Baseball 1/30/2023 4:00:00 PM Chris Brannick

Baseball Arrives At UCO

Central Oklahoma Opens 2023 Season With Fifth Annual Edmond First Pitch Classic

EDMOND – It's opening week for UCO baseball, with the Bronchos scheduled to host the fifth annual Edmond First Pitch Classic at Wendell Simmons Field this weekend to start the 2023 campaign.

SEE THE FULL 2023 SCHEDULE HERE

The Bronchos are hosting a six-team, nine-game event over three days beginning Friday. Fellow MIAA squads Emporia State and Pittsburg State will be in Edmond, as well as Great American Conference members Oklahoma Baptist and Southwestern Oklahoma State. Northern State, of Aberdeen, South Dakota and the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, will also be in town for the festival.

Central Oklahoma has a 50-game schedule on tap for 2023, including 13 home games in the month of February. The only road trip during the 14-game month is to Bethany, Oklahoma on the west side of the metro to face Southern Nazarene.

Central Oklahoma has 33 MIAA games on the schedule this Spring. The Bronchos finished fourth in the league standings last season and were picked in that same spot in this year's preseason coaches' poll.

UCO returns 13 players that appeared in a game for the Bronchos last season. Of that group, 10 are position players and only three pitchers return from a year ago. There are 27 new faces on the 2023 Central Oklahoma baseball roster. Of that group, Martin has brought in 16 new pitchers and 11 new position players.

"We believe the standard here is that we're going to go out and fight and compete every single day and try to win baseball games," Martin said about the program. "We've had some great kids here the last few years, but our goal is to win and we haven't, so we made a lot of changes. We believe we've brought in some really good pieces and some guys that are extremely competitive and now we'll see if we can't get back to winning and get back to the national tournament."

Martin still has produced a stout 213 wins in his short tenure with the Bronchos. He'll look at some of the returning crop to lead the way this year and will also look to some of the newcomers to make an immediate impact.

Here is a position preview for the 2023 UCO Broncho baseball team.

PITCHERS

It all starts with pitching and it can be said it ends there too. UCO is returning four pitchers from last season's squad and three that appeared in a game for the Bronchos. Aside from fifth-year senior Jacob Bailey, who returns for a year granted by the pandemic, Martin's other returning arms don't have that much experience. Jase Farmer (12.1) and Brian Skillman (6.0) are the only other pitchers with live innings pitched. Jacob Savage did not play last year but was with the program.

The newcomers to the pitching staff are a mix of Division I transfers, junior college transfers, and high schoolers ready to make their mark. Christopher Spry (LHP) and James Wambold (RHP) are anticipated to be regular starters. Martin plans on several arms working toward a starting role and helping as needed out of the bullpen.

CATCHERS

Wyatt Gray played in 36 of 50 games last season and is expected to be the mainstay behind the plate this season. He hit .241 last season with five doubles, three home runs and a triple a year ago in leading the Bronchos to the postseason. Jose Luna (five games) is also back this season and will compete for innings behind the plate.

Matt Baughn is a newcomer behind the plate and is vying for time in the lineup. Hunter Nunn and Jesse Brooks are also newcomers looking to find time behind the plate.

INFIELD

Jaden Parsons earned All-MIAA honors in 2022 and was a Gold Glove recipient at shortstop for the Bronchos. He hit .320 with 11 doubles and 18 RBIs. He'll lead a group of strong returning infielders in 2023. Austin Lambert, Seth Gray and Trevor Stevens are also returning for more this season. Gray played in 40 games, making 30 starts, and Lambert appeared in 39 games and also made 30 starts. Stevens played in 27 games with 24 starts. That experience will be key for the Bronchos this season.

Aiden Proctor and Orlando Gonzalez are middle infielders that are both working to find time in the lineup and will help to some extent in UCO's day-to-day gameplan. Shea Morrison is also a newcomer looking to find innings at first base.

OUTFIELD

Landen Wood and Noah Olson, both of whom received All-MIAA honors last season, return along with Kaleb Glass. The trio is expected to lead the Broncho outfielders again this season. Wood hit .311 in 47 games, Olson his .275 in 46 games, and Glass hit .265 in 47 games. The trio combined for 30 doubles, with Olson's 14 the second-most on the team. Glass also led the team with 23 stolen bases.

Cameron Uselton, Camden Thrailkill and Nathan Willis will all work for room in the rotation. Gatlin Goodson is also back and will serve a utility role along with newcomers Roman Thompson and Trevyn Stewart.

Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

#35 Jacob Bailey: P; 6' 0"; Junior; */R

#0 Jaden Parsons: SS; 5' 10"; Sophomore; L/R

#3 Noah Olson: OF; 5' 10"; Sophomore; L/R

#6 Landen Wood: OF; 6' 0"; Junior; L/L

#16 Jose Luna: C; 5' 11"; Sophomore; R/R

#17 Wyatt Gray: C; 6' 1"; Sophomore; B/R

#1 Kaleb Glass: OF; 6' 0"; Sophomore; R/R

#12 Austin Lambert: IF; 6' 0"; Sophomore; R/R

#27 Gatlin Goodson: UT; 5' 9"; Junior; R/R

#28 Jacob Savage: P; 6' 0"; Sophomore; */R

Players Mentioned

#35 Jacob Bailey
: 6' 0"; Junior; */R
: P

#0 Jaden Parsons
: 5' 10"; Sophomore; L/R
: SS

#3 Noah Olson
: 5' 10"; Sophomore; L/R
: OF

#6 Landen Wood
: 6' 0"; Junior; L/L
: OF

#16 Jose Luna
: 5' 11"; Sophomore; R/R
: C

#17 Wyatt Gray
: 6' 1"; Sophomore; B/R
: C

#1 Kaleb Glass
: 6' 0"; Sophomore; R/R
: OF

#12 Austin Lambert
: 6' 0"; Sophomore; R/R
: IF

#27 Gatlin Goodson
: 5' 9"; Junior; R/R
: UT

#28 Jacob Savage
: 6' 0"; Sophomore; */R
: P