stadium. The Beavers went 8-0-1 at home during the regular season, needing every last one of them to host half of the Central Region Tournament.

While BSU adequately defended its turf, its most impactful triumph came on the road — a 2-1 win over St. Cloud State at Husky Stadium on Oct. 5. Despite SCSU penalty kicking its way past the Beavers in the NSIC Tournament semifinals, Bemidji State

jumped three spots to No. 2.

Not only were the Beavers back in the dance after a one-year hiatus, but they also earned the right to host it.

Ultimately, in the ever-competitive Central Region, seventh-seeded Central Missouri State

eliminated BSU with a golden goal.

However, as Bemidji State ushered out another accomplished group of graduates, it returned to the competitive standard it had become accustomed to.

— Jared Rubado

Logan Schoepp backed up his

wire-to-wire NSIC title

in a big way.

The Bemidji State men's team senior opened his final campaign as a Beaver in

record-breaking fashion.

He shot a 64 at the par-71 Bemidji Town and Country Club in his first of two rounds.

His opening round was so good that it beat the previous BSU record by three strokes. It also set a new personal low for Schoepp, who previously carded a 64 on a par 69. Schoepp's two-day score of 134 was at least six strokes better than the rest of the field.

Schoepp ended his collegiate career with more honors. He was named to the All-NSIC First Team for the second time in his career. He also received Bemidji State's Male Student-Athlete of the Year.

— Jared Rubado

In 2017, Katy Woelfel recorded a three-round score of 249. Her lowest was her second round, carding a 78, before she finished her program-best mark with a 79. It was a record that stood for eight years.

That was until Haylee Kammann entered the 2026 NSIC Championships. The Bemidji State women's golf team's standout junior shot

three consecutive rounds of 79 to best Woelfel's best by three strokes.

Kammann finished in 15th place individually. Each round of 79 she recorded is now tied for the BSU's second-lowest single-round score in an NSIC Championship.

The Beavers finished 11th out of 13 teams, combining for a score of 1059 (355-350-354). It was their fourth-lowest team score at the conference championships in the three-round format and the lowest score since 2021.

— Jared Rubado

Going into the Bemidji State volleyball team's Oct. 21 home match against Minnesota Duluth, the recent history between the two teams was...let's just say it favored the Bulldogs.

UMD entered the match having won 40 straight contests against the Beavers, dating back to 1998. By all accounts, the streak should've continued, since the Bulldogs swept BSU just a few weeks earlier.

It looked like it would be the case again after the Bulldogs took the first set. But BSU took the next two sets, including a tight third set that needed extra points. After UMD clawed its way back to a fourth set win, it all came down to a fifth and final set.

Leading 14-13, head coach Erika Bute called over her team and called for a play that set up Madison Tripp, a freshman playing in just her 20th collegiate game. She ended up landing the game-winning kill, sending the Beaver faithful into a frenzy

via a five-set win, its first against UMD in 27 years.

— Leo Pomerenke

Sophie Rylance's name frequented the Bemidji State track and field headlines during the 2025-26 indoor and outdoor seasons. However, one race came with some hardware.

At the NSIC Indoor Championships in Mankato on Feb. 28, Rylance won the 1000-meter race with a time of 2:55.85, a personal best. It was BSU's

first individual NSIC track and field title since 2021.

Rylance qualified for the finals with a time of 2:03.28. She shaved nearly eight seconds off of her qualifying time to record the best indoor race of her collegiate career. Rylance was given NSIC honors for the finish.

— Jared Rubado

When the Bemidji State women's hockey team put it all together, it played a structured, thrilling and tough-to-beat style of hockey. On Jan. 31, the Beavers were

rewarded for that effort in a unique setting.

Playing in its second consecutive U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Museum Face-Off Classic, this one at the historic Yanmar Arena in Grand Rapids, BSU battled with No. 13 Minnesota State, who brought standout freshman Mercury Bischoff back to her hometown rink for the first time since she won the 2025 Ms. Hockey Award.

The Mavericks, who won the series opener the night before, scored first midway through the opening period. However, on a scripted faceoff play, Izy Fairchild tied the game before the first intermission.

Shelby Sandberg, part of Bemidji State's pesky third line, scored the go-ahead goal just under eight minutes into the third period. Goaltender Ava Hills was brilliant, stopping 29 of the 30 shots she saw.

