The No. 2 Colorado Mesa baseball team will open their 2022 campaign this weekend when they take on the No. 22 Azusa Pacific Cougars in Glendora, Calif. The nationally ranked matchup will be a four-game series beginning on Thursday afternoon and is scheduled to continue next year in Grand Junction.
 
A CHANCE AT HISTORY
Junior Haydn McGeary has received all kinds of praise following his consensus National Player of the Year awards a season ago. McGeary was the national leader in several offensive categories including hits, doubles, RBIs, slugging percentage and total bases. This season he will be going after a rare feat in if he were to win the National Player of the Year award again, he would become just the third NCAA Player to do so and the second Division II player to accomplish the feat (Zach Shannon, Delta State).
 
The Glendale, Ariz. native is also on pace to break the program record for home runs this season. He is just three home runs shy of breaking Chris McClure's program record with 43 career home runs.
 
THE BACKSTOP
Colorado Mesa has had the luxury to have one of the top catchers in Division II baseball over the past five years. That trend will continue as Spencer Bramwell is once again slated to be behind the plate navigating the revamped pitching staff.
 
Last season, Bramwell earned D2CCA All-American honors not just for his offensive prowess but as one of the top defensive catchers in the country. The San Clemente, Calif. native batted .357 with 12 doubles, two triples and 10 home runs with 48 run driven in. He also threw out more than 50 percent of would-be base stealers as only nine total stolen bases were logged against Bramwell last season.
 
FAMILIAR FACES AROUND THE INFIELD
The Mavericks will have their entire infield back for their senior seasons with third baseman Caleb Farmer, shortstop Chase Hamilton, second baseman Harrison Rodgers (sophomore), and first baseman Jordan Stubbings all settling back into their roles they have owned since early in their careers. Farmer has played in 167 games during his career and made starts in 156 of them while Stubbings has played in 170 games with 156 starts also.
 
A couple fresh faces could make some noise in the infield this season as both Ethan Ezor and Stevenson Reynolds have gained praise from their peers and the coaching staff. Ezor and Reynolds, both sophomores this season, played sparingly as freshman.
 
VETERAN OUTFIELD
For game one of the season, don't be surprised if you see Conrad Villafuerte in left field, Johnny Carr in center field and Matthew Turner in right field. This veteran group have made plenty of starts in their career and lend the team another unit with veteran leaders. Turner picked up numerous accolades for his offensive output last season as he led the NCAA in home runs earning him All-American honors across every outlet.
 
Robert Sharrar, Matt Cassin and newcomer Julian Boyd will also find time in the outfield. All three left-handed hitters had great falls and start to the spring seasons and could wiggle into the lineup this opening weekend.
 
THE ROTATION
The two lefties from last season's rotation are back with Ryan Day and Kannon Handy slated to return to the rotation once again. Day was named to the NCBWA Preseason All-Region Team and Handy is coming off a year where he was named the Co-Freshman Pitcher of the Year in the Conference. The two will be called on and counted on to lead the rotation these first few weeks of the season.
 
The other two spots in the rotation are likely up for grabs between a host of returners and newcomers. Veterans Isaac Hayen and Josh Danyliw have been mentioned as possible fits along with newcomers Cooper Vasquez and Dave Henderson. Freshman Cole Seward has drawn praise early from not only the coaching staff but the catchers that catch his bullpens and scrimmage sessions.
 
BACK END OF THE BULLPEN
The one place the Mavericks may be a little nagged up heading into the season is the bullpen. All-RMAC First Teamer Anthony Durbano will be out for an extended period of time with an injury, but they should have a healthy Frankie Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald has been one of the mainstays in the bullpen over the years and may slide into a starting role at some point during the season.
 
Veterans gage Edwards and Garrett Tisdall will once again be asked to get outs late in games to start the season off with several newcomers scheduled to make their Maverick debuts this week.
 
Another name to keep an eye on or to remember is Jared Ure who is slated to pitch in late March.
 
NEWCOMER TO WATCH
He may not be a newcomer but sill someone that will likely make his Maverick debut this weekend is pitcher Blake Rohm. The Broomfield native has been with the program for two years but had to sit out his first-year due to transfer regulations and sat out last season due to an injury.
 
Rohm began his collegiate career at ACC power Virginia before transferring to Butler CC for a year. Coming off the injury, his velocity has steadily climbed and is getting back to where he was pre-injury.
 
THE WINNING WAY
As it was announced by the NCAA last year that Colorado Mesa was the winningest baseball team of the past decade. To shorten the window even more, they have the highest winning percentage since 2017 at .806. They have a higher winning percentage then some of the top programs in Division II baseball including Angelo State (.770), North Greenville (.768), Tampa (.759), and Central Missouri (.747).
 
Colorado Mesa is in search of their 41^st straight winning season.
 
SCOUTING THE COUGARS
Azusa Pacific opened the year this past weekend with four games against No. 7 Northwest Nazarene, a team the Mavericks will see in two weeks, with the two teams splitting the four games. The Cougars will play their second nationally ranked opponent in as many weeks this weekend.
 
This will be the first-ever matchup between the two schools. Both qualified for the NCAA Tournament last season with Azusa Pacific qualifying in the West Region and Colorado Mesa the South Central.  
 
Will Stroud is the Cougars leading hitter with a .357 average after having a hit in every game during the series with Northwest Nazarene. The junior had three doubles and drove in four during the four games.
 
UC-Santa Barbara transfer AJ Woodall will likely start game one for Azusa Pacific as he is one of the best pitchers not only in the West Region but the entire country. An ABCA Third Team All-American a year ago, Woodall made two appearances in the series with Northwest Nazarene and totaled four innings and allowed one run on three hits, walked four and struck out seven across the two appearances.
 
THE SKIPPER
The Mavericks are headed up by living legend Chris Hanks who is the Mavericks all-time leader in wins with an overall record of 940-367 and has one nearly 72 percent of the games he has coached in. He is entering his 24^th season as the head coach and has guided the Mavericks to 16 RMAC Championships, 17 NCAA Tournament appearances and four trips to the NCAA Division II National Tournament.
 
During his tenure, he has been named the RMAC Coach of the Year 12 times, the ABCA Regional Coach of the Year four times and was twice named the NCBWA National Coach of the Year.
 
Coach Hanks is always quick to point to his coaching staff when discussing his personal successes as the staff has been intact for the past 12 seasons with others having been on staff just as long and longer then his entire coaching tenure.
 
PRESEASON POLLS
The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference preseason poll was released earlier this year and once again the Mavericks were picked to win the regular season title unanimously. They received all eight first-place votes possible and will be in search of their 25^th overall and 10^th straight regular season titles. UCCS was picked second followed by MSU Denver, and Regis to round out the top four.
 
Colorado Mesa has gained national attention by being picked No. 2 in the Collegiate Baseball Preseason National Poll despite the Mavericks not making it to Cary last season. Tampa was the preseason pick to make it back to the National Championship Tournament and win it.
 
In the NCBWA Preseason National Poll, the Mavericks were picked No. 4 behind Tampa, defending national champion Wingate and Central Missouri.
 
ON DECK
Colorado Mesa will return home from their season-opening road trip to California for their home opener. They are set to take on Montana State Billings in a four-game series in Grand Junction. The exact site is yet to be determined but stay tuned to CMUMavericks.com for all the latest updates.