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| No. 10 East Texas Baptist made it to the Super-Regional round in 2024 and the DIII World Series in 2023. They are looking to extend their success into 2025. d3photography photo by Doug Sass |
By Ralph Turner
for D3baseball.com
2024 was a good year for the SCIAC as they placed four teams in the playoff round. Don't expect this again so winning the conference will be more critical than ever. Pomona-Pitzer was the lone survivor when World Series trips were earned and they are in position to do it again. We will know early how good the 2025 squad is with a February contest with ASC favorite East Texas Baptist. The SCAC is growing as several teams from the ASC made the jump this season with Trinity (Texas) getting the early raves in the SCAC. The Northwest Conference is going to be competitive with a number of schools getting noticed in the national polls.
New Faces
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| Jacob Upwood made the move from assistant at Norrth Park to the head coaching position for the Pacific Boxers. Pacific athletics photo |
Mitch Wilson, Hardin Simmons - Wilson comes to Hardin-Simmons after serving as an assistant coach at conference foe Mary Hardin-Baylor. He has been instrumental in the turnaround in that program and brings a high level of energy and excitement to the Cowboy program. "I am excited to have the opportunity to run my own program at Hardin-Simmons, said Wilson.”HSU is a special place and I feel very fortunate to start my head coaching career here. I have learned so much from my many coaching mentors through the years and hope to blend it all together into my own style. I am passionate about investing in and developing young men through the game of baseball. At the end of the day, our program will be about the players and for the players." He replaces Steve Coleman (568-537) who retired after the season after 27 years at the helm of the Cowboy program.
Jacob Upwood, Pacific - Upwood, Pacific's new head baseball coach, knows first-hand the importance of developing players. "The development side is why I played professionally," said Upwood, who after pitching at Division III Ithaca College in New York, spent two seasons in the San Diego Padres organization. "I was 5 (feet) 9 (inches) coming out of high school throwing 82 miles per hour. I just figured out ways to get better any possible way that I could, utilized coaching and figuring out things on my own. I got to play and get paid to do it. That's (player development) what's near and dear to my heart." At Pacific, Upwood becomes just the fourth baseball coach since 1964, replacing Brian Billings, who led the Boxers to three straight Northwest Conference championships (2021-23).
Conference Previews
American Southwest Conference: The ASC opens 2025 with the loss of three teams to the SCAC and Texas-Dallas looking forward to joining D-II next year. The ASC has dropped below seven teams and enters year one of the two year grace period to keep the conference bid. East Texas Baptist (39-10) swept the NCAA regional round on their home field with victories over Centenary, Concordia Texas and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, before falling at No. 12 Pomona-Pitzer in the Super-Regional. The Tigers lost Sayers Collins, a first team All-American pitcher. However, some keys pieces (nine starters and 19 lettermen) are coming back for the Tigers, who are looking to build on what they were able to accomplish last year. Combined with this year's recruiting class of transfers and freshman they should to be competitive on the national level. A strong non-conference schedule, including series against Pomona-Pitzer, Adrian and Pacific will allow D3 fans to assess ETBU versus national powers, and what they need to work on in anticipation of another postseason run. Players to watch include: senior SP Jagger Neely (4-2; 4.86 ERA, 36K) and senior INF Dylan Burrnaman (.348, 26 RBI).
Mary Hardin Baylor (24-17) had their best record in a decade and is looking for continued improvement. The five-team conference will allow the Crusaders to build for the conference tournament and the Pool A bid. Players to watch for the Cru include senior SP James McGlumphy (5-2, 2.61 ERA, 59K) and senior INF Carson Hagan (.319, 26 RBI, 38 SB).
The Hardin Simmons Cowboys (15-26) are picked to finish third and will be led by 2024 Freshman of the Year INF Jacob Hollingsworth, who had a team leading .370 batting average. He also hit 2 HR and had 30 RBI. The Cowboys only return three position players and no starting pitchers. First-year Coach Mitch Wilson believes he has a very good defensive team with team speed and pitchers that will pitch to that strength.
