LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (0-0, 0-0 LSC) at
NO. 3 UT TYLER (0-0, 0-0 LSC)
Friday, January 30 – 2 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 31 – 2 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 1 – 1 p.m.
Irwin Field – Tyler, Texas
 
LEADING OFF
The weather in Lubbock hasn't made it feel like it, but the 2026 baseball season begins this week as Lubbock Christian University hits the road to take on No. 3 UT Tyler for three games at Irwin Field. It's a schedule completely full of Lone Star Conference games for the Chaps and the rest of the teams in the league, which added UT Dallas to its ranks this year. Because of the shift, this week's series, along with next week's against Sul Ross State, are just three games, while every series the rest of the year will be four games. LCU will be trying for its fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance and seventh overall, as they bring in almost an entirely new team from a season ago.
 
TO START WITH
The 2026 season begins on Friday, January 30, which is the earliest start to a season since 2021, when Opening Day was on January 29. Lubbock Christian is 34-21 all-time in season-openers, including a 15-6 record in the 21 seasons under head coach Nathan Blackwood. The Chaps lost last year's opener against these same Patriots, coming back in the ninth to tie the game at six, but giving up a run in the seventh. 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.
 
PRESEASON PREDICTIONS
Lubbock Christian was picked to finish third in the 2026 Lone Star Conference Preseason Poll, the league announced on Thursday. The Chaparrals received a 510 points in the poll. UT Tyler was picked to win the league with 603 points. They were just barely ahead of last year's league champion Angelo State, who came in with 599 points. UTT also collected the league's Preseason Player (Drew Schmidt) and Pitcher (Caden Copeland) of the Year. LCU's Kyle Lewis and Caden Cline were named Preseason Players to Watch.
 
GUESS WHO'S BACK
The Chaparrals return just 15 players from a season ago, including three players who were starters in the field. Those three are outfielder Kyle Lewis, first baseman Johnny Gomez III and utility player Brock Tijerina. Lewis was a Third Team All-LSC selection, batting .373, while Tijerina hit .343, mainly out of the designated hitter spot. Three pitchers who threw at least 30 innings last season are also back, including Evan Roach, Karson Dunn and Logan Moore. Roach was on the mound for 51.2 innings and started 11 times, while Dunn and Moore split time between the rotation and the bullpen.
 
FRESH FACES
With so few returners, Lubbock Christian added a whole host of new players to the roster. Of the 22 newcomers, there are seven transfers from Division II schools, three from Division II schools, 10 from junior colleges and three true freshmen. Lubbock native Caden Cline will join the rotation after pitching last season at UT Arlington, and Kyle England will pitch for the Chaps after a successful stint at Odessa College. The two will throw to a new catcher, Jorge De Los Santos, who hit .370 at New Mexico Junior College last season. Carlos Mauldin will also look to boost the Chap offense after a fall at Oregon and a 2025 season at El Paso CC where he hit .449.
 
FROM SEA TO SHINING SEA
LCU's newcomers hail from all over the North American continent, with a whopping 16 (43 percent) hailing from outside of the Lone Star State. The largest contingent from outside of Texas come from Colorado (5), but they also have players from New Mexico, Washington, Idaho, Arizona, Tennessee, Florida, Mexico and even Sitka, Alaska, which more than 3000 miles away from Lubbock.
 
AT THE HELM
For the 23^rd 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 836-390 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 836 wins rank fourth 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 six of the 11 seasons in which the Chaps have been eligible.
 
A-PLUS ASSISTANTS
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 seventh season with the program. Brandon Walker is the team's hitting coach, in his fourth season with the team after previously coaching at Lubbock Christian High School. The graduate assistants are former players Jaxson Edwards and Andrew Duran, and Oliver Houston is the team's strength and conditioning coordinator.
 
LOOKING BACK
Lubbock Christian finished the 2025 season 34-23 overall, placing fourth in the Lone Star Conference standings with a 30-18 league record. The Chaps reached the NCAA Tournament for the third consecutive season and sixth time in program history. Brevin McCool and Ryan Markwardt led the squad, winning LSC Player and Pitcher of the Year, respectively. McCool had a historic season at the plate, breaking the LSC single-game (4), single-season (31) and career (61) home run records. For his performance, McCool was the consensus National Player of the Year.
 
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 six times. Lubbock Christian is 2,315-1,138 (.670) all-time.
 
THE SERIES WITH THE PATRIOTS
UT Tyler moved up from Division III starting with the 2020 season, and the two teams have faced off 24 times on the diamond since then. The Patriots have controlled the all-time series so far, winning 16 of the matchups. Four of those wins came last season at Hays Field when UTT swept the season-opening series. LCU is 3-5 all-time in games played at Irwin Field.
 
SCOUTING THE PATRIOTS

• UT Tyler won the South Central Region last season, advancing to the Division II College World Series for the first time in program history
• Shortstop Drew Schmidt returns after earning First Team All-LSC honors last season and setting the UTT single-season record with 98 hits
• Head coach Brent Porche is in his ninth season leading the program and boasts a record of 295-137 with the Patriots
• UTT is ranked in the top five in all three Division II preseason polls, coming in at No. 4 twice and No. 3 in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association poll
• The Patriots had the best transfer portal class in D-II, according to 64 Analytics