It is hard to believe that the college baseball season in Oklahoma is just around the corner.
Earlier in December, we sent out a questionnaire to each small college baseball team’s head coach (NCAA D2, NAIA, NJCAA) in the state about their program and outlook for 2024. We’ve had several responses and we are excited to share with you their previews for the upcoming season.
Tuesday, January 9: USAO Drovers
Basics
- Name: University of Science and Arts, Oklahoma (USAO) Drovers
- Location: Chickasha, OK
- Level: NAIA
- Conference: Sooner Athletic Conference
2023 Recap
- Record: 35-20 (SAC: 17-7)
- Conference Finish: Regular Season, 2nd; Conference Tournament, 2nd
- National Tournament: At-large, 1-2, eliminated Opening Round
Head Coach
- Tyle Hankins
- 3rd year as Head Coach at USAO (6th overall)
- Record as Head Coach at USAO: 104-47
Returning Starters
- Peyton McDowall (1B); 2023 Stats: .399/.454/.761, 15 HR, 75 RBI
- Ryan Duncan (CF); 2023 Stats: .236/.407/.279, 29 RBI, 15 SB
- Gabriel Arroyo (RF); 2023 Stats: .314/.418/.451, 4 HR, 23 RBI
- Will Hoch (DH); 2023 Stats: .298/.465/.430, 3 RBI, 22 RBI
- Gunnar Hansen (C); 2023 Stats: .348/.423/.482, 2 HR, 18 RBI
- Ben Lawson (LF): 2023 Stats: .359/.497/.648, 8 HR, 36 RBI
- Christopher Martinez (3B); 2023 Stats: .380/.467/.652, 11 HR, 55 RBI
- Gavin Machado; 2023 Stats: 2023 Stats: .337/.424/.581, HR, 20 RBI
Returning Pitchers
- Megumi Fukuda; 2023 Stats: G 10, GS 8, 33 IP, 4-3, 5.73 ERA, 34 K, 41 BB
- Hagen Earls; 2023 Stats: G 11, 8.2 IP, 0-0, 11.42 ERA, 12 K, 14 BB
- Brian Ereu; 2023 Stats: G 7, 7.1 IP, 0-0, 8.59 ERA, 7 K, 2 BB
- Alden Norquist; 2023 Stats: G 18, 17 IP, 2-2, 6 SV, 8.47 ERA, 19 K, 14 BB
- JD Prather; 2023 Stats: G 5, 5.2 IP, 0-0, 6.35 ERA, 4 K, 3 BB
2024 Outlook
The Drovers return a lot of production from a 2023 squad that competed for both a Sooner Athletic Conference regular season and tournament title, coming up just short and finishing 2nd in both. They did receive an at-large bid to the NAIA National Tournament Opening Round where they defeated their bracket’s #1 seed before bowing out.
Peyton McDowall was a 3rd Team All American and 1st Team All SAC last year and returns the most production.
Christopher Martinez was a 1st Team All SAC in 2023 with 11 HR and 55 RBI. He’s worked hard on his defense at 3B and it should help him be a better all around player.
Ben Lawson was 2nd Team All SAC last year and had the 3rd best slugging percentage (.648) on the team of the returning players.
Along with a slew of returning starters from the 2023 lineup, the Drovers have some new faces that should provide some more consistency.
Ben Bach and Nolan Herchock are NCAA D2 transfers that should help. Bach will hit in the middle of the lineup and will play solid defense. Herchock is coming off a torn ACL which he played on and still put up good numbers.
Two players will come in and provide some depth at SS. Ian Ortiz is a transfer from another NAIA school that hit in one of the toughest conferences in the country. Devin Alvarez is a JUCO transfer who hit .330 in a wood bat league.
Gage Ninness is a utility player who is transferring from another NAIA school that has put up numbers wherever he’s played.
Pitching is where the Drovers have the question mark. They only return 5 pitchers from last year’s team with only 1 returning starter. Coach Hankins went the transfer route to address those “concerns.”
USAO will have 3 NCAA D1 transfers that will try to make a mark on the mound in Sam Replogle, Fernando Medina, and Jared Adams.
Ryan Cullinane and Kyler Denton are 2 JUCO transfers that could make a mark as well. Cullinane pitched at one of the best JUCO’s in California putting up good numbers. Denton pitched up the road at Redlands CC where he had 76 Ks against 31 BB in 74.1 pitched (4.00 ERA).
Coach Hankins like the fact that this year’s squad is a mature group and plays the game hard. The 2024 team returns most of the lineup and with the new additions, it will be deeper and should be more consistent. If the new arms on the pitching staff can come around and compete like they did in the fall, they could be an exciting group to watch.
Look for the Drovers to be Sooner Athletic Conference title contenders once again and because of that make the NAIA National Tournament.
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