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| Yellow Jacket outfielder Dane Jones was a selected on the 2025 D3baseball.com Preseason All-American Team following a season where he batted over .400 with 20 home runs. LeTourneau athletics photo |
LeTourneau (15-25) moves to the SCAC for the 2026 season but is picked to finish fourth in their last season in the ASC. The Yellow Jackets have seven position players and three pitchers returning among the 27 total players returning. Grad OF Dane Jones (.401, 20 HR, 47 RBI, 4 SB) is a second team PreseasonD3baseball.com All American and is four HR away from tying the ASC record for career homers set by Brent Voorhees, McMurry (2005-08). Senior UTL Xander Nabors (.331, 5 HR, 25 RBI) and senior 1B Hayden Norris (.321, 4 HR, 24 RBI) will also lead the attack. Coach Paul Phillips looks to senior Dalton Pickett (4-4, 3.72 ERA, 45K) as his ace on the mound.
Howard Payne (13-25) and Texas-Dallas (30-14) rounds out the rest of the ASC earned the 2024 ASC Pool A bid. The Comets will play games against ASC teams but are not eligible for postseason play as they move to D-II in 2026.
Northwest Conference: The Northwest Conference is usually a very competitive conference with at least 6 of its 9 members in contention for the postseason conference tourney up to the next to last weekend. Whitman won the regular season, but Willamette (29-16) won the Pool A bid in the four-team post-season tourney. The Bearcats lost at Pomona-Pitzer 3 games to 1 in best of five regional. Two of the three All-Region players for Willamette are gone but senior 2B Tassos Foster (.350, 2 HR, 31 RBI) will be back in the infield. With parity the theme this year in the NWC, Willamette will have plenty of competition looking to knock them out of the end of the season tournament.
Whitworth (28-14) lost to Willamette in the conference tourney last year but has a very deep offensive team for 2025. Coach C J. Perry has a good core of returning players to make a run. Look for sophomore DH/INF Ty Quiggle (.328, 5 2B, 27 RBI), gradauate OF Aidan Morrison (.305, 5 HR, 35 RBI), senior INF Spencer Shipman (.300, 7 HR, 36 RBI, 12 SB). On the mound, the Pirates look for production out of senior SP Quentin O Conner (8-2, 5.20 ERA, 47K) and relievers Conner Ashworth (3-0, 3 saves, 3.42 ERA, 39K) and graduate Tyler Vancise (0-2, 5 saves, 6.91 ERA, 35K).
Whitman won the regular season in 2024, but lost in the conference tourney finals. Unfortunately, their 26-17 record was not quite good enough to earn a Pool C bid. Coach Brian Kitamura lost the NWC Male Athlete of the Year, SP Julien Hernandez, which leaves a big hole in the pitching rotation. The Blues’ offense will need to setp up, with contributions from senior INF Jack Bickerton (.303, 12 HR, 36 RBI), senior SS Beck Maguire (.342, 6 HR, 25 RBI, 13 SB) and C/1B Halen Otte (.311, 11 HR. 34 RBI). The top reliever should be sophomore Russell Peterson (5-2, 2 saves, 3.03 ERA, 47K). Senior captain Beck Maguire is an elite player with multiple tools. A leader on the field and in the clubhouse, he has proven to be one of the best shortstops in the nation.
George Fox went 22-18 to finish sixth in the conference. There are six returning starters among the 37 returnees for the Bruins. Leading the offense will OF Junior Evan Balingit (.331, 4 HR, 31 RBI). The ace of the pitching staff will senior LHP Caleb Debban (4-3, 3.90 ERA, 67K). Coach Kevin Kopple says Debban us one of the best left handed pitchers to ever come through the program and has professional level stuff. Also look for junior RHP Junior Aidan Rady (3-3, 6.31 ERA, 40K) in the rotation. Coach Kopple’s assessment is he has a really talented pitching staff and a lot of new guys offensively. He’s excited about the talent and the work ethic of the group.
