A Riverland pitcher has used his success with the Blue Devils to move on with his baseball career.

Brady Banse, a sophomore at RCC and Forest Lake grad, signed on to play Division II baseball at Nebraska-Omaha Friday at the RCC campus.

Banse will receive a partial scholarship from the Mavericks, who went 45-13 last season and finished the year ranked No. 8 in the nation.

Banse will still play for RCC this spring.

“It’s great that I got it done with so I can focus on the upcoming season. Hopefully we can make a run to the state tournament,” Banse said.

Banse, who also considered Augustana, Sioux Falls, and Minnesota State, said he liked the location of Nebraska-Omaha since it was more of big city atmosphere.

He drew attention from the Mavericks coaching staff when he recently worked out for them.

“Stats are nice, but I went down there and threw and (their coach) got a first hand look at me. He saw what he wanted to see and was interested,” said Banse, who was 7-1 with a 2.55 ERA with 35 strikeouts for the Blue Devils last year.

RCC head coach Scott Koenigs said his hurler has come along way since the Blue Devils brought him in last year.

“It’s night and day,” Koenigs said. “He wasn’t recruited very hard out of high school. He has gotten stronger and more confident and his control has gotten a lot better.”

The signing adds credibility to a Riverland baseball program that now has had three players sign with Division II schools under Koenigs. The coach added that more signings could be on the horizon this upcoming spring.

“It’s great to see. One of the thing I really push is that this is just a starting point,” Koenigs said. “We’re gonna get them in the weight room and get them stronger and faster and develop them. Then they can get scholarships somewhere else.”

A solid attitude is what made Banse a recruited player, according to Koenigs.

“The one thing coaches see is the attitude he takes on the mound. It’s an attitude pitchers have to have to be successful. He’s very competitive and he’s got confidence,” he said.

Banse also threw for the Austin Blue Sox over the summer.