BURNSVILLE, MN – University of Mary outfielder
Isaac Pegors, the reigning conference player of the year, is the 2026 Northern Sun Baseball Preseason Player of the Year. The Marauders All-American becomes the first UMary baseball scholar-athlete to earn NSIC preseason player of the year accolades.
Pegors is also the Marauders 2026 Baseball Player to Watch while
Aiden Johnson is the Marauders Pitcher to Watch.
The Marauders are projected to finish in seventh place in the 2026 NSIC Baseball Preseason Coaches' Poll, which would once again qualify the team for postseason play. UMary has earned a berth in the Northern Sun tournament the last two seasons and four of the last five.
Pegors broke school records with 18 home runs and 65 runs batted in during the 2025 season. In 47 games the Bismarck, ND, native led the NSIC in slugging percentage (.795) and OPS (1.287). He hit .398 with 10 doubles and scored 42 runs.
The first UMary player to earn NSIC Player of the Year honors, Pegors was selected as a 3
rd team All-American by both D2CCA and NCBWA to become the Marauders first NCAA All-American and the second All-American overall in program history. The Legacy High School product also received All-Region honors from CCA, ABCA/Rawlings and NCBWA and was selected to the All-NSIC first team.
Additionally Pegors is the first UMary baseball player named to the Academic All-America first team as selected by College Sports Communicators (CSC).
"The returning NSIC Player of the Year, Isaac has as much power as any player I've coached and has proven that he can make at bat to at bat adjustments," said UMary Head Baseball Coach
Tanner Spencer. "He's an exceptional young man who represents our program and institution in a first-class manner."
After an impressive first year at UMary in 2025, Johnson is back for his senior season to again headline the Marauders rotation. The 6-foot-6 right hander from Westminster, CO, pitched two complete game shutouts last season, including a 2-0 shutout of defending champion Augustana to win NSIC Pitcher of the Week honors. Johnson finished the season 5-4 with a 4.62 ERA in 12 starts covering 62.1 innings. He struck out 44 and walked just 17 to post a 1.36 WHIP.
"Aiden returns for his second year with us and we look for him to anchor our rotation and build off of a strong first year," said Spencer. "He has unique stuff and has proven to be ultra-competitive. Aiden is an exceptional representative of our program and institution."
UMary returns a veteran squad. The pitching staff has 14 players who saw action last year, including five who combined to start 31 of 51 games. In the field, the Marauders return nine players who started 19 and six with at least 37 starts. Included in that group are seniors
Bryce Leafgren (2025 All-NSIC 2
nd team) and
Kalem Haney (2024 All-NSIC 1
st team).
The Marauders finished last year 24-27 overall and tied for 7
th place in the NSIC standings with a record of 20-20. The 24 wins tied the NCAA program record for wins. It was also the 5
th straight year UMary registered at least 20 wins in a season, all under the direction of Spencer. The Marauders hadn't had a 20-win season in NCAA play until 2021, Spencer's first full season as head coach.
Minnesota State (190 points) just edged Augustana (189) for the top spot in the 2026 NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll. St. Cloud State (163) is picked third, followed by Wayne State (154), Sioux Falls (144), Minnesota Duluth (116), UMary (115), Minnesota Crookston (112), Southwest Minnesota State (90), Winona State (89), Concordia-St. Paul (76), Jamestown (48), Minot State (44), Northern State (29) and Bemidji State (16).
The top eight teams in the conference standings qualify for the 2026 NSIC Baseball double-elimination tournament set for May 6-9 in Sioux Falls, SD.
UMary opens the 2026 season with a 4-game series at Rogers State University in Claremore, OK, on February 6-8.
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