With a star studded pitching staff and loads of momentum coming off an NCAA Regional Finals appearance, the UC Santa Barbara baseball program has plenty of reasons for optimism going into the 2025 season.
The lingering question that remains is where will the offense come from as many of the Gauchos’ top bats from last season have moved on.
“We are a little dinged up right now so there are not a lot of options. The healthy guys are going to play and need to perform,” said UC Santa Barbara coach Andrew Checketts. “We’ve got some retuners that have played a little bit and we’ve got some new guys coming in that we think are talented.”
The Gauchos are ranked No. 22 nationally in most of the preseason polls and were selected as the top team in the Big West preseason coaches poll with nine of the conference’s other 10 coaches placing the Gauchos atop their ballots.
The lofty expectations are driven by the return of several talented pitchers including Tyler Bremner, who emerged as a dominant force on the mound last season. Bremner has been named a preseason All-American by multiple publications, including Baseball America, Perfect Game and D1Baseball.
Perhaps the most telling accolade that Bremner has garnered this preseason is his ranking as the No. 2 starting pitcher in all of college baseball by D1Baseball.
Joining Bremner as a weekend starter will be 6’5” sophomore Jackson Flora, who was All-Big West Honorable Mention as a Freshman. The Sunday starter will likely come down to Calvin Proskey or AJ Krodel. Fellow Sophomore Cole Tryba will take on the role as closer after making a team-high 27 appearances last season.
San Marcos High alum Chase Hoover, who transferred from TCU as well as veterans Reed Moring and Frank Camarillo will provide quality depth as starting pitchers and in the bullpen.
“There is potential. There are definitely a lot of high-ceiling guys. They have got to be productive and go do it,” Checketts said. “In terms of potential, I think you can look around and see a lot of guys that have a chance to have good professional careers.”
In the field, Corey Nunez returns at shortstop after missing most of last season due to injury.. Jonathan Mendez replaced Nunez at shortstop last season as a freshman and acquitted himself well. He will likely slot in at second base, giving the Gauchos a solid duo up the middle.
Arizona transfer Xavier Esquer should get an opportunity to contribute at third base as well as Ohio State transfer Nolan Farley. Jeremiah Crain from Tacoma Community College is recovering from injury and will be unavailable at the beginning of the season, but was also in the mix at third base.
UCLA transfer Jack Holman, will likely hold down first base and provide some pop in the lineup after leading the Bruins with 13 home runs in 2023.
Senior LeTrey McCollum will start in center field after catching fire at the plate in the back half of last season. However, projected senior starter Calvin Reiss is out indefinitely with an injury. The Gauchos will likely rely on sophomore Rex DeAngelis to be a major contributor as well as Santa Barbara City College transfer Cole Kosciusko. Freshman Rowan Kelly is also in the mix to receive playing time.
Junior college transfer Nathan Vargas and Freshman Ian Fernandez figure to split the catching duties.
A potential major piece in the middle of the lineup is Pomona Pitzer transfer Isaac Kim, who garnered Division 3 All-American honors last season after hitting .438 with 17 homers, 17 doubles and 82 RBI. He will likely DH and contribute at first base.
Weather permitting the Gauchos will open the season at home on Friday against Campbell University. First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m.
