The Arkansas Razorbacks (43-13) are set to host the Fayetteville Regional as the No. 3 national seed in the 2025 NCAA Tournament. The first squad the Diamond Hogs will face is the North Dakota State Bison (20-32), who are the 4-seed in the Fayetteville Regional.

The Bison defeated Oral Roberts 4-2 last Saturday in the “if necessary” game to claim the Summit League Tournament championship as a two-seed after falling to the Golden Eagles 3-1 earlier in the day to force the winner-take-all matchup. This is the third time the Bison have appeared in an NCAA Tournament as a Division I member, the other two in 2014 and 2021.

NDSU has a mostly straight shot, but lengthy, trek to Fayetteville while the other two squads in the Fayetteville Regional, 2-seeded Kansas and 3-seeded Creighton, are within a four and six-hour trip.

Arkansas head Coach Dave Van Horn mentioned Monday that he was not surprised when the pairings were announced.

“That’s pretty much who I thought was coming,” Van Horn said. “Obviously Nebraska winning yesterday, there was a possibility of them coming in as a 3. I did feel like Kansas would come in being three hours up the road as a 2. They’ve had a great season. You know I felt like it was going to be either North Dakota State or Little Rock coming in as the 4. So pretty much what I thought.”

Their record in the big picture essentially tells the story of how the season has gone that includes a brutal start, dropping 13 of their first 14 games, but the experienced Bison got some things clicking in their conference tournament and have won four of their last five contests.

“They’ve been sneaky good over the last few years to be honest with you,” Van Horn said. “You’re kind of going ‘Wow,’ because they’re playing inside. They’re practicing inside and doing it a lot most of the year.

“They have an older team. I was informed that they have … and I know they had them but they have like 10 seniors on their team. A lot of times that’s what it takes when you are a mid-major to be really successful at all levels is to have those older kids.”

NDSU is led by fourth-year head coach Tyler Oakes. The heart and soul of the roster includes junior southpaw Nolan Johnson, who was named Summit League Pitcher of the Year as well as sophomore infielder Jake Schaffner, the Summit League’s Defensive Player of the Year. Johnson was also named the Summit League Championship’s Most Valuable Player.

Along with Johnson and Schaffner, lefty pitcher Danny Lachenmayer was also tabbed first-team all-conference, while outfielder Dante Smith and right-handed pitcher Logan Knight were named to the second team. Third baseman Davis Hamilton and outfielder Sam Canton were listed on the Honorable Mention squad.

The Bison played two games this spring against Fayetteville Regional counterpart Creighton, taking the first matchup on April 8 over the Blue Jays 3-2 and Creighton took the second one a couple of weeks later 5-2.

It is assumed the Hogs will trot regular Friday starter Zach Root to the mound against Johnson and the Bison, but the Hogs will wait to say for sure.

“Yeah, we pretty much know who we’re going to pitch but we’re not going to announce it yet,” Van Horn said.

Arkansas and North Dakota State will play the first game of the Fayetteville Regional on Friday at 2 p.m. CT at Baum-Walker Stadium in Fayetteville. The game will be streamed live on ESPN Plus.

Below is a comparison of the Arkansas and North Dakota State’s metrics and stats, as well as a look the projected starting lineup and noteworthy pitchers for the Bison.

1. SS Jake Schaffner – Sophomore, 6’2″, 175 pounds

2025 stats: .384/.443/.489, 52 GP, 219 AB, 84 H, 48 R, 9 2B, 4 3B, 2 HR, 21 RBI, 18 BB, 24 K, 18 SB

2. DH Dante Smith – Freshman, 5’11”, 175 pounds

2025 stats: .303/.388/389, 41 GP, 152 AB, 46 H, 28 R, 6 2B, 2 3B, 1 HR, 18 RBI, 41 K, 18 BB, 11 SB

3. 3B Davis Hamilton – Junior, 6’2″, 200 pounds

2025 stats: .314/.404/.469, 51 GP, 194 AB, 61 H, 36 R, 12 2B, 3 3B, 4 HR, 37 RBI, 25 BB, 33 K, 12 SB

4. CF Sam Canton – Senior, 5’10”, 185 pounds

2025 stats: .268/.369/.396, 41 GP, 149 AB, 40 H, 17 R, 7 2B, 4 HR, 26 RBI, 19 BB, 33 K, 4 SB

5. LF Colten Becker – Senior, 5’10”, 190 pounds

2025 stats: .286/.404/.438, 50 GP, 185 AB, 53 H, 18 R, 9 2B, 2 3B, 5 HR, 32 RBI, 30 BB, 61 K, 5 SB

6. C Noah Gordon – Sophomore, 5’10”, 190 pounds

2025 stats: .219/.299/.367, 38 GP, 128 AB, 28 H, 16 R, 5 2B, 1 3B, 4 HR, 20 RBI, 13 BB, 33 K