Lewis and Clark was the 2023 Tourney winner but fell to 17-22-1 in 2024.The Pioneers return seven starters and 22 lettermen. They will be led by senior OF Brennen Davis (.302, 8 HR, 29 RBI) and senior C Justin Cavagnaro (.262, 1 HR, 16 RBI). Sophomore Owen Eisen (4-6, 5.48 ERA, 47K) and sophomore Caden Hodina (2-1, 4.50 ERA, 21K) are likely the starting pitchers and senior Luke Ritter (0-3, 6.08 ERA, 26K) coming in for relief. Coach Matt Kosderka says his guys have really worked hard at improving their individual skill sets, so that they can get his team back into the conference tournament, after missing it last year. Having lost a good amount of power from last year's squad, they will have to be better at the plate overall, in order to put some runs on the board. L&C will have some really good young arms and some solid veterans as well. If they can execute like they are capable of at the plate and on the mound.
Pacific Lutheran (14-25) returns eight starters and five pitchers among the 37 returnees including senior INF Aaron Barber (.349, 1 HR, 19 RBI) and junior INF Hayden Keiser (.320, 3 HR, 15 RBI). The likely pitching rotation will include junior Chris Moreno (1-8, 1 save, 4.77 ERA, 60K), sophomore Jon Crawley (1-1, 5.31 ERA, 18K) and sophomore Matthew Sherwood (3-3, 1 save, 6.23 ERA, 37K). Coach Nolan Soete's veteran lineup returns two contributors who were out all of 2024 with injuries. The Lutes should be a good hitting team although depth in bullpen could be a concern.
Puget Sound went 18-22 in 2024. Coach Jeff Halstead has seven position players and a starting pitcher returning for the 2025 season. Players to watch include sophomore C Brock Makishima (.304, 1 HR, 20 RBI) and senior 3B Makana Murashige (.344, 3 HR, 22 RBI, 10 SB). On the mound, the Loggers have senior SP Brett Harvey (6-2, 4.52 ERA, 80K) and sophomore RP Mason Seay (2-1, 1 save, 1.89 ERA, 14K). Coach Halstead is excited with the number of returning position players and experience the Loggers have there. Brett Harvey is one of the top starting pitchers in the West Region but they will need some younger pitchers to step up to compete for a conference title.
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| McMurry has a new home in 2025. They have moved from the ASC to the SCAC as part of a reshuffling that started last year and will continue in 2026. McMurry athletics photo |
Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference: The Conference shuffle in Region 10 sees Trinity and Southwestern competing in their last season in the SCAC before moving to the Southern Athletic Association. Concordia-Texas, McMurry and University of the Ozarks came from the ASC. In 2026, Hendrix from the SAA and LeTourneau from the ASC will replace Trinity and Southwestern. Centenary LA (23-20) won the 2024 title as the number two seed in the Tourney. The Gents have five position players and five pitchers among the 34 returnees. Leading the offense are sophomore UTL Alex Miller (.354, 7 HR, 47 RBI), sophomore 1B Walker Wicklund (.345, 1 HR, 15 RBI) and senior IF Jobee Boone (.343, 1 HR, 29 RBI, 10 SB). On the mound, look for senior Tyler Herrera (2-2, 6.28 ERA, 44K) and junior Jacob Broussard (0-5, 4 saves, 4.40 ERA, 36K) to answer the call. Coach Mike Diaz says Centenary has a very new, young team this year coming off winning last year’s SCAC conference title. He looks forward to a great year building off that championship, where the good mix of older guys will have to show the young guys the way. He sees a ton of depth but a lot of guys with inexperience.
