LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The New Mexico State baseball team is set to embark on its 2018 campaign beginning this Friday, Feb. 16, at 6:05 p.m. MT when it hosts Towson for a three-game weekend series at Presley Askew Field.
 
PROBABLE STARTERS
Friday, Feb. 16 at 6:05 p.m.
NM State: Kyle Bradish | RHP
Towson: Michael Adams | RHP
 
Saturday, Feb. 17 at 2:05 p.m.
NM State: Justin Dehn | RHP
Towson: David Marriggi | LHP
 
Sunday, Feb. 18 at 10:05 a.m.
NM State: Jonathan Groff | LHP
Towson: Alex Cuas | RHP
 
GET YOUR SEASON TICKETS NOW!
With the start of the 2018 season tickets, Aggie fans can be a part of the action for all 29 home games (including three double-headers) in general admission for $75. Season tickets priced at $100 guarantee fans a seat in the reserved section of 104 behind home plate. Fans can purchase 2018 Aggie baseball season tickets by going to the Pan American Center ticket office or by calling 575-646-1420.
 
GAMEDAY PROMOTION
Aggies fans are encouraged to come out to Presley Askew Field for the season and home-opener on Friday night. Following Friday's tilt, fans can participate in Pepsi Baseball Bingo at Saturday's game with great prizes included. Sunday morning's showdown features breakfast and baseball where the first 50 fans to the stadium receive a free breakfast burrito.
 
GET CONNECTED
Get up to the minute information and news about the NM State baseball team all season on Twitter, and Instagram by following @NMStateBaseball and on Facebook.com/NMSUAthletics.
 
LISTEN UP!
Aggie fans that can't make it to the game can listen to Adam Young (@youngpbp) all weekend on 91.5 FM KRUX. Fans can also listen to the game live with their mobile or tablet device on the TuneIn app for free by searching KRUX.
 
TAKING A LOOK AT TOWSON
The Towson Tigers are coming off a 20-34 overall record with a 6-18 mark in Colonial Athletic Association play in 2017. The Tigers return six positional players who started in 40 or more games last season and three-of-five pitchers with five or more starts on the bump.
 
Towson's entire coaching staff has a new look in 2018 with first-year head coach Matt Tyner being joined by new hires Miles Miller and Tanner Biagini as his assistants. Mickey Willard also joins the staff as a volunteer assistant coach. Tyner arrived with the Tigers after spending the previous four seasons as the assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at the University of Richmond. 
 
Shortstop Richie Palacios was named an Honorable Mention 2018 Preseason All-CAA selection in a vote by the league's head coaches. Palacios, who is tabbed as the league's best pro prospect among position players by D1 Baseball, is coming off a season in which he hit .338 with 14 doubles, three triples, five home runs and 29 RBIs.  He also scored 43 runs and stole 19 bases.
 
LOAD 'EM UP
Of the 38 active players on the NM State roster, 21 have transferred in from the junior college ranks the past two seasons. The Aggies will not be short of any experience, boasting nine seniors and 19 juniors on the opening-day roster. Five sophomores and eight freshmen round out the squad for fourth-year head coach Brian Green.
 
MAKING HISTORY
Following last season, the Aggies made history in the 2017 MLB Draft. NM State pitcher Marcel Renteria was selected in the sixth round, pick 187, by the New York Mets.
 
This was the first time in program history that two Aggies had been drafted in the first six rounds in back-to-back years as Daniel Johnson was selected in the fifth round of the 2016 draft by the Washington Nationals. Renteria was also just the fifth NM State player all-time to be drafted in the first 10 rounds.
 
RECORD SETTING SEASON IN 2017
After an impressive statistical year in 2017, NM State and its players set multiple program records. With his nine triples, Brent Sakurai etched his name in the record books and topped the previous season-high of eight which was held by four previous Aggies. With a save in the final regular-season series, closer Ruger Rodriguez put his name atop the single-season record book tied with Scott Coffman (2011) and Orlando Griego (1989) for the most saves in one season at NM State with nine. 
 
NM State as a team also set new records with 31 triples which surpassed the previous single-season high of 29 and set a new season record in fielding percentage with a .969 mark in 2017.

NATIONALLY-RANKED RECRUITING CLASSES
Collegiate Baseball announced its top-40 recruiting classes in NCAA Division I baseball on Sept. 22. For the third-straight year, the New Mexico State was recognized for having one of the top nationally ranked recruiting classes, coming in at No. 37.
 
The Aggies' spot on the list puts them above notable teams like Baylor, Maryland, Texas Tech and Wake Forest, all of whom made it to the 2017 College World Series.
 
AGGIES DUBBED RUNNER-UP IN PRESEASON POLL
New Mexico State was picked to finish second in the Western Athletic Conference with 54 points and a pair of first-place votes. The 2018 WAC Preseason Coaches' Poll selected Grand Canyon to finish first with five first-place votes. Sacramento State finished third and received one first-place vote in the poll.
 
Seattle U was tabbed at fourth and nabbed the remaining first-place vote. With 32 points CSU Bakersfield was chosen to finish in fifth and just behind with 30 points, Utah Valley was projected in sixth. Spots seven through nine were comprised of UTRGV, Northern Colorado and Chicago State, respectively.
 
