Gators baseball is set to return as the San Francisco State University baseball team prepares for a promising season following last year’s great achievements.
Last season, the Gators had one of the most successful seasons in program history with a record of 34-26 and a 22-18 record against conference opponents. This was the most triumphant season for the Gators in the California Collegiate Athletics Association era. Their record resulted in a fourth-place finish in a highly competitive CCAA.
The Gators carried this momentum and competed for their first-ever CCAA tournament title before falling short to California State University, Monterey Bay. Cal State Monterey Bay ended the Gators’ season in the Western Regionals of the National Collegiate Athletics Association Division II Championship tournament.
The Gators look to recover and rise above after a crushing finale in 2024. Under the leadership of head coach Tony Schifano, the team is getting ready to go beyond last season’s results.
“The expectations are with the guys and staying hungry from ending last season in the regional championships, being so close,” said Schifano. “You can feel it with this group that they’re hungry to finish what they started.”
Schifano is entering his 10th season as the head coach of SFSU men’s baseball. As each year begins, Schifano is excited to lead a new group of young men for the new campaign.
“Every year brings something new, a new challenge each year to find ways to motivate a different group,” Schifano said. “Each year is just a new group of guys that brings a new excitement to each year.”
A successful team is not independent from its standout players. Last season’s triumphs were led by All-American infielder and third baseman Justin Johnson, who led the program in all major hitting categories with 15 home runs and a .374 batting average. Heading into his senior season at SFSU, Johnson is dialed in on winning a championship.
“This year, my main focus is winning,” said Johnson. “I think this is one of my last years and I want to win it all, get over the hump. Personal accolades are cool, but at the end of the day, I just want to win.”
Following the narrowly lost ending to last season, the emotions from returning players like third-year catcher Camden Andrews still run high and carry into the new year.
“We just remember what it felt like to lose,” said Andrews. “We were so close to winning the CCAA title, we were actually one strike away. I feel like everyone will always remember how it felt like to be there and we don’t want to feel that way again.”
Despite their significant losses to close out the previous run, the bar has never been higher for the Gators. Pitching coach Nick White said the team’s goal is to get back to where they were last year.
“We made it to our first regionals – I would say that’s the bar for us this year,” said White. “That’s what we are aiming for, anything less than that, we will be disappointed. The players are motivated because they saw what it’s like to play postseason baseball and that’s what we are striving for, to get back to there.”
It’s safe to say expectations are high from the Gators as they are ready to run the bases of the season. The team will throw its first pitch at home on Monday, Feb. 3rd against Montana State University Billings.
