LAS CRUCES, N.M. — The NMSU baseball team’s 2025 season kicks off this weekend as they host St. Thomas in a four-game series matchup Feb. 14-17. The Aggies will look to repeat last year’s start and begin the year off with a win Feb. 14 at 6 p.m.
The Aggies lost some important players from last year’s team, but there are 13 returning players and 26 fresh players.
The Aggies star player from the past two seasons, Keith Jones II ,was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the MLB draft during the summer. Jones II was phenomenal in his stint with the program, racking up many accolades. He made First Team All-Conference USA in 2024 and was a Dick Howser Trophy Semifinalist. He recorded a .367 batting average his senior season. He also railed in 17 home runs and 67 RBI’s.
Titus Dumitru was another standout player for the Aggies last season who got drafted into the MLB. Dumitru was selected by the Atlanta Braves with the 491st pick. He made Second Team All-Conference USA and will be a key loss as he looks to make an impact professionally.
These statistics show how valuable both these players were for the Aggies, but head coach Jake Angier thinks he has a few players who can take on a similar role.
Infielder Sheehan O’Connor is returning for his second year with the Aggies after a solid first season. He recorded 22 hits which resulted in two home runs.
Another player to keep an eye on is two-year returning starter Mitch Namie, who will look to make an even bigger impact on this team his junior year. The Mesa, Arizona, native recorded a .333 batting average with five home runs last season. Off the field, Namie also earned accolades, like being selected for Academic All-CUSA 2024.
Las Cruces native Steve Solorzano is considered a fan favorite since he is a hometown hero. Solorzano was only featured in 30 games last season due to a hand injury which sidelined him from the other 24. When he did play, he made his presence known, pulling in 18 RBI’s and hitting three home runs. He even made one start at pitcher, but was more known for being an infielder. Despite being injured for a good chunk of the season, Solorzano still managed to be selected to the 2024 All-CUSA Freshman Team.
Saul Soto was successful at pitcher for the Aggies last season and will be someone Angier likely calls on. Soto posted an ERA of 4.79. He was awarded four wins and three saves, which led the team. He also struck out 41 hits.
Angier brought in some talented first-year pitchers as well because Presley Askew Field is a hitter’s dream.
“We wanted to bring in guys that can pitch in those conditions,” Angier said. “You need to be able to strike people out in Las Cruces, so we are really focused on bringing in more velocity and guys that throw good breaking balls.”
The Aggies have the highest RPI gain in the country, jumping up 159 spots from last season, which is a true testament to the program Angier has built in his short time in Las Cruces.
The Aggies are projected to finish tied for eight in CUSA with Middle Tennessee. While being expected to finish toward the bottom of the standings, the Aggies still received one first place vote from Angier, which shows how much he believes in his team.
Angier has proven to be the right man for the job as he helped the Aggies have a much improved season in 2024. Despite finishing with just a 25-29 record, the Aggies recorded 11 more wins than the previous season when they went 14-37. They picked up some impressive wins like defeating Arizona 12-9 on the road. They also won their series matchup 2-1 against a solid Louisiana Tech team.
Angier will try to continue to build a strong culture in Las Cruces, but with the influence of NIL, that may be easier said than done.
“It’d be great if I could say, we got this culture going last year and we had some steam at the end of the season,” Angier said. “We did some good things and now we can just kind of set it and forget it, but it doesn’t really work that way. You really gotta rebuild it and restart that from scratch.”
The Aggies have its hands full this season with many challenging opponents to go against. They travel to College Station, Texas, to take on the 2024 College World Series runner-up and No. 1 ranked Texas A&M Aggies in a series Mar. 7-9. They face the CUSA favorite Dallas Baptist University early in conference play. They also play Arizona on the road twice and Louisiana Tech in an away series the final three games of the season May. 15-17.
Last season, the Aggies went 2-1 against its I-25 rival University of New Mexico Lobos. The Aggies lost the first matchup 14-4 on the road in Albuquerque, but bounced back with a dominant 10-2 win the following matchup between the two at home. They took care of business in the last matchup of the season against each other with a come-from-behind 10-8 victory.
The Aggies are seeking an NCAA tournament appearance and conference title for the first time since 2022.
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