Trinity Texas (32-15) won SCAC regular season title, fell in the conference tourney but earned a Pool C bid and hosted La Verne to whom they lost 3-1 in the best-of-five regional. Coach Tim Scannell is 32 wins away from 800 which projects to postseason anticipation. The Tigers lost 25 seniors so we are likely to see some player development by the end of the season, in time for the tourney. Look for these players in 2025: senior C Nick Lazarra (.352, 4 HR, 38 RBI) sophomore OF Kaleb Woodward (.311, 2 HR, 24 RBI, 12 SB). On the mound, senior Trajan Lee (3-1, 1 save, 4.12, ERA, 38K) and senior Will Hellings (2-2, 5 saves, 2.95 ERA, 49K). The SCAC will be an 11 team conference, but will only have a 4 team postseason tourney.
McMurry moves into the SCAC off a fourth place finish in the ASC in 2024. Coach Josh Lee brings a solid team, returning nine position players and all three weekend starters for 2025. The 2025 team will be led by junior Riley Hood (.436, 39 RBI), junior Michael Smonsa (.372, 9 HR, 40 RBI, 11 SB), senior Ty Nelson (.338, 2 HR, 24 RBI), senior Koy Carpenter (.317, 1 HR, 26 RBI). The weekend rotation is three veterans, sophomore Ethan Wendel (5-5, 4.41 ERA, 46K), sophomore Braydon Durst (5-4, 4.98 ERA, 35K), and junior Hunter Poe (4-2, 5.80 ERA, 38K). Coach Lee and staff, the 2024 ASC Staff of the Year, see an experienced group who will look to build on successes from last year. With it being the first year in the SCAC, Coach Lee says they will no doubt be one of the most competitive squads in one of the top conferences in the country.
Texas Lutheran (25-17) head coach Kyle Palmer debut season as Bulldogs Head Coach saw his fourth seeded team losing in the tourney finals to Centenary. For 2025 the Bulldogs have five returning position players and one starting pitcher. Senior UTL Adam Peavy (.333, 5 HR, 37 RBI), senior UTL Xavier Arias (.294, 7 HR, 36 RBI, 12 SB), and senior OF Mason Goudeau (.322, 2 HR, 11 RBI, 13 SB) leads the offense. Senior SP Diego Vinton (3-6, 1 save, 6.30 ERA, 38K) is likely to be the ace.
Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference: The SCIAC is a well-balanced conference and the home of DIII World Series Champions, La Verne in 1993, Cal Lutheran in 2017, Chapman in 2003 and 2019. The tourney champion is likely the team that gets hot at the end of the season and can make a deep run. SCIAC fans are anticipating a tight race with up to six teams in serious contention to make the postseason conference tourney. Pomona-Pitzer (37-14) was a second place finisher in the regular season that made that deep run to the 2024 National Championship. The Sagehens finished #6 in 2024 NCBWA/ D3Baseball.com poll and return 7/9 starters and 2/3 pitchers. In a team loaded with numerous stars, look for senior OF JC Ng (.424, 9 HR, 49 RBI, 14 SB), sophomore UT Greg Pierantoni (.370, 3 HR, 55 RBI), junior IF Will Kinney (.344, 1 HR, 33 RBI), sophomore IF/OF Jack Gold (.294, 10 HR, 43 RBI, 10 SB), and graduate C Peter Savas (.391, 1 HR, 7 RBI) to perform as they did in 2024. Starting pitchers who return are senior Jake Hilton (9-3, 2.94 ERA, 94 K) and junior Hannoh Seo (10-1, 2.48 ERA, 98K). An informal polling of head coaches around the country for D3baseball.com frequently mention Pomona-Pitzer as one of the five best teams in the country. After losing to Misericordia and Endicott in the national championship round, the Sagehens have set a goal of winning it all.
