Coming off a historic season, UTPB baseball knows that it is no longer a pushover in the Lone Star Conference.
Repeating last year’s feat, however, will still be challenging for different reasons.
For one, there are a lot of new faces on the team this year including a new head coach.
Not to mention, the success of last year will put a target on the Falcons’ back.
However, first-year head coach Justin Phillips and his players still expect to compete as the team gets ready for the 2025 season.
UTPB is coming off one of its best seasons in program history, going 35-25 overall, 28-20 in Lone Star Conference play and making an appearance to the LSC championship as well as being selected to the NCAA Division II Tournament for the first time ever.
Last year’s head coach Gabe Grinder has since left for Florida as Phillips looks to continue where the Falcons left off in 2024.
“We know we have a target on our back now that we’ve had some success,” Phillips said. “Our expectations remain the same. We hope that success continues. We just need to take it one game at a time. We hope to set the tone at the first pitch.”
UTPB will have a slightly different roster from last year but Phillips is confident in the players that he has this spring.
“I showed up on campus with 12 guys and then we went up to 34 guys in the first week,” Phillips said. “It was a lot of work getting that to happen. We were fortunate. We didn’t lose a kid to the portal which is abnormal in this day in age. We lost a few guys due to unforeseen circumstances but they didn’t go anywhere else to play. We got nine players in that could help us with depth. It’ll help us for sure.”
With that said, having so many new faces on the team will still present a challenge if the Falcons want to duplicate last year’s success.
“Our weakness is just the newness,” Phillips said. “It’s a new coaching staff and a new ideas and philosophies and thought processes. Trying to navigate that through the first four weeks of the season is going to be a process and those first few weeks will be crucial in understanding who we are.”
Phillips feels that a strength for this year’s team will be the team’s leadership and camaraderie.
“First time ever that we have a locker room and so I think that’s where you build your team as well as on the bus ride to games,” Phillips said. “Us being able to have a place to call our home is good.”
One of the things the Falcons will be focusing on is their defense.
“We did a good job of scoring runs last year so our big focus this year is on pitching and pitching with depth and not just with a certain number of guys,” Phillips said. “If you can pitch, you can win. I think we have an opportunity to do that. Our thing right now is operate the defense. We are down a few guys already … any time that happens, it affects the mantra of the team but we know we have the ‘next guy up’ mentality.”
UTPB will begin its season against No. 2-ranked Angelo State at 3 p.m. Friday in San Angelo.
Angelo State is the defending NCAA Division II runner-up.
“They’re the number two team in the country,” Phillips said. “They lost it all last year but they’re a powerhouse. They’re facilities are unbelievable. They’re coaching staff has been there for a long time. They’re not going to sleep on us but we know they have to play baseball to beat us as well.”
The Falcons’ first home game will be on Feb. 7 against Texas A&M International.
Phillips knows there’s going to be plenty of time for his team to find its identity.
“The biggest thing is that our identity is not going to be based on how we start,” Phillips said. “It’s never how you start. It’s how you finish. I think the biggest thing is as long as we’re going through it and maximizing opportunities, those opportunities will present themselves for the players and the team.”
However, with all the changes taking place, Phillips and his team don’t feel any pressure.
“Our team is new, our coaching staff is new (but) I think the idea of pressure isn’t new,” Phillips said. “We have enough leadership that can help out, specifically our senior leadership, so I think we’re going to be in a position to compete at a high level. What that looks like for the first couple of weeks will depend on how we respond to adversity.”
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