FOUR AGGIES EARN PRESEASON HONORS
New Mexico State's Mason Fishback and Kyle Bradish were selected as WAC Preseason Player and Pitcher of the Year, respectively. In total four Aggies were selected for the 2018 Preseason All-WAC Team, which led the conference. 
 
Fishback was named a Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Second Team All-American and earned First Team All-WAC honors in 2017. The catcher became just the second player in program history to earn Collegiate Baseball Newspaper All-American honors. In 53 starts the Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. native boasted a .365 batting average to go along with 16 doubles, eight home runs and 52 runs batted in.
 
Bradish was also named to the First Team All-WAC following an impressive sophomore season. The pitcher anchored the starting rotation with an 8-2 record and a 3.20 ERA in 15 games. The right-hander led the team and finished second in the WAC with 89 strikeouts and tied for the team and conference lead in wins with eight. Bradish followed up the school season by earning All-Star honors during the summer with the Falmouth Commodores in the prestigious Cape Cod Summer League.
 
After a standout rookie season Joey Ortiz was named to the 2018 Preseason All-WAC Team. The infielder excelled in his first year collegiately as the everyday third baseman. Ortiz committed only three errors in 54 games with 53 starts at the hot corner. The Garden Grove, Calif. native ended the season with a .979 fielding percentage and batted .306 with 14 extra-base hits and 35 RBI.
 
Junior Tristen Carranza rounded out the Aggies on the Preseason All-WAC Team. In 2017 Carranza was named to the Second-Team All-WAC. The slugger had a .314 batting average with a league-high 16 home runs and 52 RBI. His .649 slugging percentage also led the WAC and the Aggies 120 total bases ranked third in the conference.

LOOKING BACK AT 2017
The New Mexico State baseball team had a successful season which saw them finish the year at 35-20 overall and 19-5 in Western Athletic Conference play last year. The impressive finish came just a season after the biggest turnaround in the NCAA which saw the team go 34-23 in 2016. This was the first time the NM State baseball program had posted back-to-back 30-win seasons since they did so over a four-year stretch from '09-'12.
 
At season's end, the Aggies were ranked in the top-25 nationally in multiple categories. These impressive totals include finishing second in triples (31), fourth in batting average (.322), seventh in slugging percentage (.501), eighth in scoring (7.9 runs per game), 12^th in on-base percentage (.403), 17^th in runs (453) and 18^th in hits (650).
 
Several NM State players also cracked the top-25 nationally after strong seasons at the plate. Brent Sakurai finished first in the NCAA in triples (9) and outfielder Dan Hetzel ranked 19^th in RBI (67).
 
Cracking the national top-25 also led NM State to rank first in the WAC in numerous categories both at the dish and on the mound. Along with the aforementioned batting average, hits, runs, triples, slugging and on-base percentage the Aggies were also first in RBI (412), doubles (120), home runs (60), total bases (1,012), batters struck out (444) and wins (35) in the conference.  
 
FISHBACK EARNS ALL-AMERICA STATUS
New Mexico State catcher Mason Fishback earned a Second-Team All-American honor from Collegiate Baseball Newspaper after leading the Aggies to a 35-22 overall record and a No. 1 seed at the WAC Tournament.
 
Fishback boasted a .365 batting average to go along with 16 doubles, eight home runs and 52 RBI in 53 starts for the Aggies. The junior also had a .564 slugging and .417 on-base percentage with three stolen bags. 
 
The Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. natve is just the second Aggie to be named to the Collegiate Baseball post-season All-American team, joining 2002 first-team selection Gabe Veloz.  

NEW FACE ON THE STAFF
Head coach Brian Green hired former major leaguer, Anthony Claggett, as the pitching coach for the 2018 season.
 
Claggett spent the past year as a volunteer assistant coach for the San José State University baseball program. Claggett helped Spartans pitching coach, Dean Stiles, with pitching development and served as the first base coach.
 
While at San José State, Claggett led the pitching staff to finish third in the Mountain West Conference in earned run average (6.13). The former reliever also helped Josh Goldberg finish second in the conference in saves (6).
 
Prior to his stint with San José State, Claggett spent time at Riverside Community College. He served as the Tiger's pitching coach and assistant recruiting coordinator in 2016.
 
With Claggett's help, Riverside CC finished with a record of 25-18 in a year where they reached the second round of the California Community College Athletic Association Regional Playoffs. While coaching for the Tiger's, Claggett also led the pitching staff to finish third out of 88 teams in the CCCAA in ERA (2.83).
 
An 11th round draft pick in 2005 by the Detroit Tigers, Claggett made his major league debut in 2009 with the World Series Champion New York Yankees. Claggett also spent time with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
 
UP NEXT
Following the season opener, New Mexico State hits the road for a mid-week showdown with Texas Tech on Tuesday, Feb. 21. First pitch is slated for 2 p.m. (MT) at Dan Law Field at Rip Griffin Park. The game can be heard on 99.5 FM Zia Country with Adam Young on the call.