SSBR Fall Report – East Central Tigers – Sooner State Baseball Report

The 2026 college season will be here before you know it as the majority of our NCAA D2 squads will begin their seasons the last weekend of January.

In the past, we have looked ahead to the season with season previews, but this year we are changing it up a bit with a fall report that will also provide a look to the season ahead.

SSBR recently sent out questionnaires to each head coach of the small college (NCAA D2, NAIA, NCCAA) and JUCO schools in the state. We asked them to provide who their top returners, top newcomers, and top performers were in the fall. We’ve compiled that information into the fall report with an outlook for the upcoming 2026 season.

Today’s team: East Central Tigers

Level: NCAA Division 2

Conference: Great American Conference

2025 Overall Record: 14-35

2025 GAC Record: 8-25 (11th)

Head Coach: Kevin Paxson

Head Coaching Experience: 2nd year (all at ECU

Top Returning Players

Lake Strickland (Sr), INF: Returning from injury; Middle of lineup power bat
Blake Seefeldt (Sr), P/DH: Middle of lineup power bat; Plus velo on the mound
Tyler Akers (Jr), OF: Led team in stolen bases in 2025
Joel Hogan (Sr), P: Starting pitcher; Great Fall; Projected to be big part of pitching staff
Ryan Dembrowski (So), P: Threw big innings as a freshman; Developing; Excited for future

Top Newcomers

Grayson Christian, P (McNeese State): Grad student with a lot of experience; Level headed; Commands the zone; Competes every pitch and attacks the hitter
Tom Chessell, INF (Clarendon CC): Strong, physical middle of the order bat
Maddox Tully, P (Coffeyville CC): Great competitor on the mound; Commands the zone with 4 different pitches; Natural lefty run and very athletic
Evan Groh, P (Clarendon CC): Big guy with natural velo; Throws fast ball hard and spins breaking balls really well off of fastball
Caleb Peek, P (Coffeyville CC): Crafty; Keeps hitters off balance; Any speed in any count; Competitive on the mound and controls the run game

Top Performers in Fall

Blake Seefeldt: Emphasized focus on the mound while having great Fall at the plate; Projected to have big season on mound and the plate
Maddox Tully: Great Fall on the mound; Competitor projected rotation pitcher
Lake Strickland: Got back to 100% healthy and had great Fall
Ethan Rone

Outlook

Head coach, Kevin Paxson is heading into his 2nd season at the helm of the East Central program. While it may not seem like a lot, the Tigers’ 14 wins in 2025 were the first double digit wins since 2017 and the most since 2016.

Paxson said in 2026, the Tigers will need to improve on situational and 2 strike hitting. ECU left too many runners on the bases in 2025.

Also look for the Tigers to improve on the mound and in the field in allowing free bases.

The roster has improved for the 2026 season with several players on the roster with Oklahoma ties. Paxson says they are excited about this team and looking forward to the 2026 season.

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