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.
- Today: Southwestern Christian Eagles
- Tuesday, January 9: USAO Drovers
- Thursday, January 11: OK Wesleyan Eagles
Basics
- School: Southwestern Christian University Eagles
- Location: Bethany, OK
- Level: NAIA & NCCAA
- Conference: Sooner Athletic Conference
- Team website: SCU Baseball
2023 Recap
- Record: 37-22 (SAC: 11-13)
- Conference Finish: 7th
- NAIA National Tournament: N/A
- NCCAA National Tournament: Runner-up
Head Coach
- Joe Blackwell
- 10th season as head coach at SCU
- Career Record: 309-170 (.645)
Returning Players
Position Players
- Jhors Gomez: .493/.592/.912, 18 HR, 85 RBI (1st team NAIA All American/All SAC/NCCAA Player of the Year)
- Dario Paredes: .442/.526.844, 21 HR, 95 HR (NAIA Ball Freshman of the Year)
- Jake Cox: .338/.441/.410, 35 RBI, 11 SB
- Joseph Boone: .258/.380/.300, 25 RBI
- Tyler Reeves: .324/.447/.373, 37 RBI
- Phoenix Nelson: .307/.369/.361, 28 RBI, 10 SB
- Braden Browning: .288/.376/.394, 34 RBI, 10 SB
- Zane Bandfield: .260/.368/.432, 5 HR, 22 RBI
- Draike Sparks: .374/.511/.640, 8 HR, 51 RBI
- Kyler Ayers: .214/.339/.316, 15 SB
Pitchers
- Gabriel Fiueroa: G/GS 16/16, 97.1 IP, CG 4, W-L 11-2, ERA 4.16, 131 K, 18 BB
- Henrry Ogando: G/GS 16/17, 81.2 IP, CG 3, W-L 6-6, ERA 4.85, 83 K, 29 BB
- Connor O’Malley: G/GS 15/7, 58.2 IP, W-L 5-2, ERA 5.52, 43 K, 10 BB
Potential Incoming Impact Players
- Matys Ganon (C) – NEO
- Mozart Duarte (LHP) – Connors St
- Ariel Tejada (RHP) – Connor St
- Zachary Gaudreau (LHP) – NEO
- Matt Gamblin (LHP) – Rose St
- Korey Aytes (RHP) – Coffeyville CC
- Alexis Hurens (RHP) – Seminole St
Season Outlook
The Eagles return a ton of offensive production from a team that averaged 9 runs a game last year. Leading the way is Jhors Gomez and Dario Paredes. They combined for 39 HRs and 190 RBIs in 2023. Gomez was the NCCAA Player of the Year and a 1st Team NAIA All American while Paredes was the NAIA Ball Freshman of the Year. Both are NAIA All American type players and potential player of the year candidates. Draike Sparks is another really good offensive player that had 8 HRs, 51 RBIs, and a 1.151 OPS in ’23.
The “opportunity” for SCU in 2024 will be pitching. The Eagles do return Gabriel Figueroa (an All SAC Team member in ’23) and Henrry Oganado. They had 7 complete games and over 200 strikeouts between them. However, after those 2 and Connor O’Malley, the rest of the pitching staff will be made up of new faces. Coach Blackwell brought in 6 JUCO pitchers that should help in both depth and experience.
Coach Blackwell likes the “solid core” that is returning and the newcomers. He said the team is “united after a season of playing together coupled with a productive fall semester.”
While making the NCCAA World Series and finishing runner-up 2 of the last 3 years is nice, the goal for the Eagles is to win a SAC Championship and ultimately making the NAIA National Tournament for the first time in program history. With the core they return and if the pitching can come around after Figueroa and Ogando, that could very well be the case in 2024.
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