LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – The No. 2 seed Wiley University baseball team ended the 2025 season with its most wins in over 20 years. It fell 13-9 to No. 3 seed Stillman College in 13 innings in the semifinal of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities Athletic Conference (HBCUAC) 2025 Hope Credit Union Baseball Championship Saturday at CHI St. Vincent Field at Dickey-Stephens Park.
The Wildcats finish with a 34-17 record, surpassing last season’s win total by five games for the most since before the 2007 season. They hit the most home runs since before the 2007 season with 49, topping their previous high of 47 in 2011.
Wiley fell behind 6-0 after allowing two home runs in the first inning. Ajari Camp sparked a rally with a two-run home run to left-center in the fourth inning. He added an RBI double in the sixth. Abel Rodriguez Jr. drove in two runs with a single to pull Wiley within one. Stillman answered with three runs on two hits and two errors. Camp recorded his fourth RBI with an infield single to short.
Kai Woodard led off the ninth with a walk. Ryan Ready followed being hit by a pitch. Smauri Abram pinch ran for Ready and advanced into scoring position with Woodard on Del Villar’s groundball to first. Jhan Carlos Javier drove them in with a single through the left side. Ryan Clark pinch ran for Javier. Walks by Camp and Anthony Castaneda loaded the bases. With two outs, Eddie Garza hit a single through the left side, allowing Clark to score. A miscommunication caused Camp to be tagged out going for home.
The Wildcats had an opportunity to win in the 12th when Amir Mason singled and Woodard walked. A strikeout ended the inning. With two outs in the top of the 13th, a walk extended the inning. A bases-loaded walk and error put Stillman up for good.
Camp went 4-for-6 with two runs and four RBI. Javier went 2-for-4 with two runs and two RBI. Mason and Garza recorded two hits. Keyon Guillory threw the first inning. Juan Pena threw five innings and held the Tigers to two runs and struck out eight batters. Jalen Porter, who started Friday’s game against Southern University at New Orleans, tossed six innings and struck out seven. Nick Rodriguez pitched the last inning.
The game wraps up the careers of Marquis Kuykendall, Armand Daigre, Porter, Chance Guidry, Julian Rosales, Isaac Burciaga, Javier, Ryan Ready, Woodard, Abram, Jacob Perez, Brendan Mendoza, Abel Rodriguez, and Castaneda. In four years, they led the Wildcats to 90 victories, including eight in the postseason. They secured the 2024 Gulf Coast Athletic Conference regular season title and two berths to the Black College World Series. The team was on pace for its third berth, but the event was canceled after the death of its founder, Michael Coker.
The Wildcats opened the HBCUAC Baseball Championship with a 10-4 win against Rust College on Thursday. Holding a 4-3 lead it pulled away in the third inning. Jaziel Martinez hit an RBI double and Amir Mason brought home two with a single. Martinez went 3-for-4 with three RBI. Nick Rodriguez picked up his eighth win, striking out four batters.
On Friday, in a game that was delayed for over four hours due to rain, Wiley fell 9-3 to No. 6 seed SUNO. It could not take advantage of a strong pitching performance from Jalen Porter who struck out 11 batters and only allowed two runs in the first six innings. The Wildcats bounced back with a 13-3 run-rule victory over No. 8 seed Wilberforce University.
Brendan Mendoza gave the Wildcats a 4-2 lead with a two-RBI single up the middle. Two-run home runs by Jhan Carlos Javier and Amir Mason sealed the game in the seventh inning. Ethan Jones delivered a strong performance in his first postseason start with six strikeouts in five innings. Isaac Burciaga picked up his seventh win.
The 2026 team will have a strong core to build on. Two-time all-conference selection Ivan Del Villar, two-time All-Tournament selection Amir Mason, All-HBCUAC First Team selection Eddie Garza and Jaziel Martinez, who hit .346 in 22 games, are expected to return. Laker McPherson and Ajari Camp should compete for spots in the starting lineup. Wiley is expected to return pitchers Nick Rodriguez, Ethan Jones and two-time Pitcher of the Year and First Team All-Conference selection Keyon Guillory.
Head coach Kendrick Biggs and his coaching staff have hit the recruiting trail and will look to bring in more recruits to solidify the roster and set the Wildcats up for another championship run.
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