Gering, Neb. -- The Pioneers return to Oregon Trail Park Stadium in Gering, Nebraska for their 6th season, with much excitement surrounding the team. With a new head coach at the helm, Brandon Nelson, the expectations for the Pioneers are high, and with the Pioneers making it to the post-season each of the last two years and winning the ILB Championship in 2022, average won’t be the standard.

Get To Know the New Skipper

Brandon Nelson, with his wife Michelle and their two kids Kinsley and Baker, are residents of Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Nelson is currently an assistant coach for Lakeland University in Plymouth, Wisconsin. He has returned to the Muskies after a previous coaching stint there from 2016-2018. Aside from Lakeland, Nelson has coached collegiately at Bryant & Stratton College, and UW-Platteville.

Nelson comes to the Pioneers with summer league and independent baseball experience. He spent time with the professional Pecos League’s Garden City Wind as a player and a coach, and in the Old North State Collegiate League as a head coach of the High Point Hushpuppies. With an overall record of 66-21 across three seasons with the Hushpuppies including a championship in 2020. Nelson leaves the Old North State League, as the winningest coach in league history with a winning percentage of .758%.

Funny enough, Brandon came across the coaching position for the Pioneers online and heard great things around the coaching world about how owners Chuck and Mayra Heeman run their organization. Nelson credits the year-in-year out success of the Pioneers to the Heemans for their never-ending support of the team and its staff on the reason that taking this job was an easy choice.

As a head coach, Nelson has experience at many different levels, but he credits being the coach he is today, to one of his former coaches in the Pecos League the late Bill Moore. “Bill passed away last year; he taught me more about this game than I could ever hope to learn. I wouldn’t be what I am without him.” In addition, Nelson credits his time in the ONSL as “the single most important part of my development as a coach to this point” as he learned about failure as a first-time head coach.

Assistant Coaches

Coach Brandon Nelson will be assisted by 3 coaches this season, Tyson Ellis, Chris Gabis, and Tyler Dudley.

Tyson Ellis

The Pioneer coaching staff includes head assistant coach and pitching coach, Tyson Ellis, who is a native of Lake City, Florida at Paul D Camp Community College in Virginia where he serves as an assistant coach and director of baseball operations. Ellis joins the Paul D Camp staff, after a World Series run, as a volunteer assistant coach at Florida State College of Jacksonville, where they finished 3rd in the 2022 DII Junior College World Series. As a player, Ellis spent time at USC-Upstate, and Gulf Coast State College, before landing at Pensacola State College. Tyson also spent time in collegiate summer ball, with the Casper Horseheads ~a team previously owned by the current Pioneer owners. Ellis ended his collegiate pitching career at Troy University.

Tyler Dudley

The Pioneer coaching staff includes assistant coach Tyler Dudley. Dudley comes from Waterloo High School in Ohio, where he serves as the Head JV coach and the Varsity assistant. Tyler’s main focus this summer will be defense, as well as serving as the first base coach. Tyler is from the same hometown as Pioneers owner, Chuck Heeman, Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio.

Chris Gabis

The Pioneer coaching staff is rounded out by assistant coach Chris Gabis, the Sidney, Nebraska native, who joined the staff in 2022. Chris is a first responder within the Gering community, after being hired by the Scottsbluff Fire Department 5 years ago, Gabis currently serves as the Engineer for B shift, coordinator for the Scottsbluff Fire Department Hazmat Team, and the President of the Scottsbluff Professional Firefighters Local 1454. Chris’s love of the Pioneers began their inaugural season.

Never Idle

“Never Idle”, the motto that the Pioneers will live by this summer, “We want to always be moving forward” Nelson had to say regarding this summer, “I’m looking for this team to come out and compete at a championship level in everything we do, be aggressive as an offense, pitching staff and on the basepaths, this will not be a timid team,” he says. This summer’s Pioneer team is made up of players from all divisions of baseball, from Junior Colleges, up to the Division 1 level. Players and staff alike from all over the country and world to spend their summer in Gering and Oregon Trail Park Stadium.

Coach Nelson is constantly checking in on our Pioneers during their respective school seasons and thinks we are going to be a “very strong offense”, not to take away from the defensive side of the ball, Nelson also notes that we have some hard throwers, who routinely average more than a strikeout per inning pitched, and some fielders who have yet to make an error in their collegiate career. Nelson in his fourth season as a summer league head coach, says that “this is the most talented roster I’ve ever put together top to bottom”.

A couple of standouts he is excited about are:

· Koy Carpenter a sophomore outfielder from McMurray University

· Isaiah Gibbs a senior from William Woods University

· Austin Birkhoff a freshman infielder from the University of Dallas

· Tyler Bryant a senior pitcher from Ottawa University

· Dylan Krause a freshman pitcher at the University of Dallas

· Landon Murray a senior pitcher from the University of St. Thomas

Season Outlook

With the Pioneers no longer being members of the ILB this season, 2023 brings about a different look for the players, staff, and fans of the Pioneers. Fans who are used to seeing teams such as the Freemont Moo, and the Spearfish Sasquatch are in for a treat with this season’s schedule.

The teams visiting Oregon Trail Park Stadium this summer will consist of teams that play in the Rocky Mountain Baseball League and the Mile High Collegiate League, each with teams spread across Kansas and Colorado. In addition, the Pioneers have scheduled some special games at Oregon Trail Park Stadium.

On June 20th and 21st, the Pioneers and the town of Gering will welcome the 3 teams of the Australian Select Colts. Two of the teams are 17U and will play double headers against Gering PVC (June 21), and the Scottsbluff WESTCO Juniors (June 20). The Pioneers will play the college-level Colts both nights at Oregon Trail Park Stadium. On July 1st, the Pioneers will play a fundraiser game against members of the Nebraska Army National Guard.

To say Coach Nelson is excited would be an understatement, he credits his wife Michelle for taking care of their family in the summers so he can coach, “she’s the stud of the family”, Nelsons’ two kids have already stocked up on Pioneer gear and wear it any chance they get he says. “As far as the team is concerned, this team is going to be special, this is the most talented team I’ve ever put together. They are an awesome group of guys who all want nothing more than to give you guys something to cheer for. We’re coming Gering, and you can bet everything that we aren’t coming to be average.”

You won’t want to miss any of the Pioneer’s 36 home games at Oregon Trail Park Stadium this summer! Get your tickets now here!

As Always, Go Pios – Never Idle!