LAS CRUCES, N.M. – After an up and down opening weekend, the Aggies return to Presley Askew Field on Friday as they begin a three-game homestand versus Western Illinois. First pitch on Friday is scheduled for 6 p.m. with Saturday beginning at 4 p.m. and Sunday at 11 a.m.
 
All three games will be available to listen to via radio as each game will air on KRUX 91.5 FM. Play-by-play announcer Adam Young will have the call on Friday and Sunday while Jeff Matthews will be on the air for Saturday's game. Friday will mark the first-ever meeting on the diamond between the Aggies and Leathernecks.
 
SERIES INFO  
NM State (2-2, 0-0 CUSA) vs. Western Illinois (0-2, 0-0 OVC)
Presley Askew Field
Las Cruces, N.M.
 
Friday, February 21 – 6 p.m.
Tickets: Purchase Online or call 575-646-1420
Radio: KRUX 91.5 FM
Stats: StatBroadcast
Promos: Hat Giveaway
 
Saturday, February 22 – 4 p.m.
Tickets: Purchase Online or call 575-646-1420
Radio: KRUX 91.5 FM
Stats: StatBroadcast
 
Sunday, February 23 – 11 a.m.
Tickets: Purchase Online or call 575-646-1420
Radio: KRUX 91.5 FM
Stats: StatBroadcast
Promos: Bark in the Park
 
LAST TIME OUT              
• NM State opened up its season with a four-game series at home versus St. Thomas last weekend and ultimately split the series with the Tommies.
• The Aggies collected wins on Friday and Sunday to move to 3-4 all-time against St. Thomas.
• Friday's win was fueled by a standout performance from closer Saul Soto who threw 4.0 innings and struck out a career-high six batters while allowing just three hits and no runs to earn the save.
• The Aggie bats were also on full display against the Tommies as NM State scored a total of 31 runs while amassing 46 hits.
• This charge was led by Sheehan O'Connor who earned Conference USA Hitter of the Week honors after tallying three home runs, eight RBIs, two doubles and seven hits across the Aggies' first three games of the series.
 
SHEEHAN O'CONNOR NAMED CUSA PLAYER OF THE WEEK                
Monday morning, it was announced that standout second baseman Sheehan O'Connor earned Conference USA Hitter of the Week honors after an impressive trio of games to open the season.
 
Following a two-hit performance on Sunday, O'Connor entered Monday's finale with a .583 batting average, three home runs, eight RBIs and a pair of doubles to help guide the Aggies to a pair of wins and earn the season's first hitter of the week honor which is announced every Monday.
 
As of Thursday, O'Connor ranks first in the league in home runs (3), tied for second in RBIs (8) and third in slugging percentage (1.188). With three long balls, O'Connor ranks tied for fifth in home runs among Division I hitters.
 
BETTER CALL SAUL    
In Friday's win, the Aggies received a game-clinching performance from reliever Saul Soto who matched his career high in innings (4.0) and set a new career high in strikeouts (6) on his way to collecting his first save of the season. Soto, who recorded a team high three saves last year, was the Aggies' top reliever in 2024 and looks poised to be one of the top bullpen arms for Head Coach Jake Angier once again.
 
Soto is also one of just nine pitchers across Conference USA maintaining a perfect 0.00 ERA with at least four innings pitched this season.
 
IAN HOSLETT DEBUT                  
The Aggies also received a first-rate outing from newcomer Ian Hoslett who came on amid a sixth inning in which the Aggies allowed the Tommies to tie the game with five runs. After inheriting a 2-0 count with the bases loaded, Hoslett threw four consecutive strikes and got the St. Thomas hitter to strikeout to end the inning. This would set the stage for Joey Craig who hit a go-ahead, game-winning solo home run in the bottom of the seventh to ultimately help the Aggies collect their second win of the weekend.
 
In total, Hoslett tossed 3.1 innings and tallied seven strikeouts while allowing just one hit and gave up no runs and no walks in his first appearance in the Crimson and White.
 
SAY HIS NAMIE               
Entering the 2024 campaign, returner Mitch Namie was slated to be one of the Aggies' key contributors once again after appearing in 50 of the Aggies' 54 games and making 49 starts during his sophomore season. The Mesa, Ariz., serves as the leading returner in batting average (.333), at-bats (183), runs (50), hits (61), doubles (13), triples (2), home runs (5), RBIs (35) and walks (31).
 
During the Aggies' opening weekend, Namie's offensive power was on full display as he finished the weekend with seven hits, six RBIs, one home run while batting .467 with seven hits to rank second on the team in all four categories.
 
YEAR TWO        
NM State is amid its second season under Head Coach Jake Angier and looks to continue to make strides after increasing its win total by 11 games and posting the highest number of wins since 2019.
 
In year one under Angier, the Aggies landed three on the all-conference awards list as Keith Jones II earned first team All-CUSA honors, Titus Dumitru earned second team honors and Steve Solorzano secured all-freshman team honors.
 
Angier was previously at the University of Oregon where he operated as the pitching coach for the 2020-2023 seasons. Before Oregon, Angier was at Sacramento State from 2014-2019. Angier was named by Baseball America as one of the 50 names to watch in the 2023 coaching cycle.
 
PRESEASON DOUBT   
On Jan. 30, Conference USA released is preseason poll and preseason award recipients and, notably, no Aggies were included on the preseason all-conference team while NM State landed in a tie for eighth place as a team on the 2025 CUSA Preseason Poll which is based on a vote of the league's 10 head coaches.
 
