2025 Baseball Season Preview

Erik Holth, CBC Sports Information Director

            Conway, Ark. – Coming off a run to the American Midwest Conference tournament championship game last season, Central Baptist College baseball throws out the first pitch of their season on Friday night when they take on the #4 LSU-Shreveport Pilots in Shreveport. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.

            "Last year was really fun," said Dr. Aaron Brister, the head coach who begins his 12^th season at the helm. "We overachieved in my opinion and I thought our guys really gelled well. The teams that are hot at the end are the ones that win. We had the best pitching staff in the conference, the most stolen bases in the conference. I felt like we deserved an at large bid, but it didn't happen. Our plan is to win the conference and go to regionals."

            Last year's team went 38-15 and 14-7 in the AMC. Six players earned all-tournament team selections, with Gram Middleton, Austin Teal and Ruben Hernandez all on the first team and Austin LeJeune, Danilo Taborda and Ryan Dauphinee all earned second team spots. Cade McBride was also the Newcomer of the Year and Dual Position Player of the Year while Dylan Parton earned freshman pitcher of the year. Middleton, McBride and Chett McDaniel all earned spots on the all-tournament team while Luke McBride earned his second consecutive Gold Glove selection.

            Middleton, Dauphinee, Parton and McDaniel are all back to lead a talented group of players that includes Luis Ramos, Jaxon Kirkhuff, Rolando Rodriguez, Jackson Pope, Brennan Duhe, Cameron Harden, Ayden Qualls, Landon Hitchcock, Josh Albat, Cole Garcia, Rhett James, Jackson Lindsey, Dominic Smith, Aaron Prince, Ian Velazquez and Julio Escobar. "We return all of our pitchers except LeJeune, from last season," said Brister. "We have all of these guys returning and it's going to be interesting. We have to produce runs and we have guys in new positions. Some of them have been backups just waiting for their chance."

            A talented crop of newcomers looks to build on last season's success, led by North Ark transfer Garrett Fitts, who led the state in stolen bases last year with an impressive number of 39. Joining him are transfers Josh Lumsden (National Park), Ryan Meyer (Waldorf), Hunter Belton (Southern Arkansas), Kevin Toala (North Central Missouri College), Iziah Tafoya (Lamar CC), George Astacio (Southwestern Illinois), Brayden Mayencourt (Columbia Basin College), and Cody Kennon (ASU-Mountain Home) along with freshman Carter Harris and reserve team callups Julian Rodriguez, Eric de Jesus and Devin Miller. "We brought in four new arms that are going to be really dominant for us," added Brister. "We have new players at shortstop, third base and in the corner outfield spots as well as a new catcher. I'm really excited about what we have. It's go time!"

            CBC is coming off of back-to-back third place finishes in the regular season. Following two games with #4 LSU-Shreveport to open on Friday night and early Saturday, the Mustangs wrap the opening weekend with a matchup against #17 Indiana-Southeast, the first meeting ever between the Mustangs and the Grenadiers. The home opening doubleheader will be on Feb. 7 at Burns Park in North Little Rock against Ottawa. "Nothing less than a championship is our expectation this season," added Brister. "We have two giants to start the season, so we'll see what we can do." AMC play begins on Feb. 21 for the Mustangs when they host the UHSP Eutectics for the first of consecutive home series to open conference play.