Campbell
Defending Big West Champ Mustangs Open 2026 Season Friday at Campbell
2/12/2026 12:15:00 PM | Baseball
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — Cal Poly produced the most hits in all of NCAA Division I during its historic 2025 Big West Conference championship and NCAA regional qualifying season.
All three outfielders, the designated hitter, the left side of the infield and two-thirds of the weekend pitching rotation return from that 43-win squad for Larry Lee’s 24th season as head coach of the Mustangs in 2026.
Toss in four newcomers from the transfer portal, two of whom are likely starters this spring, and Cal Poly enters the new year full of optimism heading into its season-opening series against the Campbell Camels in Buies Creek, N.C., this weekend. First pitch of the 2026 season is Friday at 2 p.m. PT. Saturday's game is slated for 12 p.m. PT and Sunday is at 10 a.m. PT. Friday's game will not be streamed but fans can watch Saturday and Sunday's games on Flo College. Links for those are on the schedule page as well as live stat links for all three games.
“I never really think about expectations and usually I am cautiously optimistic for any season that lies in front of us,” said Lee. “What we’re telling our players is don’t be complacent, don’t be satisfied with what we accomplished last year.
“This year’s team has nothing to do with last year’s team. It’s completely different,” Lee added, but he then cracked a brief smile. “Our returning players are battle tested with what they had to go through last year, especially late in the season. That valuable experience should help us. I don’t anticipate any letdown.”
Outfielder/designated hitter Cam Hoiland (.333 in 2025), center fielder Casey Murray Jr. (.310) and right fielder Dylan Kordic (.264) all were granted an extra year of eligibility under an NCAA exception granting those with two years at a non-NCAA institution followed by two seasons at an NCAA Division I school a fifth year. Left fielder Dante Vachini (.314) also returns for his sophomore campaign.
Third baseman Alejandro Garza (.351), selected by D1Baseball.com as the Big West’s Preseason Player of the Year, is now a junior while shortstop Nate Castellon (.356) gears up for his sophomore season.
As for the pitching rotation, Friday starter Griffin Naess (7-3, 3.41 ERA) and Saturday starter Josh Volmerding (5-5, 6.02 ERA) return along with seven others from the bullpen, including Josh Morano (3-0, 2.64 ERA), Chris Downs (6-0, 3.94 ERA) and Luke Kalfsbeek (3-0, 7.33 ERA).
That leaves holes to fill on the right side of the infield, behind the plate and the Sunday starter on the mound. First baseman Zach Daudet (.360) was drafted last July, second baseman Ryan Fenn (.365) graduated and catcher Jack Collins (.278, team leader in home runs (13) and RBIs (59)) signed as an undrafted free agent. That trio occupied the first, second and fourth spots in the batting order.
In addition, Sunday starter and right hander Ethan Marmie (4-4, 5.91 ERA) will miss the 2026 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery last summer.
“Our goal is to replace those lost players with guys who can produce similar or even greater results, and hoping to have more depth among the pitchers,” said Lee. “We’re hoping to stay healthy the entire season. That’s where depth comes in. When you replace somebody, it’s not as big a dropoff as it could be.
“Last year we developed guys in the fall and put together what we thought was a decent roster on both sides of the ball,” Lee added. “Then the first two weeks of the season punched us right in the face” as the Mustangs started 1-5.
“After those two weeks, we didn’t know how this team would respond nor did I know from week three on that we would play as well as any team that I’ve had,” Lee continued. “We did a lot of good things and we played our best baseball late in the season, especially in both rounds of the playoffs in which we participated (Big West Tournament and NCAA Eugene Regional).
Cal Poly finished eighth in the nation with a .317 team batting average, ninth in doubles with 137, ninth in fielding percentage at .981 and 10th with 47 sacrifice bunts.
In all, from the Mustangs' second-highest winningest team in program history, a total of 21 lettermen return, including six position starters and 10 pitchers, joined by four transfers and 11 newcomers.
A look at each position …
Catcher
With Collins gone, the backstop duties fall upon Ryan Tayman, the transfer from Cal by way of Arroyo Grande High School. Tayman hit .274 in his second season with the Bears last spring with five home runs and 16 RBIs in 39 games (17 starts).
“Ryan has done a real good job of developing on both sides of the ball,” said Lee. “He is a high-end defensive catcher and has developed into a very productive offensive player."
Sophomore Vinnie Van der Wel, who played in eight games a year ago as one of Collins’ backups, is second on this year’s backstop depth chart.
Infield
In the infield, the Mustangs will have two juniors at the corners and a pair of sophomores up the middle when the 2026 season opens Friday night.
