Grab your ballpark dog, throw on a cap and find your favorite seat in Tony Gwynn Stadium; the 2025 collegiate baseball season is upon us.
After a rocky 2024 season for the San Diego State baseball team, finishing with a 17-37 record (10-20 MW), the upcoming year is filled with hope for the Scarlet and Black.
The off-season had a rocky start, with standout freshman Colby Turner transferring to the University of Michigan. Turner, appearing in 34 games, hit .361 with four home runs.
Turner was one of several freshmen who found themselves an everyday starting spot on the diamond. Head Coach Shaun Cole spoke about his decision to start the young guys and rebuild the program for a year.
“I started thinking long term, getting those freshmen as old as possible, as quickly as possible, and that carried into the summer,” he said. “That core group that you’ll see this year, like [Finley] Bates, Jake Jackson, Zane Kelly, just to name a few. Those guys, yeah, they’re sophomores, but with the experience they gained last year, they’re old sophomores, which is good. So there was definitely a plan last year to speed up that process and hopefully be able to change things quickly heading into the season.”
Of the notable returners, starting shortstop Finley Bates leads the charge. In his freshman year, Bates brought home the 2024 Mountain West Freshman of the Year award, becoming just the fourth Aztec to win since 2007. The award was won off the back of his 52 starts, hitting .292 with three home runs.
In the transfer portal era, loyalty is a rarity. Bates talked about why his loyalty resided at SDSU.
“I’ve developed a really good relationship with the coaches and my teammates. Relationships are so rare in this game. And having developed these great relationships with these coaches, it’s hard to come by,” he said. “I’d like to keep that loyalty to them and really build on this class that we have now and really build this program from the ground up.”
Amid Bate’s breakout year came an uncharacteristic problem for the Aztecs, finding a consistent Friday-night starting pitcher. The Scarlet and Black began the year with pitcher Chris Canada on the bump for Friday nights following his successful 2023 season as the Aztecs’ No. 2 pitcher. Canada battled injuries and struggled, posting an 11.37 ERA (Earned Run Average) in 12 appearances.
In light of Canada’s struggles came pitcher Omar Serrano, a familiar face who had been with the program since 2022. Serrano shined, finishing with a first-team all-Mountain West selection and a 3.06 ERA, tossing his first career complete game along the way.
“He and I had the conversation over the winter break that every year in this program, he has taken a step forward, and he needs to continue that. He had an opportunity to sign pro last year, and to his credit, he decided to come back and bet on himself,” Cole commented regarding Serrano’s increased role. “I think a lot of it has to do with him wanting to be the Friday night guy, he really wants to lead this program in the postseason. Having a Friday night guy who’s here for four years, and the experience that he has is huge.”
Serrano kept his offseason reflection and goals for the season short and sweet.
“I focused on getting stronger, building my Velo up, also improving team chemistry and getting closer with the guys,” Serrano said. “I want it to be somewhat the same, if not better this year, looking to get 14 starts and then just get that ERA lower than what it was last year.”
Serrano isn’t the only piece to the pitching staff, as freshman pitcher Peyton Rodgers is looking to make a major impact in his first year with the program, but being a San Diego area native playing for the Aztecs means a lot to him.
“It feels very special to play in this hometown,” Rodgers said. “I grew up here and have a lot of friends and family here. It’s just really cool.”
Rodgers spoke on the mindset of the bullpen, knowing they hold the keys to success.
“I think it really comes down to how our pitchers come out, obviously, we need to hit, but really the backbone is pitching,” Rodgers said. “We need to come in and just shut the door whenever we can, relievers need to shut the door, starters need to go as long as they can, and if we do that I think we get the job done.”
Junior pitcher Marko Sipila transferred to SDSU after two seasons at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, drawn to the established coaching staff and promising direction of the team.
“I was really attracted to the coaching staff here, they’ve got a lot of experience on the pro side of things, and just overall great coaching,” Sipila said. “I really liked what the coach said when I came here on my visit. He was talking to me about the direction of the program and kind of what was going on. I thought it was heading in the right direction and I could come here and contribute to the team and help it win.”
On the coaching side, Cole made a splash in early October, adding former MLB all-star and World Series champion reliever Mark Melancon to his staff as a pitching development coordinator.
While being limited in his in-person role, Cole dove into what Melancon brings to the program as an established professional pitcher.
“I knew number one going back to even with recruiting, we’re going to add to this coaching staff, a really good human being and a good example and a good mentor for young young men. And then the cherry on top is that he was a multi-time All-Star World Series Champion, closed in the big leagues. So all those things are huge right now,” he said.
The pieces have come together since the Scarlet and Black last took the field in May of 2024, but one thing remains to be discussed, the chemistry of the clubhouse. Chemistry is the key piece to building a winning culture, and Bates held a level of excitement to see how the newfound brotherhood will translate come first pitch.
“This fall, we’ve really put an emphasis on just building culture. Last year, I think that’s something we kind of struggled with when we faced adversity,” he said. “Doing a lot of things off the field as a team, I think that we developed a lot better relationships with each other. I look forward to when we face adversity, seeing how we can handle that now.”
The proof was in the numbers last year for the concerns of the team’s chemistry, as they won just four road games the whole season, losing 23 of their 27 contests.
Serrano echoed Bates’s sentiments, sharing his perspective on why this year will be different.
“It’s been a lot of team bonding. We did a bowling event where all the guys went to the bowling alley, got pizza after and then we also had team bonfires at the beach,” he said.”We’ve spent a lot of time at the field together. Even when practice is over we usually take a couple hours to leave just because we like hanging out with each other.”
The team as a whole is in the final stages of preparation, hitting a plane and heading to Arizona in two weeks for the MLB Desert Invitational. The Aztecs will kick off their season against Seton Hall before facing Grand Canyon then ending their stint in the desert with a matchup against Nebraska.
As for the goals for the weekend, Cole kept it simple.
“To go 3-0.”
