For the third consecutive season,
Cal State Monterey Bay has been selected as the favorite in the CCAA Baseball Preseason Coaches Poll.
The Otters received 119 points and nine of the 11 first-place votes from the conference coaches as they look to claim their fourth consecutive CCAA regular season title.
| 2025 CCAA Baseball Preseason Poll |
| Cal State Monterey Bay (9) |
119 |
| Cal Poly Pomona (1) |
106 |
| Cal State San Marcos (1) |
97 |
| San Francisco State |
82 |
| Chico State |
79 |
| Cal State San Bernardino |
59 |
| Cal State LA |
45 |
| Cal State Dominguez Hills |
45 |
| Cal State East Bay |
41 |
| Sonoma State |
29 |
| Stanislaus State |
23 |
| (first-place votes in parenthesis) |
Cal Poly Pomona placed second in the poll with 106 points and one first-place vote. The final first-place vote went to
Cal State San Marcos, which finished third with 97 points.
San Francisco State placed fourth with 82 points, followed closely by
Chico State in fifth place with 79 points.
Cal State San Bernardino (59 points) claimed the sixth spot in the poll.
Cal State LA and
Cal State Dominguez Hills tied for seventh with 45 points.
The final three spots went to
Cal State East Bay (41),
Sonoma State (29) and
Stanislaus State (23).
Cal State Monterey Bay is coming off its third consecutive CCAA regular season championship and fifth overall. The Otters also won the CCAA Tournament and reached the NCAA Super Regional. They will bring back three first-team All-CCAA selections in
KW Quilici (OF),
Jaden Sheppard (1B), and
Mitchell Torres (P). All-CCAA honorable mentions
Nate Rohlicek (P) and
Cole Murchison (DH) are also back along with all-tournament selections
Sergio Solis (C) and
Ryan Io (P). If the Otters can win the conference championship outright, CSUMB would be the first school since Cal State Northridge from 1970-73 to claim four consecutive regular season titles.
Cal Poly Pomona finished second in the CCAA standings in 2024 with a 25-15 conference record (32-24). The Broncos won a pair of games in the CCAA Tournament and received a bid to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth consecutive season. An experienced core returns for CPP as they bring back numerous letterwinners, including first-team All-CCAA catcher
Johnny Pappas, first-team outfielder
Jack Sanders, second-team catcher/outfielder
Anthony Gibbons and all-tournament pitcher
Evan Adolphus. In 2024, CPP led the CCAA in earned run average (4.76) and fielding percentage (.974).
Last season,
Cal State San Marcos finished one win short of tying for the CCAA regular-season Championship with a 26-13 conference record (27-21 overall). The offense paced the way for CSUSM as it went from 14 conference wins in 2023 to 26 in 2024. The Cougars finished second in the CCAA in batting average (.317) and home runs per game (1.15) while leading the league in on-base percentage (.421). CCAA Player of the Year
Garrett Teunissen is back at third base for the Cougars along with first-team All-CCAA utility player
Phoenix Sommay and second-team All-CCAA catcher
Ethan Rivera.
Preston Kelly will return to anchor the bullpen. Last year, Kelly led the CCAA in saves (7), earning the lone relief pitcher spot on the All-CCAA first team.
San Francisco State put together an impressive late-season run, earning the No. 4 seed in the CCAA Tournament before reaching the program's first championship game. The Gators collected an at-large bid to the NCAA Regional and earned two NCAA Tournament wins. They will bring back three of the four student-athletes who earned a place on the CCAA all-tournament team during that run with first baseman
Justin Johnson, catcher
Derek Laferriere, and outfielder
Nicholas Allred. SF State will also return All-CCAA first-team infielder
Daniel Murillo and second-team pitcher
Ryan Garza.
Chico State brings back its lone All-CCAA first-team selection,
Troy Kent, to lead the Wildcats at the plate in 2025. Last season, he hit .346 with 17 doubles, eight home runs, and 49 runs batted in. All-CCAA honorable mention selection
Marco Ibarra (7 wins) is back to lead Chico State on the mound. Infielder
Elijah Pascual is also back. Last season he was the toughest person in the NCAA Div. II to strike out with just two punchouts in 114 at-bats.