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| Cal Lutheran made their 18th postseason appearance as one of the last teams selected to play in the 2024 NCAA Regional Playoffs. Cal Lutheran athletics photo |
Cal Lutheran (29-16) made the NCAA UW-Whitewater Regionals in 2024, going 1-2. The Kingsmen return seven position players and two starting pitchers among 26 returnees. Head coach Erik Scherer expects strong performances from junior 1B Troy Anderson (.314, 8 HR, 36 RBI), sophomore 2B Kai Caranto (.331, 1 HR, 33 RBI), senior SS Josh Quinn (.286, 4 HR, 24 RBI), senior CF Alec Garcia (.341, 1 HR, 15 RBI), and junior RF Lucas Danielewicz (.314, 4 HR, 39 RBI). The workhorses of the pitching staff are graduate JJ Frazier (9-4, 3.53 ERA, 69K) and senior Luke Wechsler (7-4, 3.73 ERA, 85K). Coach Scherer is excited about the returning group, both in the field and in the starting rotation. Four transfer pitchers will make for a much deeper staff in 2025. While CLU has 12 seniors, a number of sophomores have taken big strides and will play a prominent role this season. The Kingsmen are ready for the challenge of competing in the SCIAC, which once again will be a very strong conference.
Chapman (22-18) returns five position players and two starters in the 21 returnees. Position players to watch include senior 2B Austin Dudas (.309, 2 HR, 25 RBI), sSenior 3B Thomas Golbranson (.313, 1 HR, 11 RBI), and senior RF Josh Phillips (.278, 5 HR, 35 RBI, 23 SB). On the mound, the Panthers return junior Colin Godfrey (4-4, 5.59 ERA, 43K), junior Graham Stogner (4-5, 5.34 ERA, 47K) for the rotation. Relievers junior Henry Chabot (2-2, 6 saves, 4.38 ERA, 28K) and sophomore Matthew Kuramoto (1-3, 1 save, 4.76 ERA, 33K) are part of a stocker bullpen. Coach Scott Laverty is just six wins away from #600 and should get there early in the season. Laverty assesses the team as a talented group in a loaded conference with the potential to find its way back into postseason picture.
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (32-15) was the third SCIAC team to make the playoffs, losing to ETBU in the regional finals. CMS is going on its third year of having no home field while new field is being constructed. Despite this, CMS has set a school record for wins (32). Coach Bill Walkenbach returns six position players and seven pitchers among 31 total returnees. Back weilding a bat are graduate Andrew Mazzone (.404, 20 HR, 55 RBI), senior Jack Potter (.347, 6 HR, 32 RBI, 15 SB), junior Blaise Heher (.356, 5 HR, 26 RBI) and sophomore Dillon Martin (.307, 4 HR, 46 RBI). The ace of the pitching staff should be sophomore RHP Parker McGraw (6-5, 4.86 ERA, 51K) and put CMS into national contention.
Redlands (20-20) returns nine starters among 23 returnees. However the news around the team is 1B, Mark Kirkland who played for the Bulldogs in 2020 and 2022. He has transferred back after playing at a D1 school. Coach Holley calls him the best defensive 1st baseman he’s seen at the college level. Kirkland will hit in the middle of our order and is the all-time single season leader in RBI's. Other returnees include senior OF Luke De Vries (.382, 27 RBI), senior OF Gabriel Ceja (.343, 15 RBI) and senior 3B Tyler Preece (.325, 10 2B, 27 RBI). On the mound are senior RHP Joe Godoy (1-3, 3.63 ERA, 43K) and senior LHP Nathan Buchan (3-3, 6.45 ERA, 30K). Coach Holley says he has a veteran team with some good transfers that should bolster our lineup and pitching staff. The Bulldogs should hit and play good defense, but they need guys to step up on the pitching staff and give us quality innings.
Whittier's (15-24-1) head coach Mike Rizzo has five position players and three starters, but is especially high on senior 1B/RHP Maximus Berber (.299, 23 RBI; 5-6, 4.33 ERA, 55K). The Poets hope for production from senior 2B/SS Nathan Sherman (.306, 7 2B). In relief will be junior Marcos Armenta (2-0, 5.55 ERA, 18K). Coach Rizzo says this year's squad has a lot more depth and should be better defensively and on the mound. It won't have the power that last year's club had, but will have more speed. Occidental went 12-28 and will need top find some gems in this year's recruits to advance up the standings. Cal Tech went 10-30, including a 5-2 win over MIT which went 17-20 to finish sixth in the NEWMAC. SCIAC fans will say it matters in which conference that you play.