A two-time All-Big West first-team selection, Garza led the conference in hits as a sophomore and his .351 average included 16 doubles, six home runs and 54 RBIs. He was the ninth-toughest batter in the nation to strike out and was 13th nationally in hits. Garza had 32 multi-hit games and produced a 20-game hitting streak.
Garza also had a strong summer, competing in the prestigious Cape Cod League for the Orleans Firebirds and hitting .298, the fourth-highest batting average in the league, against some of the best collegiate pitchers in the country.
Castellon capped a brilliant freshman season with the second-best average on the team and sixth in the Big West en route to second-team Freshman All-National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association honors. He also earned All-Big West second-team accolades as he finished 10th in the nation and second in the Big West with 13 sacrifice bunts. His statistics also included 14 doubles, a pair of triples, three home runs and Castellon was third on the team with 50 RBIs.
Over on the right side of the infield on Opening Day will be junior Braxton Thomas at first base and sophomore Jake Downing at second base.
Despite major knee surgeries on both legs the last two years, Thomas hit .217 as a freshman, .258 last spring and is poised to make even greater contributions in 2026 as the Mustangs’ starting first baseman. “This will be the first year that he’s been healthy,” said Lee.
Downing played in 33 games in his first year as a Mustang, including 18 starts, many of them as a replacement for injured players Fenn and Daudet. He responded with 24 hits, a .316 average, 14 RBIs and just one error in 114 fielding chances.
Freshmen Gavin Spiridonoff (Santa Margarita HS) and Antonio Castro (De La Salle HS) provide much-needed depth in the infield. Spiridonoff hit .315 as a senior, landing on the All-Orange County first team, while Castro compiled a .426 average with 10 doubles, seven home runs and 45 RBIs.
"We have two really good freshmen who can play all around the infield," said Lee. "Spiridonoff and Castro are capable of playing at a high level. This group in the infield is really good and there’s good competition."
Outfield
Lee has four solid outfielders for three spots. Whoever doesn't start on the field likely will be the Mustangs' designated hitter.
Murray anchors the outfield as the middle man and likely will join a list of much-heralded Mustang center fielders of the past, such as Jake Steels, Bradlee Beesley, Alex McKenna, Bobby Crocker, Mitch Haniger, Logan Schafer and Brandon Roberts. Murray's offensive numbers in 2025 included 11 doubles, nine home runs and 46 RBIs and he did not commit an error in 165 fielding chances.
Vachini made 57 starts as a true freshman, all in left field, and his .314 mark at the plate included 15 doubles and 37 RBIs to go along with six stolen bases.
Kordic's 56 starts included all but one in right field and he responded with 11 doubles, seven home runs and 42 RBIs. He tied a school record with eight RBIs in one game against UC Riverside, homered twice in one inning at San Jose State and, like Murray, did not commit an error in 150 chances.
Hoiland, who started 35 games as designated hitter and nine in the outfield last spring, produced eight doubles, six home runs and 24 RBIs for his .333 average.
Vachini, Kordic and Hoiland provide much-needed left-handed bats in Cal Poly's lineup. Kordic, Hoiland and Murray all are fifth-year seniors and in their third season with the Mustangs.
"All have a lot of experience at the Division I level," said Lee. "We will try to figure out how to keep all of them happy. We have some guys who you aren’t going to take out of the lineup."
When someone does come out, senior Xander McLaurin likely will step in. The transfer from Long Beach City College a year ago hit .292 in 20 games (two starts) last spring.
Pitching
Two spots in the weekend rotation seem to be set -- Naess on Fridays and Volmerding on Saturdays. With Marmie out for the year, the Sunday slot likely will go to one of the four-year transfers -- junior right-hander Laif Palmer from Oregon State.
Palmer appeared in 18 games with one start a year ago, posting a 2-0 record, 2.03 ERA and a pair of saves. The Golden (Colo.) High School graduate held Beaver opponents to a stingy .168 batting average and made one appearance on the mound in the 2025 College World Series, tossing 1 1/3 scoreless innings against eventual national runner-up Coastal Carolina.
"Nothing is set in stone, but we’re thinking Naess on Friday and Volmerding on Saturday. We're not 100 percent sure, but more than likely we will be going with Palmer on Sunday," Lee said last week. "He's a high-profile guy as a veteran and looks to have a leg up with his experience, not from a starting role but he has pitched in the College World Series and pitched at a high level with a quality program."
Naess, 7-0 as a freshman en route to Big West Freshman Pitcher of the Year honors, was an All-Big West honorable mention last spring with 62 strikeouts over 95 innings. He also struck out 62 foes as Cal Poly's Sunday starter over the final 10 weeks of the 2024 campaign.
