HOUSTON – A new look HCU baseball team opens the 2025 campaign this Friday evening with the program's first-ever night game at Husky Field featuring a new head coach and 33 newcomers on its roster as the Huskies begin a four-game series against the Central Michigan Chippewas.
With brand new lights installed at Husky Field, HCU is scheduled to host its first-ever night game on Friday, Feb. 14, with a doubleheader scheduled to start at 3:00 p.m. The two teams are then set for a single game on Saturday with a 6:30 p.m. first pitch followed by one game on Sunday at 12:30 p.m.
The Huskies return senior pitcher
Parker Edwards who was named second team preseason all-conference after moving to the mound last season and posting a 5-5 record with a 4-3 mark in Southland Conference play. He took a perfect game into the eighth inning against UIW in his final start of the year and enjoyed a three-game stretch with 17 innings pitched and just one earned run allowed in conference play.
Senior transfer
Joshua Caravalho joins the Huskies' pitching staff after two seasons at Oral Roberts where he made 21 starts and 32 appearances. He posted a 5-1 record in 2023, the season ORU reached the College World Series, and finished the 2024 season with a 1-3 record. Other newcomers to the HCU pitching staff include
Louis Castano, who went 9-3 last year at Ranger College with a 3.18 ERA,
Ben Norton, who went 4-0 as a reliever with a pair of saves in 21 appearances at Cleveland State Community College, and
Kyler Mentzel, who posted a 2.40 ERA in 30 innings with 43 strikeouts at Alvin Community College.
Senior infielder
Trevor Roper returns after batting .300 last season and ranking second on the team with 13 doubles. Also returning is junior catcher
Luke Bard who started 38 games last season, batting .234 with four home runs and 20 RBI.
Transfers
Matthew Leiterman and
Jeremy Rader are expected to be important parts of the HCU infield with Leiterman a transfer from Ohlone College where he batted .376 with seven home runs, 46 RBI and seven stolen bases last season. Rader, meanwhile, comes from Southeastern where he spent one season after two years at Johnson County Community College. Rader was an ABCA/Rawlings NJCAA D1 Gold Glove Award winner as a sophomore.
Central Michigan was picked to finish ninth in the Mid-American Conference preseason poll after finishing 2024 with a 17-38 overall record and an 8-22 mark in conference play. The Chippewas' 38-man roster features 23 newcomers.
Top returners for CMU include junior outfielder Cole Prout who appeared in 37 games with 27 starts last season, batting .253 with 17 RBI and 17 runs scored while successfully stealing eight bases on nine attempts. Mikey Murphy, a sophomore outfielder, also stole eight bases while driving in 17 runs with three home runs, four doubles and a pair of triples as a freshman.
Following the opening weekend series, the Huskies will head to Cleburne, Texas for a neutral site matchup with Tarleton State on Tuesday, Feb. 18, at 6:00 p.m. at La Moderna Field.
