SERIES HISTORY WITH HIGHLANDS
The Cowboys have brought new life back to the program in bringing back longtime head coach Steve Jones. Coach Jones took a hiatus from Highlands to start the program at Texas A&M-Texarkana and last season with undefeated NAIA National Champions LSU Shreveport. 

Colorado Mesa is 97-40 against New Mexico Highlands dating back to the 2000 season. They have won six in a row against the Cowboys and are winners in 20 of the last 21 meetings currently. 

The Mavericks swept the season series last season outscoring the Cowboys 64-8 in Grand Junction after the series moved from Las Vegas due to weather.

SCOUTING THE COWBOYS
New Mexico Highlands is off to a 5-9 start and are coming off being swept by Adams State. The opened the season with a series split against Southern Nazarene. The won a game in the series with Northwestern Oklahoma State and University of the Southwest.

Vladimire Castro leads Highlands in hitting at .391 with two doubles and seven runs driven in. 

Aidan Joyce and Ramon Brion provide a strong 1-2 on the mound. Joyce has a 5.03 ERA with a .208 opponents batting average while Brion has a team-high 17 strikeouts in 18 and a third innings pitched on the season.

BACK-TO-BACK
The Mavericks have now earned back-to-back Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Week awards after sophomore Justin Schramm earned the honor for his relief outing against nationally ranked Augustana. 

The Bend, Ore. native pitched three and two-thirds shutout innings. The sophomore allowed two hits, walked three and struck out seven while allowing the Vikings to bat just .179 off of him. Schramm and Liam Hohenstein combined to strikeout 13 batters in the series opening game.

Freshman Jackson Eisenhauer earned RMAC Pitcher of the Week honors last week. 

THE POWER OF 13
In Saturday's series finale with Augustana, the Mavericks scored 13 runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to come from behind and defeat No. 13 Augustana 15-8 to extend their winning streak to 13 games in a row. 

The Mavericks are now 13-0 on the season when they are leading after the 6th, 7th and 8th innings. 

The Mavericks will look to improve on the number 13 this weekend as they host New Mexico Highlands to open the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference portion of their schedule.

HELPING THE TEAM IN TWO WAYS
Jackson Lapiner and Jett Walker have been playing on both sides the ball this season as each have pitched and played a position. Both players are in their second season with the program and are contributing in two ways.

Lapiner had a pinch-hit home run in the series with Augustana as his lone hit of the season but has allowed just one run on the mound in four and two-thirds innings pitched.

Walker started one game at second base and has a 1-0 record on the mound with three innings pitched and five strikeouts. 

EARLY STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE
Strength of schedule is a heavily used metric late in the season to determine NCAA South Central Regional rankings. It is important for schools and teams to challenge themselves early in the season to build their strength of schedule and in turn their RPI.

Colorado Mesa has done that with the schedule they have put together a strong non-conference schedule. They have a .711 strength of schedule following the schedule so far which is the tops in the South Central Region by over 100 points over UT Tyler. 

Currently the Mavericks have the top strength of schedule in the country with only 1-7 West Liberty above .700 at .709. Season opening series opponent Cal Poly pomona is third at .671 and recent opponent Augustana is fourth at .668.

MAVS ON THE MOVE
National Rankings don't mean a lot in the grand scheme of things but they do provide a nice measuring stick for programs. After the Mavericks swept No. 13 Augustana they made big jumps in all three national polls. They are No. 4 in the NCBWA poll, and No. 9 in both the ABCA and the Division II Baseball poll. 

MAVERICKS IN MILB
The Colorado Mesa baseball team currently has seven players competing at some level of professional baseball. All seven finished in the minors with one of them seeing action in Major League Baseball during the 2025 season. Check out the full list of Colorado Mesa Baseball Alums and ways to follow along on their professional journey:

Bligh Madris (2015-18) // St. Louis Cardinals
Kyle Leahy (2016-18) // St. Louis Cardinals
Haydn McGeary (2019-22) // Chicago Cubs
Spencer Bramwell (2018-22) // Miami Marlins
Caleb Farmer (2018-22) // Washington Nationals
Andrew Morris (2019-21)  // Minnesota Twins
Andrew Pogue (2025) // Detroit Tigers

RMAC DOMINATION
Colorado Mesa won its 13th straight Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference title in 2025 and is looking for more. The Mavericks have won 28 overall regular season titles and 23 tournament titles after winning their third straight last season.

Since 2009, Colorado Mesa has won 82 percent of their games against RMAC competition as they have a 504-110 record in that span prior to the season.

THE BEST AROUND
Two seasons ago, head coach Chris Hanks eclipsed the 1,000 win mark in his career. He is one of just 17 head coaches across NCAA Baseball that is over the 1,000 win mark and is fourth in wins in NCAA Division II of active head coaches.

Top-10 Division II Active Head Coaches by wins
1. John Schaly (Ashland) - 1,355-745 (39 seasons)
2. Greg Guilliams (Flagler) - 1,220-606 (36 seasons)
3. Jeff Messer (Slippery Rock) - 1,159-762 (40 seasons)
4. Chris Hanks (Colorado Mesa) - 1,125-430 (28 seasons)
5. Joe Urso (Tampa) - 1,076-298 (26 seasons)
6. Jim Gantt (Catawba) - 1,049-518 (30 seasons)
7. Greg Appleton (Columbus State) - 1,005-530 (29 seasons)
8. Tim Mead (Walsh) - 962-974 (42 seasons)
9. Paul O'Neil (UNC Pembroke) - 905-562 (30 seasons)
10. Jon Sjogren (Rollins) - 901-757 (36 seasons)

NCAA Active Head Coaches with 1,000 wins
1. Paul Mainieri (South Carolina) - 1,540
2. John Schaly (Ashland) - 1,355
3. Dave Van Horn (Arkansas) - 1,313
4. Elliott Avent (NC State) - 1,305
5. Greg Guilliams (Flagler) - 1,220
6. Rich Hill (Hawaii) - 1,216
7. Jeff Messer (Slippery Rock) - 1,159
8. Chris Hanks (Colorado Mesa) - 1,125
9. Rick Heller (Iowa) - 1,081 
10. Steve Owens (Rutgers) - 1,080
11. Tim Corbin (Vanderbilt) - 1,077
12. Joe Urso (Tampa) - 1,076
13. Mike Bianco (Ole Miss) - 1,059
14. Jim Gantt (Catawba) - 1,049
15. Augie Schmidt (Carthage) - 1,033
16. Rich Maloney (Ball State) - 1,029
17. Yogi Lutz (Alvernia) - 1,023