No. 12 LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (0-0, 0-0 LSC) vs.
No. 16 UT TYLER (0-0, 0-0 LSC)
Friday, January 31 – 3 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 1 – 1 p.m. (DH)
Sunday, Feb. 2 – 1 p.m.
Hays Field – Lubbock, Texas
 
LEADING OFF
The defense of the Lone Star Conference title begins this week for Lubbock Christian, as they open the 2025 season at 3 p.m. on Friday at Hays Field against UT Tyler. LCU's 2024 season was their most successful in the NCAA Division II era. The Chaps finished the season 45-16 overall, winning the LSC title with a 35-13 league record. It was their first conference title since joining the LSC in 2020 and their 16th league championship in school history. LCU earned the No. 1 seed in the NCAA South Central Regional, beating Regis and UT Permian Basin to advance to the Super-Regional round for the first time since joining the NCAA in 2016. The Chaps fell one game shy of advancing to the D-II World Series.
 
ON YOUR MARK… GET SET…
The 2025 season begins on Friday, January 31 for the Chaps, which marks the first time Opening Day has come in the first month of the year since 2021, when they began play on January 29. Lubbock Christian is 34-20 all-time in season-openers, including a 15-6 record in the 21 seasons under head coach Nathan Blackwood. Last season LCU won the season-opener 9-8, taking a 9-2 lead in the third and holding off a seventh-inning comeback attempt by the Aggies. The Chaps won their first eight season openers ever until finally suffering an opening day loss to UTEP in 1979. LCU's longest streak of losses came from 1997 to 2001 when they lost five straight.
 
NATIONALLY KNOWN
Lubbock Christian enters the 2025 season ranked in all three Division II national polls. Their highest ranking came in the American Baseball Coaches Association poll, where they were placed 12^th. They also earned a No.15 ranking from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and the No. 16 spot in the D-II Baseball poll. UT Tyler was only ranked in the ABCA poll, coming in at No. 16.
 
LONE STAR LOOKOUT
The Chaps were picked second in the 2025 Lone Star Conference Preseason Poll, which was announced on Jan. 23. LCU received 457 points in the poll, including five first place votes, placing behind Angelo State's 483 points and 29 first place votes. ASU also had the league's Preseason Player of the Year in Jacob Guerrero, while the Preseason Pitcher of the Year is UT Tyler's Rawley Hector. From LCU, Brevin McCool and Ryan Markwardt were selected as Preseason Players to Watch.
 
AT THE HELM
For the 22^nd consecutive season, Lubbock Christian will be led by head coach Nathan Blackwood. A Lubbock native and graduate of LCU himself (1995), Blackwood has an amassed a 802-367 all-time record. He became the winningest coach in program history in 2021, winning his 696th game and last season crossed the 800-win threshold. His 802 wins rank 17^th among active D-II head coaches. The Chaps have won one NAIA National Championship under Blackwood, and he has led LCU to the NCAA postseason in five of the 10 seasons in which the Chaps have been eligible.
 
HOW CAN I ASSIST YOU?
On the coaching staff with Blackwood are two full-time assistants as well as a pair of graduate assistants. Jermaine Van Buren is the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator for the Chaps, in his sixth season with the program. Brandon Walker is the team's hitting coach, in his third season with the team after previously coaching at Lubbock Christian High School. The graduate assistants are Jacob Ochoa and Jaxson Edwards, and Noah Frederick is the team's strength and conditioning coordinator. LCU's coaching staff was named the best in the LSC last season.
 
GUESS WHO'S BACK
The Chaparrals return four of their starting position players, two starting pitchers and several bullpen arms from the 2024 team, including three All-Americans. Those three include Jacob Gutierrez, who hit .424 in 49 games, Brevin McCool, who led the team with 14 home runs and Ryan Markwardt, who was 12-1 on the mound and second in the LSC with 81 strikeouts. Other returners who played key roles on last year's squad include left fielder Shea Bowen, second baseman Frayner Chavez and pitchers Andrew Duran and Cadon Everett.
 
FRESH FACES
With the loss of five starting position players, a pair of starting pitchers and several key relievers, there are a number of new guys on the 2025 squad. Two D-I transfers will take over the left side of the infield, with Nicklaus Baumbach from UALR at third and Kade York from UTRGV at shortstop. Lubbock native Kyle Lewis has joined the Chaps after two seasons at Midland College, where he hit .382 last season. On the mound LCU added another transfer who grew up in Lubbock with Lex Garcia, who limited opponents to a .235 average last year. Evan Roach is also new to the team after posting a 3.80 ERA in 2024 at Cisco.
 
FRIENDLY CONFINES
The Chaparrals play a total of 24 home games this season, beginning with the four this weekend against  UT Tyler. Originally dedicated on April 29, 1978 as Chaparral Stadium, the complex was renamed Hays Field in 1999 to honor the L.D., Pearl, Larry, and Daren Hays families for their dedication and commitment to the ideals and values of Lubbock Christian University. The playing dimensions of Hays Field measure 340 feet down the lines, 380 feet to the power alleys, and 400 feet to straight away center. LCU was 26-9 on their own turf last year and the program is 1,182-359 in home games all-time.
 
LOOKING BACK
The 2024 season was one to remember in a long history of successful LCU baseball teams. Along with the conference and regional championships, the Chaps had four players earn All-American honors and seven earn All-Conference recognition, including Player of the Year Carson Ogilvie and Academic Player of the Year McCool. The Chaps ranked in the top 10 nationally in walks (6), batting average (5), doubles (2), hits (2), home runs (5), on-base percentage (9), scoring (7), slugging percentage (3) and triples (1).
 
EVEN FURTHER BACK
Way back in 1962, when Lubbock Christian College was still just a two-year school, there was a group of students who "simply wanted to play ball." Les Perrin heard their cry and agreed to be the sponsor and coach of LCC's first baseball team. He held that post for five seasons before the program was disbanded, but that was just the beginning of baseball on campus. Starting with the 1970-71 school year, LCC transitioned to four-year status and athletic director/coach Larry Hays re-started the program with the '71 season. Hays led the program into the spotlight quickly, getting to the NAIA World Series for the first time in 1977. The Chaps made four more World Series appearances under Hays, winning a National Championship in 1983. Jimmy Shankle followed Hays as head coach and had a 1991 WS appearance. They went to the WS four more times under Blackwood, winning the title again in 2009 before transitioning to the NCAA in 2013. Since the transition, they have won four conference titles and reached the NCAA Regional five times. Lubbock Christian is 2,281-1,1115 (.672).
 
THE SERIES WITH THE PATRIOTS
Lubbock Christian and UT Tyler have met only 20 times overall, all since 2020 when the Patriots moved up to the Division II level and joined the Lone Star Conference. The Chaps are 8-12 all-time against the Patriots, including 4-7 in games played at Hays Field. In 2024, the two teams split the series played in Tyler, with all four games decided by two runs or less.
 
SCOUTING THE PATRIOTS

• UT Tyler was picked fourth in the LSC Preseason Poll with 386 points and one first place vote
• Patriot head coach Brent Porche is in his 13^th season leading the program with a 393-207 all-time record
• UTT finished fifth in the LSC last season with a 28-20 league record
• The Patriot pitching staff posted a 6.18 ERA in 2024, led by Hector, who had a 2.95 ERA  in 73.1 innings of work
• Offensively, UT Tyler hit .313 in 2024, which was the fifth-best mark in the conference