Cal State San Bernardino is picked to be the final team in the six-team field at the 2025 CCAA Baseball Tournament at Cal State LA on May 7-10. The Coyotes finished 23-25 last season and will be looking to return to postseason play. They have changed over many pieces from their 2023 team that won the NCAA West Regional, but they will still have
Daryl Ruiz at first base,
Jason Shedlock in the outfield, and
Dylan O'Connor on the mound.
Cal State LA and
Cal State Dominguez Hills will each bring back one All-CCAA hitter.
The Toros (20-29, 16-23 CCAA) return
Noah Karliner, who quickly became one of the most feared hitters in the conference in his first year in Carson and was named the CCAA Newcomer of the Year. He finished seventh in NCAA Div. II with 21 home runs while adding 51 RBI and 146 total bases.
Isaiah Marquez is back to lead the Golden Eagles. In his first season with the team, he hit .348 with 10 home runs and 52 RBI to earn All-CCAA second-team honors as an outfielder. All-CCAA honorable mention catcher
Malik Clayton is also back to handle the pitching staff.
Cal State East Bay (41),
Sonoma State (29), and
Stanislaus State (23) round out the 2025 CCAA Baseball Preseason Coaches Poll. CSUEB and Stan State each have returning All-CCAA selections. The Pioneers bring back first-team pitcher
Gabe Tanner (3.56 ERA, 67 K's), who led the CCAA in wins (9). The Warriors return their shortstop
Robert Valdivia (.315, 33 runs, 11 extra-base hits) and pitcher
Austin Balentine (7-2, 4.31 ERA, 2 saves).
The 2025 season will begin on Friday, Jan. 31. The 11 teams will try to earn one of the six bids to the CCAA Baseball Tournament starting May 7 in Los Angeles.
For more information, click here.
| 2025 Baseball Preseason Watchlist |
| Name |
Pos. |
Yr. |
School |
| Evan Adolphus |
P |
Sr. |
Cal Poly Pomona |
| Nicholas Allred |
OF |
So. |
San Francisco State |
| Austin Balentine |
P |
Jr. |
Stanislaus State |
| Ryan Garza |
P |
Sr. |
San Francisco State |
| Anthony Gibbons |
DH |
Sr. |
Cal Poly Pomona |
| Ryan Io |
P |
Sr. |
Cal State Monterey Bay |
| Justin Johnson |
3B |
Sr. |
San Francisco State |
| Noah Karliner |
DH |
Sr. |
Cal State Dominguez Hills |
| Preston Kelly |
RP |
Jr. |
Cal State San Marcos |
| Troy Kent |
OF |
Sr. |
Chico State |
| Derek Laferriere |
C |
Sr. |
San Francisco State |
| Isaiah Marquez |
OF |
Sr. |
Cal State LA |
| Daniel Murillo |
IF |
Sr. |
San Francisco State |
| Johnny Pappas |
C |
Sr. |
Cal Poly Pomona |
| KW Quilici |
OF |
Sr. |
Cal State Monterey Bay |
| Ethan Rivera |
C |
Sr. |
Cal State San Marcos |
| Jack Sanders |
OF |
Sr. |
Cal Poly Pomona |
| Jaden Sheppard |
1B |
Sr. |
Cal State Monterey Bay |
| Sergio Solis |
C |
Sr. |
Cal State Monterey Bay |
| Phoenix Sommay |
UT |
Jr. |
Cal State San Marcos |
| Gabe Tanner |
P |
Sr. |
Cal State East Bay |
| Garrett Teunissen |
3B |
Sr. |
Cal State San Marcos |
| Mitchell Torres |
P |
Sr. |
Cal State Monterey Bay |
| Robert Valdivia |
SS |
Sr. |
Stanislaus State |