As everyone always says about Division III athletics, “blink and you’ll miss it!” Take two weeks off from Scots Breakdown, and we’re buried in teams to cover. Thankfully, our team at The Mac Weekly has stepped up to provide coverage: we had a deep-dive on the softball team in the last issue and a tennis preview in this one.
In the meantime, that leaves the water polo and baseball teams untouched. We’ve chatted up the coaches, outlined the season for each team and selected four Standout Scots for both squads — dig in!
Water Polo
Water polo has been Macalester’s premier program over the past decade. Unlike Mac’s other 18 teams, water polo doesn’t compete in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC). Instead, it competes in the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA), where the Scots threepeated as conference champions across 2017, 2018 and 2019 and remain one of the best in the conference each year.
However, in 2022, longboats entered the CWPA waters: the Augustana College (IL) Vikings. In their four years, the Vikings have pillaged the conference. They’ve made it to the championship game each year and won it for the last three. In all three of those years, the Vikings placed third in the national tournament.
The rest of the CWPA is fearsome, too. Austin College won back-to-back championships right before Augustana’s current run began and remains a perennial top-10 team in the country. Last year’s CWPA runner-up, Washington and Jefferson College, upset the Scots in the tournament and spent most of the year in the national rankings too.
“While our program has maintained a high level of success over the past decade, taking the next step toward a CWPA championship will require greater offensive consistency,” Head Coach Scott Reed wrote in an email to The Mac Weekly. “Defensively, we expect to be a strong team again, but slow starts on offense have hurt us in key moments over the past few seasons.”
At the Macalester Invitational this past weekend, the Scots went 2-2. Their losses were a 13-12 nailbiter against Virginia Military Institute, a Division I program, and a 13-6 blowout to Augustana. After a 2-2 first quarter, the Vikings outscored the Scots 5-1 in the second.
“This year, our emphasis is on generating offense earlier in games, improving consistency in our outside shooting, and being more efficient in our power-play opportunities,” Reed wrote. “If we can pair those offensive improvements with the sustained defensive pressure that has defined our program, we believe we will be well-positioned to make a legitimate run at a conference championship this season.”
Standout Scots:
Jess Palmer-Sammons ’26 is the CWPA’s top dog. Last year, she won conference MVP and was All American and All-CWPA for the second time. She led the team with 49 goals and 43 steals, along with 16 assists. Reed calls her one of the best center defenders in the country and anticipates an even better offensive season from her this year.
Jayden Kratt ’26 is the Scots’ All CWPA monster in front of the net. Last year was her first as the Scots’ primary keeper: she saved 49 percent of shots and allowed 8.94 goals per game. She also posted 138 blocks, 25 steals and seven penalty saves.
Anna Gaisser ’28 made the All CWPA second-team as a rookie last year as the Scots’ second-leading scorer with 32 goals to go with nine assists and 24 steals. The scoring machine is back for more this year: she led the Scots with five goals in their first game of the season.
Kendall Strauss ’26 has been a career second-stringer for the Scots, but with starting center Olivia Dimka ’25 graduated, it’s her time to shine. With eight goals, four assists and seven steals last season, Strauss is primed to bring her skills to the starting unit.
Baseball
Headed into his 27th season, Head Coach Matthew Parrington is the longest-tenured coach at Macalester by over a decade. In that time, he has led the Scots to two MIAC Championships, won MIAC Coach of the Year twice and logged 396 wins. No one has had a better seat to watch the conference change than Grandpa Parrington.
“The overall physicality and skill level in the MIAC has increased significantly,” Parrington wrote. “Players throughout the conference are older, better trained and benefit from more advanced coaching and resources dedicated to development. Another major change is the depth of the conference. The middle of the pack is much stronger than it used to be, which means fewer mismatches and more competitive games across the board.”
The Scots won their last MIAC Championship in 2018 (the most recent of any Mac team until men’s soccer won its playoffs this fall) but for the past five seasons, they have struggled to keep up. In that time, Mac has gone 58-108 overall and 33- 71 in the conference. The past two seasons have been the worst: 3-17 in the MIAC in 2024 and 5-15 in 2025.
If they’re going to improve, pitching will be the difference-maker. With All-MIAC pitcher Cam Scholl ’25 — the conference leader in ERA — gone, Mac has lost the top pitcher in its already-thin bullpen. Only two of the Scots’ top seven most-used pitchers from last season remain on the roster. Hopefully, someone in the crop of the six first-year pitchers have cannons that can keep Mac competitive this year.
To ascend to the conference’s highest levels again, Mac will need to recruit deeper talent — that’s true for any collegiate team. For now, though, the focus is on regaining a winning culture.
“A successful season for us means finding ways to stay competitive in every game and playing meaningful baseball throughout the year,” Parrington wrote. “That requires a strong belief in what we are building and consistent attention to detail in how we prepare and compete. If we can remain focused on the details, the results should take care of themselves.”
Standout Scots:
Nathan Gumagay ’26 earned an All-MIAC honorable mention after posting a top-five batting average in the MIAC at .406 and the second-best on-base percentage at .538. Both of those stats took huge leaps from his first two seasons. If he can maintain his efficiency and increase production, he could do wonders for Mac’s offense.
Raymond McCaskey ’26 was the Scots’ other All-MIAC honorable mention last season after his strongest season yet. He notched a .313 batting average with 20 runs, 10 RBIs and 30 hits. He stole 10 bases on 12 tries and had a knack for getting hit by pitches — he was plunked 17 times.
Holden Peacock ’27 might be next up for All-MIAC awards. He led the team with 40 hits and was second with 23 RBIs on a .331 batting average. He was also the team’s best base-stealer, swiping 16 bags in 17 tries. He posted a 1.000 fielding percentage at first base.
John McMurray ’29 has looked promising through three games. “He played well,” said Niko Alexander ’26. In his 15 at-bats (tied for most on the team) he had four hits, four RBIs and two runs. He’s also 2-for-2 on stolen bases. Keep an eye on the rookie this year.
