LAS CRUCES, N.M. – Following a midweek contest in Albuquerque on Tuesday night, the Aggies return home for a four-game home series with Oakland at Presley Askew Field. First pitch on Friday is scheduled for 6 p.m. with Saturday beginning at 4 p.m., Sunday at 2 p.m. and Monday's finale at 11 a.m.
 
All four games will be available to listen to on KRUX 91.5 FM. Adam Young will be on play-by-play for the contests on Friday, Sunday and Monday while Jeff Matthews will be on the air for Saturday's game. This will mark the last of three home series to open the season before the Aggies head to College Station to take on No. 1 Texas A&M. Friday's game will mark the 12th all-time meeting between the Golden Grizzlies and the Aggies with each of the previous 11 games also taking place in Las Cruces.
 
SERIES INFO 
NM State (5-3, 0-0 CUSA) vs. Oakland (1-8, 0-0 Horizon)
Presley Askew Field
Las Cruces, N.M.
 
Friday, February 28 – 6 p.m.
Tickets: Purchase Online or call 575-646-1420
Radio: KRUX 91.5 FM
Stats: StatBroadcast
Promos: Country Western Night / T-Shirt Giveaway
 
Saturday, March 1 – 4 p.m.
Tickets: Purchase Online or call 575-646-1420
Radio: KRUX 91.5 FM
Stats: StatBroadcast
 
Sunday, March 2 – 2 p.m.
Tickets: Purchase Online or call 575-646-1420
Radio: KRUX 91.5 FM
Stats: StatBroadcast
Promos: Bark in the Park
 
Monday, March 3 – 11 a.m.
Tickets: Purchase Online or call 575-646-1420
Radio: KRUX 91.5 FM
Stats: StatBroadcast
Promos: LCPS School Game
 
LAST TIME OUT              
• NM State traveled north on Tuesday for a midweek matchup against in-state rival New Mexico.
• While third-year Aggie Mitch Namie extended his hit streak to eight games, the Aggies' offense was only able to muster two hits against the Lobos - leading to a 7-0 loss in Albuquerque.
• True freshman Carson Timmons made his collegiate debut on Tuesday and finished the game with three strikeouts while allowing just one hit and one walk across 2.0 innings.
• Cody Carson also collected his first strikeout as an Aggie as he froze four-hole hitter Ethan Ott in the seventh inning.
• Alejandro Maltos-Garcia was the final reliever to exit the bullpen, and he notched a season-high two strikeouts while pitching just one inning.
 
SUNNY SOUTHWEST  
Presley Askew Field visitors are in for a treat this weekend as the average high temperature on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday is expected to be a sunny 71 degrees. Meanwhile, the average high temperature in Auburn Hills, Mich., where the Golden Grizzlies call home, will be just 36 degrees.
 
O'CONNOR ON FIRE    
Second baseman Sheehan O'Connor continued a blistering start to the 2025 season as he launched three home runs in three games to help the Aggies to a series sweep of Western Illinois last week. Through two weeks of action, the senior from Seattle has tallied six home runs which ranks tied for first in the nation at the Division I level.
 
Additionally, O'Connor currently ranks third in the country in slugging percentage (1.161), second in the country in total bases (36) and fourth in the country in home runs per game (0.75).
 
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).
 
Through the Aggies' first eight games, Namie's offensive power has been on full display as he is currently the only Aggie to register a hit in every game thus far. Including a pair of hits in the Aggies' final two games of the 2024 season, Namie has now logged a hit in the Aggies' last 10 games.
 
The junior from Mesa, Ariz., currently leads the team in on-base percentage (.556) and ranks second on the squad in batting average (.429), slugging percentage (.643). He has also tallied three doubles this season, including one in each of NM State's last two games.
 
OFFENSIVE OUTBURST                               
In Sunday's win over Western Illinois, the Aggies tallied season highs in both hits (17) and doubles (5) while matching their season best in home runs (3). This capped off a weekend in which the Aggies compiled 28 runs using 38 hits, including 17 extra-base hits. Thus far, the Aggies have scored five or more runs in all but one game this season and have eight or more runs in five of their eight games.
 