It can be a tough life playing in the WCHA. Sometimes putting it all together still results in a loss. However, it can also look picturesque.

— Jared Rubado

If you like free-flowing, high-scoring college hockey games, then I hope you were anywhere but the Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center in Mankato on Valentine's Day.

The Bemidji State men's hockey team was coming off a 1-0 loss the night before — Jack Smith redirected the game's only goal off of his knee, which came from another deflection. The series finale was goalless after 60 minutes.

Chances were scarce and goaltending was elite. It felt like a CCHA hockey game. But in 3-on-3 overtime, Oliver Peer led a 2-on-1 rush into MSU's zone. He looked off Connor McClennon and beat Alex Tracy for the game's only goal.

Peer then gestured to the Minnesota State fans

in attendance by sticking out his left arm and using his stick to mimic the playing of a stringed instrument. It was a timely goal for

one of the league's best forwards.

It pulled Bemidji State out of its second-half slump to beat its biggest rival on the road.

— Jared Rubado

One of the best transfer-portal additions the Bemidji State men's basketball team made was for fifth-year forward Henry Shannon III. A natural scorer with plenty of collegiate experience, he ended the season as the second-highest scoring Beaver with 488 points, trailing only John Pecarich, who scored 558.

He was also key on the defensive side of the ball after BSU lost Tate Olson for the season due to injury. Shannon ended up as the team leader in rebounds with 243 and blocks with 61.

His finest moment in a Beaver uniform came on Feb. 12, when he reached a milestone many don't get the opportunity to reach: scoring his

1,500th point at the Division II level.

Not only that, but he did it at the 218 Sports Showcase at the Sanford Center in an 86-71 win over Northern State.

The Wolves were hanging on with the Beavers late, but Shannon squandered any hopes of an NSU comeback with an emphatic dunk set up by Pecarich.

— Leo Pomerenke

Everyone knew who was going to get the basketball on Dec. 5 for the Bemidji State women's basketball team. It didn't bother Kassandra Caron one bit.

A transfer from Missouri Western,

Caron made an impact on the Beavers before she set foot on the court. She was named team captain before her first game in a BSU uniform.

She quickly became one of Bemidji State's most reliable scorers. So with 20 seconds left in the fourth quarter in a 53-53 game against MSU Moorhead, there was no question that Caron was going to get the ball.

With a quick series of passes, the ball landed in Caron's hands as she drove to the basket. She was triple-teamed as she went for the layup, but she got it to go in

in a magic moment she won't soon forget.

— Leo Pomerenke

It had been a while since the Bemidji State women's tennis team qualified for the NSIC Tournament — five years, to be exact. But the Bemidji State women's tennis team got off to a 6-0 start,

the best start in program history.

Behind those early-season wins, confidence was through the roof as the season came down to the wire. A few key NSIC wins pushed Bemidji State into the tournament,

finishing the regular season at 10-7

.

While the Beavers lost to Sioux Falls in the quarterfinals, it marked a vast improvement for a team that hadn't finished above .500 since 2019. Its success led to head coach Kyle Fodness being named NSIC Coach of the Year. BSU has a young team, too, with seven underclassmen making up the ten-player roster.

— Leo Pomerenke

The Bemidji State baseball team had its best season since 2017, and junior shortstop Beau Thoma had a big hand in that.

He led the team in OPS with a .976. He also had the most hits (60), doubles (16), triples (one) and total bases (99). To put it simply, Thoma was one of the best hitters in the NSIC.

His greatest feat came on March 31 in Marshall. Thoma extended his hitting streak to 22 games with a single. It marked the

second-longest hitting streak in program history

and was just four games shy of matching the record.

— Jared Rubado

In order to play softball at Bemidji State, players need to be road warriors. That was once again the case this season for the Beavers, who played their first 39 games away from BSU.

So when they made their home debut on April 16 at Chet Anderson Stadium, they wanted to make the most of their home cooking. Abrey Aukerman did just that.

In a 1-1 game in the bottom of the seventh inning, the senior was sitting on an 0-2 count before hitting a line drive to center field to score Jackie Larsen,

winning 2-1 in walk-off fashion.

While the Beavers had some growing pains with a young team, seniors like Aukerman were key to the leadership of the team.

— Leo Pomerenke