Cal Poly Baseball Announces 2025 Schedule
12/18/2024 12:30:00 PM | Baseball
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — Coming off Cal Poly’s second-winningest season under Larry Lee since 2014, the Mustangs are excited to announce their 2025 schedule, which includes opponents from the PAC-12, BIG-10, SEC, Mountain West, Big East, and WCC.
Our strength of schedule is once again very strong, with many of those games on the road. The four non-conference series are against some of the best teams in the country with road series at UCLA and Texas A&M, and home series against Oregon State and Seton Hall.Head Coach Larry Lee
Last year, the Mustangs enjoyed a successful campaign (35-22, 20-10 Big West) despite tying Hawai’i for third place in the conference standings and missing out on a NCAA postseason berth. Even so, they still earned series wins over both ranked Big West foes - UCSB and UCI - that went on to regionals.
Especially in comparison to 2023’s performance, the Mustangs had a 2024 to remember as they tied for the fourth-largest turnaround in Division I baseball, enjoying a +27 point shift from 21-35 to 35-22 just one season later. The 2024 Big West Coaches’ Poll predicted Cal Poly to finish 7th, which the Mustangs answered with a 24-12 home record and five straight series wins to kick off the conference slate.
While the Mustangs lost two pitchers (Jakob Wright and Steven Brooks) and their two best hitters (Ryan Stafford and Jake Steels) to the MLB draft, they do return award-winning freshmen Griffin Naess and Alejandro Garza, regular relievers Jake Torres and Tanner Sagouspe, veteran infielder Ryan Fenn, and standout breakthrough talents like Dylan Kordic, Braxton Thomas, and Josh Volmerding, among others.
After hitting .325/.362/.461 with 18 doubles and 10 stolen bases last season, Ryan Fenn could've gone pro, but he opted to return for one last ride with @CalPolyBSB.
— D1Baseball (@d1baseball) November 7, 2024
The infielder made just three errors on 256 chances in 2024.@KinaTraxInc Fall Report ?? https://t.co/j0ao2OVP26 pic.twitter.com/fajoIYCt4l
.@GriffinNaess123 thrived as @CalPolyBSB's primary Sunday starter last season, going 7-0 with a 3.58 ERA in 70.1 innings.
— D1Baseball (@d1baseball) November 6, 2024
The righty appears set to make a jump as a sophomore after adding strength and velocity.@KinaTraxInc Fall Report ?? https://t.co/LVjhDWBy3T pic.twitter.com/Va49F4IVUM
We lost some integral players from last year’s team, especially up the middle defensively. The key will be for our returning players to take a step forward and collectively become a stronger team in all facets of the game.Head Coach Larry Lee
In what will be the program’s 31st Division I season and 23rd under coach Lee, Cal Poly’s schedule starts with three historically significant opponents in the first few series before conference play begins, not to mention the 2024 first overall pick’s alma mater just a couple weeks into the season.
The first of those opponents, which starts a seven-game road trip to begin the season, is five-time College World Series participant and 2013 champions UCLA from Feb. 14-16. Staying in Los Angeles, the Mustangs will then take on LMU one day later to round out the first weekend of competition.
Arguably Cal Poly’s toughest opponent since 2020 with #5 Michigan and #1 Vanderbilt in back-to-back games, the Mustangs head to College Station, Texas for a three-game series from Feb. 21-23 against 2024 College World Series runners-up Texas A&M. The trip to Texas will be Cal Poly’s only time this season traveling outside California.
Series are series. You look to win each and every one of them. You can’t look too far ahead at any specific game or series.Head Coach Larry Lee
Cal Poly finally gets the chance to defend home field from Feb. 28 to March 2 while hosting the Big East’s Seton Hall: a regular College World Series stalwart in the 1960’s and 70’s that has recently fallen on harder times. The four-game home-opening series includes a March 1 doubleheader.
Midweek road contests against Fresno State and San Jose State bookend Cal Poly’s first conference matchup of the season from March 7-9 at Baggett Stadium against Cal State Fullerton before the Mustangs travel to Long Beach State for a March 14-16 series.
Cal Poly’s final full non-conference series of the season comes against the Oregon State Beavers at home who the Mustangs last played also in San Luis Obispo two seasons ago.
A program relatively featured in the top-25 rankings, Oregon State is coming off a NCAA Super Regionals appearance while star player Travis Bazzana was arguably one of the best, if not the best college baseball player, getting drafted first overall in the 2024 MLB Amateur Draft by the Cleveland Guardians as a result.
Pepperdine and Fresno State road trips will be played on each side of a visit to UC Davis before Cal Poly’s longest home stretch of the season from April 4-15, featuring UC San Diego and Hawai’i on the conference side but also including non-conference matchups with San Jose State and Santa Clara. That April 4-6 series vs. UC San Diego will also be Alumni Weekend!
Following that nearly two-week home stand, only three non-conference clashes remain against Fresno State (4/22), Santa Clara (4/29), and Pepperdine (5/6).
A pair of home conference series start and end the final half-month of the season beginning with UC Irvine at Baggett, then two more road series at Cal State Bakersfield and CSUN sandwiched in the middle, and finally closing the regular season with UC Riverside at home from May 15-17.
If the Mustangs are one of the top six teams in the conference (by conference win-loss record), at that point they will participate in a double elimination conference tournament hosted by Cal State Fullerton from May 21-25, as announced by the Big West back in 2023.
Get ready to mark your calendars, baseball fans, because the holidays have come early! ??
— Cal Poly Baseball (@CalPolyBSB) December 18, 2024
We're ready to announce our 2025 schedule, featuring 26 home games, matchups against multiple 2024 ranked programs, and for the first time a six-team Big West Championship! ??#RideHigh pic.twitter.com/cNw2xlVeMu
[Postseason] regional bids boil down to your RPI. You need to win a large amount of games, and beat the better teams on your schedule. Hopefully, the Big West Championship gives a lower RPI team the chance to receive a bid by winning the tournament.Head Coach Larry Lee
Season tickets are already available for purchase at the link below, and individual tickets will begin selling on Feb. 1, coming soon! Further promotions will also be announced at a later date and can be viewed at the link below when available.
You can support Mustangs baseball by joining the Mustang Dugout Club. Also, join the Mustangs Kids Club today, where the Pro package gets full access to all baseball games!
