ALEXANDRIA, La. – Oklahoma City University makes its debut under new head baseball coach Keith Lytle this weekend.
The Stars will open a baseball season for the first time in January since 2004. Oklahoma City, ranked 11th in the NAIA, squares off with LSU Alexandria with first pitch in the twin bill at noon Friday at Generals Field.
Lytle became the Oklahoma City head coach following the death of its longtime coach, Denney Crabaugh. Lytle had been the right-hand man for Crabaugh as OCU rose to become the winningest college baseball program since 1991 and win the national championship in 2005. Crabaugh guided OCU to a 1,601-493-2 record with 14 NAIA World Series appearances since 1989. Oklahoma City racked up 1,535 victories since 1991.
"I fell in love not only with OCU, and not just the baseball program, but also the overall environment was unbelievable," Lytle said about Oklahoma City. "Denney always treated me as his equal. We went on, and we started building something really special. The investment of love, blood, sweat and tears that went into that just drew me to love this place more and more each day. I felt compelled to stay and keep building on. I'm glad I did.
"The alumni coming back speak so highly about what it meant to play here. I think more than anything else, more than the wins, the national championship, nothing compares to when you hear about how much their experience here at OCU filters into their everyday life as a husband, father and their work, whatever they do for a living. There's a piece of OCU baseball within all of that. That's what Denney and I were most proud of."
In 2022, the Stars posted a 49-6 mark while sweeping the Sooner Athletic Conference regular-season and tournament championships. OCU finished its season in the NAIA Championship Opening Round Oklahoma City Bracket.
OCU faces LSU Alexandria, which won the Red River Athletic Conference Tournament title and advanced to the Opening Round in Oklahoma City last year, in a three-game set this weekend. In 2004, the Stars opened their season with a 9-1 romp past Northwood (Texas) on Jan. 30 in Cedar Hill, Texas.
TOP RETURNERS
• Eli Davis garnered second-team NAIA all-America and SAC pitcher of the year acclaim last year after accumulating a 10-1 record, 1.45 earned run average and 95 strikeouts in 74.1 innings pitched. Davis, a senior left-hander from Shawnee, Okla., studying criminal justice, made the preseason all-America team to become the first Star on the list since 2019 (Tyler Williams). He ranked third nationally in wins and fourth in average strikeouts
• Jesse Fonteboa put together a .346 batting average, 10 home runs and 30 RBIs last season. Fonteboa, a senior exercise major from Las Vegas, pounded two homers at Science & Arts on March 19 and nailed the walk-off hit in 16-15 shootout with Wayland Baptist (Texas) on March 5
• Felix Chenier-Rondeau, a junior psychology major from Blainville, Quebec, Canada, provided OCU with a .342 batting average, one homer and 26 RBIs in 2022. Rondeau hit .556 during the SAC Tournament and .440 in the postseason last year
NEW FACES
• Trent Kiraly looks to crack the starting lineup early on among the infield. Kiraly, a junior finance major from Farmington, N.M., posted a .304 batting average with six home runs and 38 RBIs last season with Pima (Ariz.)
• Barrett Daniel will be in the mix for significant time in the outfield. Daniel, a junior biomedical sciences major from Bixby, Okla., drove in five runs and had a .523 on-base percentage in limited time at Seminole State
PRESEASON BUZZ
• OCU owns the No. 11 spot in the preseason NAIA rankings released Nov. 2
• The Stars begin the season atop the conference rankings
MEET THE COACH
• Keith Lytle has been known throughout his 34-year tenure at OCU as a premier hitting coach and motivational speaker. The Stars have consistently been among the team leaders in the NAIA in several offensive categories, hitting 161 home runs in 2008 to set the NAIA single-season team record
• Lytle has drawn acclaim as the 2018 NAIA baseball assistant coach of the year, the 2003 national assistant coach of the year and induction into OCU Athletics Hall of Fame and NAIA Hall of Fame. With his contributions, OCU has collected 14 50-win seasons, 14 conference titles and 14 trips to the NAIA World Series in 34 years
• Lytle has produced eight national players of the year award winners among 89 all-Americans. OCU alum Freddy Sanchez captured the 2006 National League batting champion and helped the San Francisco Giants win the 2010 World Series. Lytle has mentored 149 future professionals, including 71 selected in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft
MARK YOUR CALENDAR
• The Stars make their 2023 home debut Feb. 4 in a noon doubleheader against Clarke (Iowa) at Jim Wade Stadium. OCU has a three-game series against Clarke scheduled with the conclusion 1 p.m. Feb. 5
• Four teams among the preseason NAIA top 25 are on OCU's schedule. Fifth-ranked Bellevue (Neb.) and No. 21 Concordia (Neb.) visit Oklahoma City on Feb. 11-12, while No. 12 MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) comes to town Feb. 17-18. No. 19 Science & Arts is on the docket April 20 and 22
• The Stars begin conference play March 3-4 against Wayland Baptist (Texas) in Plainview, Texas
• The SAC Tournament takes place May 5-8 at Jim Wade Stadium