However, the Aggies did receive one first-place vote in the preseason poll as Head Coach Jake Angier has publicly backed his team and made known that he was the lone coach to not cast his first-place vote for preseason favorite Dallas Baptist.
 
TRENDING UP
After finishing No. 297 in RPI in 2023, the Aggies jumped to No. 138 at the conclusion of the 2024 season to mark the largest RPI increase in the nation.
 
BIG SPIKES TO FILL    
NM State entered the 2025 season with nearly two-thirds of its 2024 roster no longer in the picture. This year, NM State brings back just 12 players while 22 individuals have departed.
 
With a new-look roster comes opportunity as the Aggies will be looking to replace nearly all of its offensive and pitching production. With the departures, the Aggies lost over 70% of its runs (72.9%), hits (72.4%), home runs (86.1%), RBIs (78.2%), stolen bases (87.8%) and innings pitched (72.6%). NM State will also be with out Keith Jones II, Romeo Ballesteros and Nick Gore who were the only three Aggies last season to start more than 50 games - starting 53, 53 and 52, respectively.
 
Stat         Returning             Lost        Total      % Returning      % Lost
Starts    137         349         486         28.2%   71.8%
Runs      120         323         443         27.1%   72.9%
Hits         154         404         558         27.6%   72.4%
HR           11            68            79            13.9%   86.1%
RBI          90            323         413         21.8%   78.2%
SB            5               41            46            12.2%   87.8%
IP             124.0     329.1     453.1     27.4%   72.6%
SO            121         267         388         31.2%   68.8%
 
LOCAL PRODUCTS          
The 2025 NM State roster features four Aggies from the Land of Enchantment. This includes Kade Benavidez (Belen), Jaden Davis (Jemez Pueblo), Steve Solorzano (Las Cruces) and Hazen Wright (Carlsbad).

ONCE AN AGGIE...          
This season, Head Coach Jake Angier is supported by a pair of former Aggies on his staff as both Assistant Coach David Bellamy and Director of Pitching Analytics Aaron Treloar each spent time during their collegiate playing days at NM State.
 
Bellamy, a two-year letter winner at NM State, is amid second season on Angier's staff. As a player, he was a standout outfielder for both the 2017 and 2018 seasons. He batted .307 his senior year to help lead the Aggies to the Lubbock Regional before being named to the Google Cloud academic All-District First-Team and Academic All-WAC First-Team. Bellamy now serves as the Aggies' hitting coach and is tasked with calling the offensive plays.
 
Meanwhile, Treloar is in his first season on staff after wrapping up his playing career just last season. Treloar ultimately spent his final two years with the Aggies and appeared in 35 games while totaling 42 strikeouts, including 26 in 2024.
 
WELCOME ABOARD    
This offseason, NM State added Assistant Coach Camden Duzenack to its staff. Following an impressive playing career which included six seasons in the farm system for the Arizona Diamondbacks, he will assist primarily with the infield for the Aggies.
 
In college, Duzenack spent four seasons with CUSA foe Dallas Baptist where he recorded a career batting average of .291 and was named a Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American as a freshman in 2014. He was also named MVC Defensive Player of the Year as a senior and garnered All-MVC honors three years in a row.
 
EASTWARD EXPANSION           
This season, the Aggies will spend their fair share of time on the road as they are slated to play 27 games away from Presley Askew Field. Unlike American settlers, the Aggies will do most of their traveling to the east as their contests against Arizona will represent the only two times that the Aggies will travel west of Las Cruces.
 
During its season, NM State will rack up the frequent flyer miles as seven of its 11 road trips will include games that require over 700 miles of travel. This includes three extra lengthy trips as its road trip to UNC Greensboro and Liberty (1,789 miles to UNCG), its trip to FIU (2,030 miles) and its trip to Kennesaw State (1,461 miles) all exceed 1,000 miles.
 
SCOUTING THE LEATHERNECKS         
NM State continues its homestand to start the season with a three-game series against Western Illinois who enters the weekend with an 0-2 record. The Leathernecks come to Las Cruces after dropping a pair of games to Murray State who outscored them 26-5 across a doubleheader last Friday.
 
Western Illinois was originally scheduled to face Mississippi Valley State and Alcorn State, however, due to heavy rainfall in Itta Bena, Miss., the Leathernecks' opening weekend travel plans were adjusted and they headed to Cape Girardeau, Mo., instead.
 
Through two games, WIU is led by shortstop Trevor Leon who begins the weekend with a .667 batting average after going 2-3 last week. Meanwhile, freshman second baseman Kenneth Perez is responsible for three of the Leathernecks' four RBIs last weekend.
 
The Leathernecks are led by Head Coach Terry Davis who, like Aggie leader Jake Angier, is in his second season at the helm of the Western Illinois program. With last week's two losses, Davis holds a 13-39 record with the Leathernecks.
 
Last season, Western Illinois finished the year with a 13-37 record, including a marquee win on March 12 when they defeated Cincinnati 12-11.
 
UP NEXT             
NM State will be on the road for the first time this season as they travel north to Albuquerque for a midweek bout versus I-25 rival New Mexico on Tuesday. The game versus the Lobos is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. Following the midweek matchup, NM State will return home for a four-game weekend homestand against Oakland beginning Friday night at 6 p.m.
 
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