Baseball 1/27/2026 12:00:00 PM Chris Brannick

UCO Baseball Enters New Era Looking To Continue Recent Success

Robbie Rea Begins First Season As Head Coach In February

EDMOND – Central Oklahoma opens the 2026 baseball season in one week with a non-conference road game at Oklahoma Baptist and it is also the opening of the Rea Era at UCO.

Robbie Rea was promoted to head baseball coach in August and is now ready to lead the program onto the field in 2026. He spent the past three seasons as an assistant coach tasked with the pitching staff and the Bronchos have won 105 games during his time at Central. One of those wins came in the MIAA Baseball Championship final and UCO has made two NCAA Division II Baseball Championship Central Regional appearances in the past two seasons.

Joining Rea on staff again this season is his younger brother Butch Rea, who was also promoted in August. Former Broncho Aidan Proctor joins the staff following his three-year career at UCO (2023-25).

"We're ready to get going," Rea said. "August seems like a long time ago. We had a good fall and we've got a lot of guys competing for time at a lot of different positions. It's been fun to watch and now that it's time to go, we'll see who is ready to play and settle into the lineup.

"We obviously don't have a lot of people back from last year especially on offense," Rea continued. "But we had a really good recruiting class and those guys are competing. We do have more arms back and we need those guys to be good for us and help the other new pitchers along the way."

Central Oklahoma has to replace nearly all of its offense in 2026. Drake Lee is back after playing in 32 of 53 games last season. He got 83 at bats on the year. Luke Stout is another returner that played in just four games and had eight at bats. There are no other players in the lineup with a plate appearance last season.

However, Haden O'Toole is also back after sitting out last season. He played in 26 games in his first year on campus and was part of the national tournament team in 2024. Benicio Diaz, Logan Firgens and Gage Gilchrist are also returners this year after not playing during the 2025 season.

Robbie Rea has returners on the mound with starters, middle relievers, and backend bullpen guys all coming back. UCO will be without two-time All-MIAA starting pitcher Brett Pense, whose offseason surgery will keep him out until 2027. But another starter, Danny Satterlee, is back this year after going 5-3 in 2025. He made 13 starts and threw 57 2/3 innings for the Bronchos.

Chase Yarger (22 appearances), Tristan Wittau (16), Brody Berlowitz (15), Trent Gerber (14), Michael Lopez (13), Gage Norvell (10), and John Demcher (nine) all return this season and all are competing for time on the mound out of the bullpen.

Here is a position-by-position look at the 2026 squad.

INFIELD

O'Toole is the leader of the team in the clubhouse and the dugout and will play as a utility infielder this year. A sparkplug in the lineup, the third-year Broncho provides UCO with help at multiple positions. Gilchrist in his second year with the program is a candidate for time at first base and is good as a left-handed bat in the lineup.

Newcomers Elijah Alexander, Jackson Archambeau, Caleb Castle, Noah Smallwood, and Carson Taylor are all competing for time. Alexander and Castle could see time in the middle. Archambeau and Smallwood could play multiple roles. Taylor could be a regular guy on the corners.

OUTFIELD

Central Oklahoma will go to the newcomers for its outfield. Firgens is the lone returner and is fighting for time in the lineup. Kade Sheldon is a probable starter in center and Wyatt Yetter could be on either side of him. Colton Ayres came to UCO from another MIAA school so his experience will be valuable. And Solomon Skalnik is a junior college All-American that is contending for a spot in the lineup.

Stout has been working his way back from an early season-ending injury in 2025. As he continues to do so, he'll likely be used in hitting situations only at least early this season.

CATCHER

Lee and his 32 games played on last year's MIAA championship and national tournament team gives him the experience to be a regular behind the plate this season. Lee had 16 base hits last year and half were for extra bases (one home run and seven doubles).

Cade Mills enters the program and will be behind the plate a lot this season. The Seminole State transfer can handle the dish responsibilities and brings a valuable bat to the plate in the lineup. He hit .299 in two seasons of junior college with 67 hits (12 doubles, four home runs) and 36 RBIs.

