By Kevin Farr
Murray State Sports Information
With a largely retooled roster, the Murray State baseball team is ready to embark on the 2025 season looking to improve on last year's 30-23 finish that left them out of the Region 2 postseason tournament.

The Aggies begin the campaign on Saturday at 1 p.m. in Melissa, Texas facing Dallas College Mountain View.

"We have a lot more depth and athleticism on the position player side this year," head coach Sam Bjorling stated. "We are more versatile for sure. It's a new group overall but we have some returnees to lead the way. We are expecting to be better offensively, both versatile and dynamic. I'm excited about it. We were cooking last year before the injury bug bit us. We were playing the same guys every day which isn't what we needed. We're rangier and will be able to cover more ground defensively as well."

Sophomore catalysts Brennan Morgan and Austin Haley will be counted on to be the club's offensive stalwarts following solid debut campaigns. Morgan hit .331 with 11 doubles, eight homers and 44 runs batted in while Haley batted .307 with 12 doubles, seven home runs and 38 RBI despite missing some time with an injury.

Lefthanded hitting power man Trevin Pettigrew should also get more action this season along with fellow returnee Brady Richardson.

Newcomer Junho Son, a transfer from New Mexico Military Institute, will be an immediate contributor at the top of the order after hitting .323 with 16 extra base hits and 32 batted in as a freshman utility man. Outfielder Zach Makarewich, a transfer from Bossier Parish, and infielder Grayson Doggett, who was on Blinn Junior College's national championship team a season ago, will be key additions as well with experience.

Bjorling also expects freshman Marlon Moore to be an immediate impact player on the infield and be a key cog in the batting lineup.

"Haley will be one of the best junior college players in the country, hit three-hole and also probably be our number two or three starter on the mound," the Aggie skipper said. "Morgan will play corner infield and be a back-end pitching piece. Ho Sun had a great year as a freshman and will be near the top of the order. Doggett has skills and was on the national championship team a year ago. Makarewich is a big power hitter that really turned it on in the fall and will hit in the middle of the lineup and Moore was one of the top high school players in the state that we were excited to land.

"It's really going to be a good mix of freshmen and sophomores in the lineup. I think we are capable of hitting a lot more home runs as a team this year as well as be more versatile and likely steal more bases."

On the mound, the Aggies have a legit go-to ace in sophomore Cash Kuiper, who has signed with the University of Nebraska. As a freshman he started 13 games and compiled a 6-5 overall record with a 6.02 earned run average while striking out 66 and walking 31 in 61 1/3 innings.

They also welcome back several relievers including southpaws Jakob Holzer and Kyndon Lovell along with righty Conner Smeltzer and Brance Garrett, who was injured a year ago. Holzer made 15 appearances with a 2-0 record and 7.26 ERA as well as 28 strikeouts in 31 innings. Lovell added a 1-1 record and 6.75 in 10 appearances, fanning 11 in 13-plus innings while Smeltzer was 1-0 and toted a 3.24 ERA in 10 outings as well, striking out 12.

The most highly touted newcomer on the mound looks to be freshman Carson Culbreath with above average stuff, poise and competitiveness. Several others including Tayte Dome, Heath Graf and Bryson Kelley should give the Aggies a wide range of arms and depth as they head into the season.

"Kuiper is as good a pitcher as there is in Oklahoma," Bjorling added. "He is getting a lot of pro attention. Haley's arm is back healthy and has looked really good and Culbreath has been electric in the preseason. We've got a ton of arms and a lot of quality depth. It just remains to be seen who of that group steps up."

With the revamped roster, the Aggies are squarely focused on returning to the top of the league standings but will have a wealth of challengers in the new four-game conference series and conference format that has the Oklahoma and Arkansas sides split until the playoffs.

Bjorling's bunch should definitely find out their mettle early with a trip to defending national champ Blinn on Sunday and traditional power Connors State coming to town the following weekend.

"We are going back to a four-game series in conference play so the teams with pitching depth are likely going to stand out," the Murray State head coach said. "We plan to be back in the title mix after a rough finish last year. This will be as deep a league as I can remember. We are playing a tough preseason schedule to get ourselves ready for it."