Bison bloodlines run thick in freshman pitcher Landon Koenig's family

"I kind of thought it was out of the possibility. But this fall I really grew up. My body transformed and I got a lot more confident."

Koenig has helped transform the North Dakota State pitching rotation. After NDSU's top two pitchers went down with injuries, all hands were on deck. Koenig was eager for his opportunity.

"What you see is a very composed young man. We've thrown him in a lot of situations where we need to win a series or in a big environment and he's handled it very well." said NDSU head coach Tyler Oakes.

Koenig got about a 72-hour heads up on when he would make his collegiate debut. Against nationally ranked California-Irvine on the season's opening weekend.

"It was just a pretty awe inspiring moment for me." said Koenig. "I was just in shock until we really got to Irvine that's when it kind of set in and then you're facing a top-15 lineup in the country."

Koenig's parents got the phone call in Portland, North Dakota and were on a plane shortly after. There was no way they were going to miss Landon's first start.

"We were fairly surprised." said Landon's mom, Jen. We did a little switching around of the work schedules. I'm a nurse so it gets a little tricky. But, we booked the flight and figured we should be there sink or swim be there to support him."

"We kind of had to pinch ourselves and we had nervous excitement. We had supper with Landon the night before and he seemed very calm and collected and so that helped us a little bit." said Landon's dad, Keith.

Koenig's debut was as you would expect, a rocky one. Three innings, six hits, five runs, three strikeouts and one walk. But the former May-Port-C-G standout has steadied himself since then, going five innings in each of his last six starts. He struck out a season-high nine batters in NDSU's win over league-leading St. Thomas.

All the while, Koenig has relied on a former Bison standout athlete for help in his own family. His older sister, Mikayla, a former NDSU track and cross country runner herself, married national champion linebacker Jackson Hankey two years ago.

Ever since, Koenig has added the older brother he never had.

"I love Jackson and the entire Hankey family. He's like a brother to me."

Jen added: "Jackson has been a great mentor to Landon. He's I think, helped keep him grounded and just overall been a great example."

Hankey left Fargo as a four-time national champion, making 44 starts at middle linebacker over his final three years with the Bison. Prior to his time in Fargo, Hankey himself was a standout Class B baseball player at Park River-Fordville-Lankin, much like Landon was at May-Port-C-G.

Koenig saw that road map that Hankey went on and wanted to follow it.

"It was almost like I bet on myself. I want to be here too. I think that's something that'd be super cool to attain. And it was a good goal for me throughout high school."

Koenig now has arrived. He pitched 5.1 innings Sunday against South Dakota State, allowing just one earned run in a game that NDSU ended up losing 8-5. But with the Bison hunting for a conference crown, Koenig may play a major part as NDSU looks to win a second title in three seasons.

"He's continuing to make strides, especially at the end of the season. Lot of guys get tired at this time of the season, I think he's going in the right trajectory and will continue to step up for us as we go along." Oakes said.

"I think I can be the guy that helps us do this. I think it can help all the rest of the team if you see a guy on the mound that's confident and rolling. I think that helps everyone."