7. RF Blake Timmons – Redshirt Freshman, 5’10”, 175 pounds

2025 stats: .221/.303/.412, 21 GP, 68 AB, 15 H, 11 R, 3 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 9 RBI, 7 BB, 21 K

8. 1B Alex Urlaub – Senior, 6’1″, 190 pounds

2025 stats: .250/.352/.372, 48 GP, 164 AB, 41 H, 19 R, 8 2B, 4 HR, 23 RBI, 15 BB, 57 K

9. 2B Luis Garcia – Senior, 6’0″, 180 pounds

2025 stats: .135/.273/.162, 26 GP, 74 AB, 10 H, 8 R, 1 3B, 4 RBI, 10 BB, 25 K, 1 SB

LHP Nolan Johnson – Redshirt Junior, 6’1″, 185 pounds

2025 stats: 15 APP, 15 GS, 4-5 W/L, 82.2 IP, 77 H, 40 R, 38 ER, 21 BB, 77 K, .241 BAA, 4.14 ERA

RHP Logan Knight – Senior, 6’6″, 215 pounds

2025 stats: 14 APP, 14 GS, 4-6 W/L, 77 IP, 85 H, 48 R, 40 ER, 27 BB, 65 K, .278 BAA, 4.68 ERA

LHP Danny Lachenmayer – Freshman, 6’3″, 195 pounds

2025 stats: 22 APP, 2-3 W/L, 34.2 IP, 21 H, 12 R, 10 ER, 17 B, 53 K, .179 BAA, 2.60 ERA

RHP Reese Lightenberg – Redshirt Senior, 6’5″, 205 pounds

2025 stats: 18 APP, 1-1 W/L, 24.2 IP, 26 H, 18 R, 15 ER, 11 BB, 10 K, .280 BAA, 5.47 ERA

FARGO, N.D. (Valley News Live) – An appellant’s brief filed with the North Dakota Supreme Court is claiming that the 6th amendment was violated in the trial of Spencer Moen, who was found guilty of murdering his wife, Sonja Moen, in October 2024.

Court documents show that Moen and his attorney claim that the district court allowed two minor witnesses to testify remotely via Zoom, from a separate location, without establishing that live testimony would result in serious emotional trauma or without making factual findings to justify the necessity for remote testimony.

The two minor witnesses in question are Moen’s youngest children, who were inside the home at the time of the murder back in August of 2023. Moen’s brief says that “The Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution, made applicable to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment, and Article I § 12 of the North Dakota Constitution guarantees the right of an accused in a criminal prosecution to be confronted with the witnesses against him.”

Moen and his attorney are now asking the North Dakota Supreme Court to hear oral arguments and reverse his conviction and remand for a new trial.

The State of North Dakota filed their brief within 30 days of Moen’s filing and states that the 6th amendment was not violated. According to their brief, they claim that the state’s motion to have this one-way testimony by Moen’s children was because “it was unlikely that they would’ve been able to provide trustworthy evidence if they testified in their father’s presence and doing so would harm their psychological well-being.”

On August 9, 2024, the court found that the testimony of the kids in front of Moen would result in them suffering emotional distress or trauma that would impact their ability to speak in front of them.

The State of North Dakota is requesting that the court affirm the criminal judgment against Moen. They have also requested oral arguments to respond to any questions that the Court may have.

Moen was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on December 30, 2024.

According to the North Dakota Appellate Case System, there are no future hearings scheduled for Moen at this time.

Copyright 2025 KVLY. All rights reserved.

FINLEY, N.D. (Valley News Live) – It wasn’t your typical high school graduation in Finley, North Dakota, on Sunday, May 25.

At Finley-Sharon Public School, there was a high school graduating class of one student.

Bryson Kirk was the only student who graduated.

“It’s kind of cool. I like the small classroom size,” said Bryson Kirk.

Bryson still had some company as he partnered with students a grade below him for most of his classes.

Bryson’s mom knew from the very beginning that Finley-Sharon Public School was the school for him.

“It was just obvious he would go to school here,” said Penny Kirk, Bryson’s mom.

Penny couldn’t be happier for her son.

“I’m proud that he’s the only one,” said Penny Kirk.

Bryson wasn’t the only student in classrooms when he went to school. There have been as many as seven students in his classes.

In the beginning of the 2024-2025 school year, there were two students in Bryson’s grade.

“One dropped out so then he became the only one!” said Penny Kirk.

Faculty and teachers at Finley-Sharon Public School say that it was a pleasure to have Bryson attend their school.

His high school degree was handed over to him by his mom in what made for a special moment.

Bryson plans to work as a mechanic at Finley Motor Sports. He learned part of his mechanical skills in one of the classes he took.

Copyright 2025 KVLY. All rights reserved.