OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma City baseball has been looking forward to this month, when the Stars can exorcise the negative memories of a sub-standard 2025 campaign.
 
A blizzard of injuries overshadowed the program's success, which is known for being in the hunt for national titles. That experience made the Stars turn to their bench, which, in turn, gained valuable game experience.
 
"Well, when you consider the fact that we lost 10 players to season-ending injuries last year, which severely impacted the outcome of us achieving our goal of winning a national championship, and forced us as a team to develop in time a strong sense of mental toughness that I believe will serve us going into this season," said OCU Head Coach Keith Lytle. "I felt like we played really well the last month of the year once we finally learned how to take what we had and make it what we wanted, even though we had so many guys out with injuries."
 
This year's team plans on returning to prominence.
 
"As always, we expect to put ourselves in a position to win a national championship," said Lytle.
 
Returning Position Players
Seventeen players are back this season and prepared to lend their experience to the success of the team.
 
"From a positional standpoint, I believe that Aiden Alexander and Aiden Van Rensum are both key guys going into this year's season," said Lytle. Alexander is a returning two-time SAC Gold Glove recipient as a centerfielder, who is one of the best outfielders to have ever worn an OCU uniform. Van Rensum was one of the best hitters in the SAC last year before suffering a season-ending injury. We are highly confident that he will be a force for us offensively as well as on the mound as a two-way player. Third baseman Jack Johnson and shortstop Will Ellis are expected to also contribute at a high level this season."
 
Other position players returning are Brian Howard, Oliver Falvey, Eli Hill, Heath Brown, Gage Geiger, Reese Ratchford and Jared Raasch.
 
Returning Pitchers
Returning pitchers include Tanner Ellis, Spencer Biggerstaff, Nick Anaya, Bauer Brittain, Dalton Campbell, Cole Sedgwick and Cade Kelsey.
 
"On the mound, we are expecting a great follow-up to Tanner Ellis's freshman campaign last year, going 5-5 with a 4.97 era as a weekend starter," Lytle said. "Dalton Campbell had an outstanding fall, as did Nick Anaya and Spencer Biggerstaff, who are all going to be instrumental in us reaching our ceiling of potential this spring."
 
Position Newcomers
"We have quite a few new players this year that I really feel confident in their abilities to help us succeed in our goals," said Lytle. "Trent Baker, who is a transfer outfielder-pitcher from Lamar University, is a true leadoff hitter with power and the ability to steal bases. He will also be one of our starting pitchers. Cooper Holtorf, a transfer from Paradise Valley JC in Arizona, is another outfielder who runs exceptionally well and will hit at the top of the line-up, complementing our ability to steal bases. First baseman Wyatt Pace, who is a transfer from Coffeyville JC, had an outstanding fall, showing the ability to hit with power to all fields. He will be hitting in the middle of our lineup."
 
Other position newcomers include Brittain Brewer and freshmen Sammy Ponce, Clayton Allen. Tanner McAdoo, Ryan Holman and Luke Matthews.
 
Incoming Pitchers
Transfers Kayden Gray and Cayden Maxwell join freshmen Bayler Weaver, Anthony Smith, C.W. Hester and Lance Martin as newcomers on the pitching staff.
 
"We added a couple of arms at the Christmas break in Kayden Gray and Cayden Maxwell that I believe will add to a promising group of arms and certainly will give us added depth to our pitching staff," Lytle said.
 
The lineup
OCU batted .283 as a team with 48 home runs and 35 stolen bases last season. This year, the Stars look to improve in those areas while featuring a defensive outfield that is expected to limit the opponent's opportunities.
 
"Offensively, I believe we will have more team speed than in the past and still feature the ability to hit with power as well," Lytle said. "Defensively, we have three former centerfielders that will be patrolling all three outfield positions, which will be a major strength of this team." 
 
The Schedule
The Stars, weather permitting, open the season at Friends on Thursday at noon. The first home game is Jan. 30 when Sterling and Clarke visit.
 
Prior to the always-tough Sooner Athletic Conference schedule, the Stars host non-conference games against No. 22 Bellevue and No. 16 Concordia on Feb. 7-8, No. 12 Oklahoma Wesleyan on Feb. 24, and Doane on Feb. 14-15.
 
The Stars play two ranked and one poll-vote-getting conference foes. OCU hosts Np. 17 Wayland Baptist Feb. 27-28 and No. 19 Mid-America Christian March 13-14. The Stars visit USAO, a top 35 team, April 10-11.
 
"As always, the SAC will be extremely competitive this year, as it is one of the strongest baseball conferences in the nation," Lytle said.