SAN MARCOS, Calif. – Coming off a historic 2024 season, the Cal State San Marcos baseball team will get back into the swing of things as it begins its 2025 season with a four-game series against Saint Martin's on Friday through Sunday at CSUSM Baseball Field.
 
Friday's season opener will begin at 2 p.m. and will be followed by an 11 a.m. doubleheader on Saturday before the noon series finale on Sunday.
 
LAST SEASON

• CSUSM made its first-ever appearance at the NCAA Division II West Regional in 2024 after finishing second in the CCAA standings – a half-game behind regular-season and tournament champion Cal State Monterey Bay.
• The Cougars tallied their most overall wins (27) in the Division II era (2016-present) and posted their most conference wins (26) since joining the CCAA.
• CCAA Player of the Year Garrett Teunissen led the conference with a .380 batting average, 22 stolen bases and 12 sacrifice bunts.
• Joining Teunissen on the CCAA first team was Preston Kelly, Phoenix Sommay and outgoing senior Luke Reece. Ethan Rivera was named to the second team while Cameron Mahaffy was named an honorable mention.
• Turning the Cougars around in just his second season with the program, Head Coach Jose Garcia was named the 2024 CCAA Coach of the Year.
• Reece, Kelly, Teunissen, Rivera and Sommay each earned NCBWA All-West Region honors while Reece, Teunissen and Kelly also earned ABCA/Rawlings All-West Regions honors. Reece and Teunissen earned their third All-West Region honor from the D2CCA.
• The Cougars hit .317 as a team, ranking second in the CCAA and 41st nationally.
• CSUSM led the conference in scoring (8.0), doubles per game (1.96), on-base percentage (.421), sacrifice bunts (56) and slugging percentage (.494).
• The Cougars' 56 sac bunts ranked fifth nationally.
• Phoenix Sommay enters the year with a 43-game reached-base streak dating back to last season, tying the program record. He reached base in all but one game in 2024 and had the longest hitting streak of the year at 21 games.
• Senior Nolan Long is CSUSM's top returning pitcher after recording a 4.20 ERA with 50 strikeouts in 19 appearances last season. Long's 9.12 strikeouts per nine innings led the CCAA. At 156 strikeouts, he is just 17 away from tying Garrett Apker's program record of 173.
• Closer Preston Kelly led the CCAA with seven saves in 2024. With 16 for his career, he is three away from tying Justin Hertzmann's team record of 19.

 
2025 OUTLOOK

• CSUSM was picked to finish third in the 2025 CCAA Preseason Coaches Poll.
• The Cougars' roster of 39 includes 19 transfers, 14 returners and six freshmen.
• CSUSM has 18 pitchers in its arsenal, with 15 right-handers and three southpaws.
• The Cougars have 22 position players, including one two-way player.
• All but seven Cougars are upperclassmen.

FIRST SERIES AGAINST SAINT MARTIN'S

• The Cougars and Saints will be looking for better weather this season as rain completely canceled last year's opening series in San Marcos.
• This will be the first-ever meeting between CSUSM and Saint Martin's.
• The Saints were picked to finish last out of five teams in the 2025 GNAC Preseason Coaches Poll after finishing 2024 with a 17-34 overall record and 10-22 conference record.
• Sophomore utility player Peter Hollabaugh is Saint Martin's top returner in the lineup as he posted a .283 batting average in 41 games last season.
• Blaze Wong is the only returner from the Saints' 2024 rotation. He posted a 4.70 ERA in 59.1 innings.
• The Saints hit .255 as a team last season while its pitching staff recorded an ERA of 5.39 while opponents hit .285 against them.
• CSUSM will be one of two CCAA opponents for Saint Martin's this season as it will face Stanislaus State in a three-game series next weekend in Turlock.

THE GARCIA FILE

• Head Coach Jose Garcia enters his third season in San Marcos after taking over the CSUSM baseball program on Aug. 1, 2022.
• Garcia was the 2024 CCAA Coach of the Year in just his second season as a head coach. The Cougars finished second in the CCAA standings and made their first-ever appearances in the NCAA West Regional and CCAA Tournament. CSUSM's 27-21 overall record and 26-13 conference record were the program's best since joining NCAA Division II in 2016.
• The Cougars ended the 2023 season with an overall record of 20-25 and finished ninth in CCAA play at 14-21.
• Garcia came to CSUSM from fellow CCAA member Chico State where he was the top assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for the Wildcats.
• Joining Chico's staff as a student assistant in Fall 2012, Garcia helped the Wildcats notch 286 victories, seven postseason appearances, two CCAA Championships, one NCAA West Region Championship and one College World Series appearance in 10 years with the program.
• Serving as Chico's primary hitting and infield coach, Garcia coached the Wildcats' offense to a conference-record .344 team batting average while assisting the team to a 34-15 overall record in 2022 despite only returning seven players from the COVID-shortened 2020 season.
• In 2017, Garcia helped Chico to another CCAA record with a win-loss total of 34-4 in conference play while also helping the team to an NCAA Division II-best .983 fielding percentage.
• Garcia is a graduate of Chico State and earned his bachelor's degree in Kinesiology with an emphasis in coaching. He later earned his master's degree in School and Counseling Psychology with an emphasis in Positive Coaching from the University of Missouri in 2017.
• Garcia has a career record of 47-46 (.505).