DII baseball fall reports: The Lone Star Conference
Let's start our look around DII baseball at the home of the defending national champions.
Today launches the first of the DII baseball fall reports series. For those who are new to the fall reports, this is a quick introduction to what to expect in the coming 2024 season. I go conference-by-conference and focus on five or six teams that I feel have a chance to compete for a spot on the Road to Cary.
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DII baseball fall report 2023: LSC
(The 2023 Lone Star Conference final standings)
Naturally, we begin our look at where the defending national champions — Angelo State — resides: the Lone Star Conference. The Rams finally got over the hump last year and after years of successful runs to Cary, NC, hoisted that trophy high with their first-ever national championship.
The South Central portion of the DII baseball championship bracket was a Lone Star party last year. Four of the six teams that made it — Angelo State, UT Tyler, St. Edward’s, and Lubbock Chrisitan — were all Texas powers, and there is plenty of reason to expect all four to be competitive again.
Last year, UT Tyler was the best hitting team in the conference, while Lubbock Christian brought the lumber and led in home runs, and Angelo State was a run-scoring machine. With Kade Bragg as its ace, Angelo State wasn’t simply the best staff in the LSC, but one of the best pitching arsenals in DII baseball.
Let’s take a quick look around the LSC.
Angelo State
Returning position player to watch: Jacob Guerrero, OF. Head coach Kevin Brooks calls Guerrero an excellent hitter who does a lot of things to help produce runs. He hits for average, has some power, and can steal some bases, and does not strike out much.
Returning pitcher to watch: Braxton Pearson, RHP. Pearson has a 90-94 mph fastball and per Brooks his combination of his power sinker and cutter makes things very difficult on opposing hitters.
Impact freshmen/transfers: Ryder McDaniel, IF. The freshman started at shortstop for the Texas 6A state champs. Brooks calls him a plus defender who knows how to play the game and do little things to help his team win.
Transfers
Dax Dathe, RHP from Texas Tech who sits 93-95 with his fastball and has a plus slider.
Alizaeh Gutierrez LHP from Midland JC who sits 86-89 with a great change-up and was his conference’s pitcher of the year last year.
MLB draft watch: Dathe, Scott Ellis RHP, and Mason Bryant RHP
UT Tyler
Returning position player to watch: Ethan Bedgood, 1B. Bedgood was the Patriots’ leading hitter in 2023 and broke the single-season program record for hits with 90.
Returning pitcher to watch: Garrett Arredondo, RHP. The 6-foot-1, First-Team All-American closer was absurd last season, pitching to a 0.77 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, and 52 strikeouts in 46.2 innings pitched. Per head coach Brent Porche, he has the ability to get extended and throws a 90-92 MPH fastball and a plus-plus slider that spins up to 3000 RPMs.
Impact freshmen/transfers:
Drew Schmidt, a freshman infielder who can play multiple positions
Rawley Hector, RHP from Louisiana Tech: Listed at 6-foot-2, 200 pounds, pitched out of the pen for LA Tech last year.
Nathan Campbell, RHP from Galveston College
Kyle Atkinson, OF from Texas State: The 6-foot-1 outfielder played sparingly over the past two seasons, but seems like he can get the bat on the ball.
Jordan Ardoin, SS from LSU Alexandria: Was a First-Team All-Conference, Golden Glove infielder in the NAIA last year.
Kolby Parker, LHP from Tyler JC: Was lights out in 2021-22 when he split time between the rotation and the bullpen. Last season as a full-time starter was a different story but it seems like there’s potential here.
MLB draft watch: Campbell, Logan Henderson RHP, Dylan Blomquist LHP, Kaston Mason 1B/DH, and Austin Ochoa 3B
Lubbock Christian
Returning position player to watch: Carson Ogilive, SS. A returning First Team All-American, Ogilive led the nation in runs scored per game from the leadoff spot. The right-handed hitting infielder is .510 and posted a .404 batting average and a team-high 1.217 OPS last year.
Returning pitcher to watch: Aydan Alger, LHP. Alger, who is listed at 6-foot-1 and 210 pounds, was the “Friday Night” guy most of the year last year.
Impact transfers:
Shea Bowen, CF from Shasta College. Left-handed hitter hit .388 with nine home runs last year.
Rhett Clark, 3B from Midland College. Hit .375 with 10 home runs last year.
Aidan Moore, RHP from Seward County College. The 6-foot-3 righty moved to the rotation last year after starting his career in the bullpen.
Aaron Molina, RHP from Midland College. A 5-foot-10 right-handed reliever who is a big strikeout guy, but took a step back last year after a breakout 2022.
MLB draft watch: Bowen, Chris Shull RHP, Chris Brown RHP
West Texas A&M
Returning position player to watch: Kory Schmidt, C/1B. Schmidt hit .347 with 22 extra-base hits last season. A plus bat for the heart of the lineup with power.
Returning pitchers to watch: Nick Marshall, RHP. Will be the West Texas A&M “Friday Night” guy for the third year. Per head coach Matt Vanderburg, “his velocity has increased this year after taking the summer off and I expect him to be one of the top arms in the conference.”
Reese Miller, RHP. Pitched well in the Coastal Plains League this summer. “We expect him to be a front-line rotation guy or our closer for this year,” Vanderburg said. “He has been sitting 90-93 this fall with a 3000-plus spin slider.”
Impact freshmen/transfers: Chase Weaver and Tristan Thomas, LHP. Both are true freshmen with a significant chance to pitch in impact innings.
Transfers
Elijah Batista, SS from Western Texas College
Kyle Micklus, C from Lassen College
Jovan Camacho, OF from College of the Canyons
Max Lankford, RHP from Howard College
Nick Yeager, RHP from NAIA Dordt University
MLB draft watch: Miller and Marshall