Volmerding, the only lefty in the predicted weekend rotation, led the Mustangs with his 83 strikeouts while issuing just 29 walks as last year's Saturday starter. He was within three outs of Cal Poly's first complete-game no-hitter in 55 years before giving up a leadoff single in the ninth inning at UC Davis.
Other potential starters include freshmen Corden Pettey (Whitney HS in Rocklin) and Sean McGrath (San Marin HS), both right-handers. There may be others, but Lee wants to preserve the strength of the bullpen with his main relievers of a year ago -- right-handers Chris Downs, Carson Turnquist, Troy Cooper and Erik Kvidahl plus southpaws Josh Morano, Caden Pearlman and Luke Kalfsbeek.
"We’d like to keep some of our main relievers in the pen because they were so valuable for what we accomplished last year," said Lee, "and we’ve added some more arms into the bullpen as well. As with any season, we'll use the first two or three weeks to try and figure out the bullpen, how we set up the pitching as well as how our offense and defense set up."
Downs was 6-0 with a 3.94 ERA and three saves in 25 relief appearances, producing memorable and victorious back-to-back 6 1/3-inning outings against UC Irvine in the Big West Tournament and Utah Valley in the NCAA Eugene Regional. Morano (3-0, 2.94 ERA) had a late-season 6 1/3-inning relief performance as well, against Hawai'i in the Big West Tournament.
The bullpen also will feature senior right-hander Nick Bonn, who made 15 relief appearances at Dallas Baptist (1-3, 10.24 ERA, 22 strikeouts over 19 1/3 innings) last spring after two seasons at Pepperdine, making 13 starts on Fridays as a sophomore. He is a 2022 graduate of Laguna Beach High School in Orange County.
"We’re hoping to see Bonn as an end-of-the-game type of pitcher," said Lee.
Campbell Camels
This will be the first ever meeting between Cal Poly and Campbell. Campbell returns 23 lettermen off last year's 25-31 squad, including four who have earned Preseason All-Coastal Athletic Association (formerly Colonial Athletic Association) honors. The Camels finished tied for third place with College of Charleston in the CAA.
The quartet includes first baseman Joey Morton (.289, 13 home runs, 42 RBIs), a first-team All-CAA selection in 2025; outfielder Joe Simpson (.345, 10 home runs, 31 RBIs, 21 steals), a second-team all-conference performer; utility player Jeff Music (.283, 18 appearances on the mound, 2-2, 7.88 ERA, one save), an All-CAA rookie team honoree; and southpaw Lleyton Grubich (2-3, 4.26 ERA, two saves).
Picked to finish fourth in the CAA this spring, Campbell's other top returnees include shortstop Darnell Parker Jr. (.257, eight home runs, 40 RBIs), third baseman Jonah Oster (.252, eight home runs, 28 RBIs) and catcher Andrew Schuldt (.268, 14 doubles, 11 home runs,49 RBIs). The Camels' roster also includes second baseman Trent Rumley (.347, 13 doubles, 10 home runs), a transfer from Canisius, and outfielder Mikey Murphy (.311, nine home runs, 13 stolen bases), who transferred from Central Michigan.
In addition to Grubich and Music, Campbell's pitching staff also is led by right-handers Mason Smith (12 starts, 2-6, 5.61 ERA) and Zach Sabers (five starts, five relief appearances, 2-2, 5.17 ERA). Also on Campbell's roster is Camden Wimbish (1-0, 16.00 ERA), a right-handed transfer from North Carolina State who was limited to nine innings a year ago.
Campbell enjoyed much success from 2013-23, earning five straight Big South regular season titles (2018-23), claiming Big South Tournament championships in 2018, 2019, 2022 and 2023 and qualifying for six NCAA regionals in an 11-year span from 2013-23.
The Camels moved to the Coastal Athletic Association prior to the 2024 season.
Campbell's most famous baseball alumnus is pitcher Gaylord Perry, who earned 314 wins and 3,534 strikeouts over a 22-year Major League career and claimed a pair of Cy Young Awards.
Chris Marx is in his second season as head coach of the Camels, replacing Justin Haire, who went to Ohio State prior to the 2025 season. Haire was head coach at Campbell for 10 seasons (2015-24).
Marx was lead assistant coach and pitching coach at Purdue from 2020-24 and was assistant coach under Haire at Campbell from 2015-19. Marx has 17 years of experience as a college assistant coach (Southern Indiana 2008-11, Little Rock 2012-14, Campbell 2015-19, Purdue 2020-24) and played collegiately at Olney Central College and Ouachita Baptist University.
