The Union-Tribune is previewing San Diego’s college baseball teams. Up next: Cal State San Marcos.
The Cal State San Marcos baseball team had its first winning season in eight years in 2024, finishing a half-game out of first place in the California Collegiate Athletic Association.
San Marcos advanced to both the CCAA Tournament and NCAA Division II Tournament for the first time in school history.
The Cougars’ offense led the way. They were first in the CCAA with eight runs per game, second in batting average (.317) and third in home runs (55).
That ed a pitching staff that posted a 6.63 ERA in the hitter-happy CCAA, where Cal Poly Pomona led the conference with a 4.76 ERA.
So what will the Cougars do for an encore?
Third-year San Marcos coach Jose Garcia has positioned the program for sustained success. Expectations are for this season to meet — or exceed — what the Cougars accomplished a year ago. San Marcos has 14 returners ed by 19 transfers and six freshmen.
The Cougars (4-1), who were picked for third place in the 11-team CCAA in a preseason poll, opened the season with a four-game sweep of Saint Martin’s before dropping a game to Colorado School of Mines.
San Marcos was off this weekend before opening CCAA play at home next week against Cal State Dominguez Hills.
2024 record: 27-21 overall; 26-13 (second) CCAA
Top returners: 3B Garrett Teunissen (.380, 5 HR, 44 RBIs), the 2024 CCAA Player of the Year, is back along with all-conference selections OF Cameron Mahaffy (.349, 9 HR, 45 RBIs), OF Phoenix Sommay (.341, 4 HR, 37 RBIs) and C/1B Ethan Rivera (.368, 2 HR, 34 RBIs). The back end of the bullpen is secure with RHP Preston Kelly (5-1, 3.92 ERA, 7 SV). RHPs Spencer Anderson (3-2, 4.30 ERA) and Sammy Murphy (2-4, 7.93 ERA) and LHP Conner Gleissner (3-3, 8.90) figure in the starting rotation.
Key additions: Grossmont College transfer OF Hayden Tregidga already has 11 RBIs in the first five games. Others in the starting lineup include Taft College transfer OF Jackson Berry, Fresno State transfer 2B Marco Pirruccello and Akron transfer SS Fisher Pyatt. Potential starters include College of Marin RHP Zach Coleman and Cal State Bakersfield transfer RHP Masen McDonnell.
Outlook: The Cougars will miss SS Luke Reece (.354, 12 HR, 48 RBIs), who transferred to Point Loma Nazarene, but there is a solid returning nucleus that has the potential to make the offense as productive as it was last season. San Marcos lost two of its top starters on the mound, but the Cougars have reloaded and could be even better on the mound.
Preseason prediction: California Collegiate Athletic Association coaches poll: 1. Cal State Monterey Bay (9 first-place votes), 2. Cal Poly Pomona (1), 3. Cal State San Marcos (1), 4. San Francisco State, 5. Chico State, 6. CS San Bernardino, 7. CS Los Angeles, 8. CS Dominguez Hills, 9. CS East Bay, 10. Sonoma State, 11. Stanislaus State.
CCAA Tournament: The six-team tournament will be played May 7-10 at Cal State Los Angeles’ Reeder Field. The first round is single elimination for the lowest four seeds, then the teams are reseeded in a double-elimination format. The winner receives the conference’s automatic berth to the NCAA Division II Tournament.