Trevor Rowe will also see some time behind the plate and could be in the lineup as a designated hitter. Diaz is another returner that competes for time in the lineup.

PITCHER

Starting with the starting pitching for the Bronchos, Satterlee will be the Saturday guy again this season. He threw 57 2/3 innings as a junior in 13 appearances, striking out 41 batters while opponents hit .288 against him. Satterlee also only walked 18 batters all year in 2025.

Braxton Jones is another transfer from within the MIAA and his experience will be key in the starting rotation. Kamden Thompson, Logan Taylor, Bron Farr, and Cade Perkins are all newcomers that will have a chance to start for the Bronchos this season.

Yarger, Gerber, and Lopez are returners that will serve as long or middle relief. Yarger has 40 appearances, including 36 out of the bullpen, in two seasons with the Bronchos. He will be key again this year. Both Gerber and Lopez threw 12 2/3 innings last year and will be relied on again for middle relief.

In the backend, Cortt Gentry will be available along with Wittau and Berlowitz to close out games.

Demcher is another returner that will be used out of the bullpen. Conner Chambers is a rookie who can see time too. Zack Hudspeth, Delton Roberts, Mylan Childers, Jett Farmer, Jackson MacWilliams, Caden Hinther and Blake DeLong are all competing for innings too, giving UCO a lot of options out of the bullpen based on opponents and situational matchups.

UP FIRST

Central Oklahoma is scheduled to open the season at Oklahoma Baptist Tuesday, Feb. 3 in Shawnee. The Bronchos will then host the eighth annual Edmond First Pitch Classic at Wendell Simmons Field. The four-day, eight-team event gives UCO four home games next weekend.

The Bronchos will also host Colorado Christian and Drury for weekend series in February, and will mix in a second OBU contest and a single game against Southeastern Oklahoma State on two February weekdays to give the Bronchos 14 non-conference games.

The 36-game MIAA schedule begins Friday, Feb. 27. UCO will play 10 weekend series and splits three-game series with Rogers State and Northeastern State over the course of six weeks of midweek matchups.

UCO is hosting the 2026 MIAA Baseball Championship May 6-9 at Wendell Simmons Field. The 10-team postseason tournament begins with two play-in games on Wednesday before four quarterfinal matchups on Thursday. The semifinals are scheduled for Friday and the championship final Saturday.

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Players Mentioned

#23 Brody Berlowitz: P; 6' 2"; Sophomore; */R

#28 John Demcher: P; 6' 3"; Senior; */R

#45 Benicio Diaz: C; 6' 3"; Senior; R/R

#6 Logan Firgens: OF; 6' 1"; Redshirt Freshman; R/R

#34 Trent Gerber: P; 6' 1"; Senior; */R

#25 Gage Gilchrist: IF; 6' 2"; Senior; L/R

#17 Drake Lee: UT; 6' 0"; Senior; L/R

#0 Michael Lopez: P; 6' 0"; Senior; */L

#43 Gage Norvell: P; 6' 3"; Senior; */R

#12 Haden O'Toole: IF; 6' 2"; Senior; L/R

Players Mentioned

#23 Brody Berlowitz
: 6' 2"; Sophomore; */R
: P

#28 John Demcher
: 6' 3"; Senior; */R
: P

#45 Benicio Diaz
: 6' 3"; Senior; R/R
: C

#6 Logan Firgens
: 6' 1"; Redshirt Freshman; R/R
: OF

#34 Trent Gerber
: 6' 1"; Senior; */R
: P

#25 Gage Gilchrist
: 6' 2"; Senior; L/R
: IF

#17 Drake Lee
: 6' 0"; Senior; L/R
: UT

#0 Michael Lopez
: 6' 0"; Senior; */L
: P

#43 Gage Norvell
: 6' 3"; Senior; */R
: P

#12 Haden O'Toole
: 6' 2"; Senior; L/R
: IF