The San Diego State Aztecs defeated the San Jose State Spartans Sunday afternoon, 4-1, capturing a share of their first Mountain West regular-season championship since 2023—the first championship under first-year head coach Kevin Vance.
“No one can ever take this away from them,” Vance said. “That’s what we’re here to do. We are here to develop these guys as people and as players. We are here to win championships and get some diplomas.”
The Aztecs have had a tremendous season up to this point, but their plans for success are just getting started. At the beginning of the season, their goals were very direct: to win the Mountain West and its tournament, and to reach a regional for the first time since 2018. As of now, they are certainly on track to achieve the rest of their goals, but let’s take a look at how they got to this point and what it will take moving forward for them to reign supreme.
First and foremost, everything starts with the pitching. SDSU hired Vance, in particular, to revamp their pitching prowess from years prior, and that is certainly what he did.
“I wanted to learn as much as I could from KV,” said senior pitcher Aidan Russell of his coach. “I’d heard great things from everybody I’ve talked to, and he came here and did exactly what I thought he would do.”
Russell is one of many pitchers to keep an eye on this postseason, as he is tallying a 2.52 earned run average with a 6-2 record as a long relief option out of the bullpen. Another pitcher worth mentioning is starter Rohan Lettow (3.67 ERA, 87 strikeouts and a 5-1 record), who was named one of the top 100 pitchers in college baseball.
The Aztec pitchers have combined for a total of 466 strikeouts so far this year, bringing a powerful arsenal into the postseason.
The other aspect to keep an eye on in this postseason is, of course, the offense. At this point, the Aztecs have six hitters (Jabin Trosky, Tyce Peterson, Jake Jackson, Zach Justice, Adam Magpoc and Max Farrell) who are hitting above a .290 batting average.
“It’s not one guy and it never will be,” Vance said. “I think that’s why we have had so much success because they have bought into that one through nine approach where we all got to be locked in.”
Additionally, the Aztec offense has erupted for 54 home runs this year and a team OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage) of .810, well above the national team average.
Lastly, the most important aspect of the Aztecs’ potential postseason run can be summed up in three words: adrenaline, energy and tenacity.
“Everything is contagious,” said shortstop Jabin Trosky. “Energy is contagious. Everybody on our team, guys that aren’t playing on the bench, everyone’s bringing that energy and it’s contagious, so we just ride with that.”
When watching this SDSU baseball team’s postseason run, you will see Max Farrell pounding his chest after taking a great pitch for a ball, Carson Johnson screaming at his teammates in the dugout after getting out of a tough jam and Dawson Santana sprinting down the line while shaking his head in approval after taking a pitch to the back.
Reactions that are definitely warranted in the playoffs are just the everyday emotions for this gritty Aztec team.
The toughness and swagger of this specific team can prove advantageous if they carry that mantra into the postseason.
“We’re not done yet,” Vance said. “I’m really proud of this group and how they have handled things thus far and yeah, anything’s possible. Anything.”
