Mark Gulseth enters his third season as head coach of the Northern State baseball team in 2010. He propelled the team past milestones in his 2008 rookie year with the Wolves. With a 15-28 record, it was just the third time in ten years that NSU won 15 or more games. Additionally, NSU's 11 conference wins was the most for any Northern team since NSIC play expanded to 20+ games in 2002.
Gulseth brings to Northern a proven coaching record at the high school level and experience from a seven-year professional baseball career. He has coached the Aberdeen Smitty's Legion baseball team since 2001, and the Smitty’s high school team since its inception in 2004. Gulseth was named South Dakota High School Coach of the Year in 2004 and 2005. His Smitty's have a long history of success, and recently won three state titles in a four-year stretch from 2004-'08.
"I've followed Northern athletics since I moved to the Aberdeen area, and have helped with the NSU baseball team on a limited basis," commented Gulseth. "I'm excited for the challenge of moving on to the next level of coaching and am happy to become a part of Wolves Athletics."
Gulseth played at the collegiate level at the University of New Mexico, where he was named a Western Athletic Conference All-Star in 1992 and 1993, and was a 1993 NCAA Baseball All-American. During the 1993 season, Gulseth hammered 18 home-runs and notched 82 RBI. Following his All-American season as a junior, Gulseth was a 19th round draft pick (526th overall) for the San Francisco Giants. He spent seven seasons with the organization, playing first base and outfield.
Gulseth's minor league totals for all levels are as follows: batted .276 in 1,632 at-bats, 451 hits, 121 doubles, 10 triples, 35 home-runs, and 236 RBI. Personal single-season records include a career-high batting average of .317 (.400 OB%), with a career-high 10 home-runs for the San José Giants in 1997. Gulseth also set single-season, career-bests in RBI (75), doubles (38), and hits (132) with the San José Giants in 1998.
Gulseth has been a physical education/health/mathematics teacher at Leola Public School since 2000. He coached the Leola boys' and girls' golf team from 2000-'04 and was named South Dakota High School Golf Coach of the Year in 2001 and 2002. He received a degree in physical education from Moorhead State University in 1996 and a Master's degree in health and physical education from Northern State University in 2006. He and his wife, Meredith, reside in Leola, S.D., with their four children, Jaeger, Annika, Ryker, and Cooper.