With eight games under their belt, the Aggies currently rank second in CUSA in batting average (.317), home runs (12) and slugging percentage (.531).
 
 
FRESHMAN ARMS                           
The Aggies leaned on their young arms in Sunday's 8-5 win over Western Illinois as true freshmen Jaden Davis, Hazen Wright, Dylan Weekly and Cade Shumard each made an appearance out of the bullpen. For Davis and Wright, this also marked their collegiate debuts.
 
The four young Aggies would combine to toss 3.2 innings and allowed just two hits while tallying four strikeouts. With one shutout inning in the fifth inning, Davis would also go on to receive credit for the win.
 
In total, the Aggies have eight freshman pitchers and after Carson Timmons made his debut against New Mexico on Tuesday, all but one have now made an appearance this season. The lone freshman pitcher that has not spent any time on the mound is two-way player Chris Daniels, who earned the start at first base in Saturday's 10-8 victory over Western Illinois.
 
DOING IT ON DEFENSE               
The Aggies will enter this weekend with an impressive .984 fielding percentage and just five errors through eight games. Their fielding percentage also currently paces Conference USA and ranks 26th in the nation. This has been supported by an opening stretch of four games in which the Aggies did not commit a single error.
 
SHEEHAN O'CONNOR NAMED CUSA PLAYER OF THE WEEK                
On Monday, Feb. 17, 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 (6), tied for second in RBIs (13), second in slugging percentage (1.161) and fifth in batting average (.452). With six long balls, O'Connor ranks tied for first in home runs among Division I hitters.
 
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 their 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 without 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).
 
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.
 
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 his 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.
 
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 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 GOLDEN GRIZZLIES 
NM State's weekend opponent will enter the week with a 1-8 overall record and amid a seven-game losing streak. Most recently, Oakland suffered a 13-3 loss on the road at UTSA on Wednesday night. Thus far, the Golden Grizzlies' lone win came in the form of an 11-4 victory over Conference USA foe Jacksonville State.
 
As a team, the Golden Grizzlies are maintaining a .216 batting average and are scoring just 3.1 runs per game which ranks 273rd in the nation. They are currently led by catcher Matthew McGann who enters the weekend with a .316 average to serve as the lone member of the team hitting above .300. Additionally, senior two-way player Brandon Nigh comes to Las Cruces carrying a five-game hit streak, including his first multi-hit performance of the season in Oakland's midweek game against UTSA.
 
Oakland's expected rotation will include Hunter Pidek (Friday), Grant Garman (Saturday), Brody Fahnestock (Sunday) and Daniel Duley (Monday). Of this group, Garman leads the way with a 3.37 ERA and is responsible for the team's only win.
 
The Golden Grizzlies are led by Interim Head Coach Brian Nelson who took over the team following a three-year stretch in which Oakland amassed 91 total wins. This marked the best three-year span in program history and included a program record 31 wins in 2022. Nelson has been on staff since 2021 when he served under now CSU Bakersfield head coach, Jordon Banfield.
 
UP NEXT             
Following the four-game homestand, NM State will head out for its first official road series of the season. The Aggies will be put to the ultimate test as they are set to travel to College Station, Texas, for a three-game series against Texas A&M, who is currently the No. 1 ranked team in three of the four major collegiate top 25 polls.
 
Friday's opener will mark the seventh game between NM State and Texas A&M and NM State will be in search of its first win over Texas A&M. The series between the two Aggies is slated to begin on Friday at 5 p.m. MST. All three games will be available to watch on SEC Network+.
 
For complete coverage of NM State Baseball, visit NMStateSports.com - the official home of Aggie athletics – and follow us on Twitter (@NMStateBaseball), Instagram (@NMStateBaseball) and like us on Facebook (NM State Baseball).