LAS CRUCES, N.M. – Following a three-game home slate against the Pacific Tigers, the Aggies take their talents on the road for their first true road series of the season when they travel to Phoenix to take on the GCU 'Lopes. NM State is still seeking their first win of the season, and first under Interim Head Coach Keith Zuniga. This three-game series against Grand Canyon also marks the beginning of conference play for NM State, totaling 30 games against ten WAC opponents.
SCOUTING THE 'LOPES
Grand Canyon is 8-3 on the season, most recently going 2-1 in a home series against Texas State. The 'Lopes own wins over multiple 'Power 5' programs, including then-second ranked Tennessee and Ohio State. SS Jacob Wilson has wowed MLB scouts, with MLB.com projecting him as the ninth-best prospect in the 2023 draft. Homer Bush Jr. leads Grand Canyon at the plate, batting .395 with four extra base hits and eight RBIs, while Zach Thornton leads the 'Lopes on the mound, sporting a 1-0 record with a 1.52 ERA (25 strikeouts to one walk, 17.2 IP).

ROUGH WATERS
The Aggies are off to their worst start since the 1968 season when the Aggies began 0-14 – The worst start in program history. The 2023 squad will look to pick up its first win on March 10 on the road against Grand Canyon.

ALL HAIL HALE
OF Damon Hale has stolen six bags in the first ten games for NM State. In 2022, Tommy Tabak led the Aggies with 10 stolen bases.

FUNKE TOWN – POPULATION ONE
OF Nolan Funke is the only player to reached base safely in each of NM State's first seven games. He is also one-of-one for the Aggies in several categories – leading the team in batting average (.304), triples (1), and RBIs (4).

THE NINE PIECES OF EIGHT
The Aggies have used nine different players in the eighth spot in the lineup over the first ten games. Nolan Funke, Cal Villareal, Christian Perez, Xaige Lancaster, Romeo Ballesteros, Karl Koerper, Brant Voth, Hunter Antillion and Mitch Namie have all hit eighth thus far.
 
SAY MY NAMIE
A native of the Grand Canyon State, Freshman OF Mitch Namie made his first start at NM State and recorded his first collegiate hit on Saturday against Pacific. He then followed that up with his second hit. Then came his third hit. In total Namie went 3-for-3 on the night, and finished the series against Pacific with the second-most hits on the team over the three-game stretch.

Back in Roman Times
Leading up to the season, D1Baseball listed NM State RHP Roman Bracamonte as the No. 3 "Impact First Year Freshmen" in the Western Athletic Conference, trailing just Wehiwa Ahoy (SS, Sacramento State) and Ben Lumsden (3B, UT Arlington).

All about Prospect-Ive
D1Baseball lists three NM State players on their list of the 25 Top Prospects in the WAC ahead of the 2023 MLB Draft. OF Keith Jones II leads the way at No. 18 with INF Logan Gallina right behind him, coming in at No. 20. The Aggies are also represented by RHP Noah Estrella who appears at No. 25 on the list.

All over North America
Not only is NM State's roster well represented from across the United States, the Aggies have members from Canada, Mexico, and Puerto Rico as well. RHP Will Sierra hails from Montreal, Québec, Canada and was a member of the Team Canada Junior National Team from 2015-17. RHP Pablo Cortes, who earned WAC All-Tournament Team and WAC Pitcher of the Week honors last season, is a native of Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico.

PRESEASON ALL-WAC
A pair of Aggies - 1B Logan Gallina and 2B Kevin Jimenez - picked up a pair of Preseason All-WAC honors. For both Gallina and Jimenez, it is their third career All-WAC selection. Gallina was named to both the First Team All-WAC and the All-Defensive team last season. Jimenez earned Second Team All-WAC honors in 2021 before being named to the Preseason All-WAC team in 2022.

FOR THE RECORD...
Infielder Kevin Jimenez sits inside or near the top-ten in NM State school history for many offensive categories. With 45 career doubles, Jimenez needs just 16 this season to become NM State's all-time two-bag leader.