San Diego Toreros (0-0, 0-0 WCC)  •  No. 16 Texas Longhorns (0-0, 0-0 Big 12)

UFCU Disch-Falk Field (7,211) • Austin, Texas

Television • Longhorn Network  |  Live Statistics  • TexasSports.com

Social  •  Twitter.com/USDBaseball  •  Instagram.com/USDBaseball

AUSTIN, Texas — San Diego baseball (0-0, 0-0 WCC)  is set to begin its 2024 season this weekend with a trip to the Lone Star State, taking on the No. 16 Texas Longhorns (0-0, 0-0 Big 12) for a three-game series at UFCU Disch-Falk Field.

The Toreros' matchup with UT will begin on Friday with a 5:00 p.m. PST first pitch, followed by a 12:30 p.m. PST start on Saturday and an 11 a.m. PST series finale on Sunday.

All three games will be broadcast nationally on the Longhorn Network, with Keith Moreland and Greg Swindell on the call. Live statistics will be available on TexasSports.com.

ALL-TIME SERIES AGAINST TEXAS
• The Toreros are 7-7 against the Longhorns all-time, with the two teams' most recent meeting coming on March 1 2015, when San Diego completed a double-header sweep of then No. 8 Texas in Austin.

• Led by future MLB draft picks Bryson Brigman, Kyle Holder and Hunter Mercado-Hood and future MLB players Riley Adams and P.J. Conlon, the Toreros prevailed by scores of 3-1 and 6-1 that day, stunning the Longhorns as they secured a pair of upset victories.

• USD has previously opened up a season against Texas once before: in 2006, when it shocked the college baseball world with a thrilling three-game sweep of the No. 1-ranked Longhorns in San Diego.

• With a talented roster that was headlined by Torero legend Brian Matusz —who was selected fourth overall in the 2008 MLB Draft after being named that year's WCC Pitcher of the Year and a First-Team All-American — San Diego beat UT by scores of 4-2, 6-0, and 12-8 before capacity crowds at Cunningham Stadium.

FOR STARTERS (PROBABLE)
FRIDAY: Right-hander Josh Randall will make his first career appearance for San Diego when he toes the rubber on Friday night in the Toreros' 2024 season opener.

• Randall, a 6-foot-4, 240-pound junior from San Juan Capistrano, California, transferred to USD from Arizona, where he spent his freshman and sophomore seasons.

• He made 14 relief appearances during his true freshman season in 2022, compiling a 1-0 record and 15 strikeouts while limiting opposing hitters to a .231 batting average.

• As a sophomore in 2023, he was limited to just once pitching appearance due to injury.

• Randall brings postseason experience to the Torero rotation, having thrown three innings for the Wildcats in the 2022 NCAA Coral Gables Regional against Ole Miss.

• On January 26, he was tabbed as the 2024 Perfect Game Preseason WCC Pitcher of the Year.

SATURDAY: Trụe freshman Logan Reddemann will take the mound for USD on Saturday afternoon in what will mark his college pitching debut.

• Reddemann, a 6-foot-2, 185-pound righty from Palmdale, California, attended Quartz Hill High School in Lancaster, California, where he batted .420 across his prep career and compiled a 1.62 ERA.

• He earned First Team All-CIF Southern Selection honors in 2022 and 2023 and threw a perfect game during his senior season that included 11 strikeouts while going 3-for-4 at the plate with two doubles.

• Reddemann is a switch-hitting two-way player who could also see time for the Toreros in the infield.

SUNDAY: Redshirt junior Ryan Kysar is set to start the series finale for USD.

• Kysar appeared in 12 of San Diego's games last season, making six starts.

• He was 2-0 with a 6.04 ERA across 28.1 innings with 24 strikeouts in 2023.

• Kysar held Portland scoreless across 4.1 innings on April 14, 2023 while notching a season-high five strikeouts, and struck out four across four scoreless innings at Saint Mary's on May 14, 2023 in what marked his final start of the season.

• The Valencia, California native was named to the All-WCC Freshman Team in 2022 after appearing in 14 of San Diego's games and making 10 starts.

• He went 4-1 with a 5.24 ERA in his college debut season, notching 52 strikeouts against 25 walks in 56.2 innings pitched, which ranked third on the USD roster.

• Kysar joined the Toreros as a transfer from Arizona, where he redshirted during his true freshman season.

TWO TOREROS NAMED TO ALL-WCC PRESEASON TEAM
• Junior utility player Angelo Peraza and sophomore infielder Jack Gurevitch were selected to the 2024 WCC Baseball Preseason Team, the West Coast Conference announced on February 8.

• Peraza, a native of nearby Chula Vista, California (Saint Augustine High School), earns his first career WCC Preseason honor after a dynamic 2023 campaign that saw him bat .330 (61-for-185) with 55 runs scored, 11 doubles, three triples, seven home runs, 33 RBIs, 33 walks, 12 hit by pitches, and 10 stolen bases across all 50 of USD's games before being named to the All-WCC First Team and All-WCC Academic Team.

• Last season he recorded 18 multi-hit games, including 14 with two hits and four with three hits, notched a nine-game hit streak before finishing the season on a 30-game reached-base streak, and ultimately led the Toreros in 10 offensive categories (batting average, at-bats, hits, runs scored, doubles, triples, total bases, walks, hit by pitches, and on-base percentage).

• On defense, Peraza posted a .992 fielding percentage and committed just one error in 130 chances alongside a team-high 11 outfield assists. 

• Gurevitch, a Pacific Palisades, California native, shined in his college debut a year ago, appearing in 49 of San Diego's 50 games while starting 34 at first base and 10 as the Toreros' designated hitter before being named to the All-WCC Freshman Team.

• He batted .265 (43-for-162) with 22 runs scored, seven doubles, three triples, six home runs, 28 RBIs, 26 walks, and three stolen bases, and had 12 multi-hit games and nine multi-RBI games, which were the second-most on the USD roster.
• On defense, Gurevitch posted a .992 fielding percentage, committing just two errors in 229 chances. This year's selection is his first career preseason conference honor.

SAN DIEGO PICKED TO FINISH SECOND IN 2024 WCC PRESEASON COACHES POLL
• With 54 points and three first-place votes, San Diego was picked to finish second in the 2024 WCC Baseball Coaches Preseason poll on February 8, just four points and two first-place votes behind preseason favorite Santa Clara (58 points, five first-place votes).

2024 WCC BASEBALL COACHES PRESEASON POLL
1. Santa Clara - 58 points (5)
2. San Diego - 54 points (3)
    Portland – 54 points (1)
4. LMU – 38 points
    Saint Mary's – 38 points
6. Gonzaga – 37 points
7. Pepperdine – 19 points
8. San Francisco – 16 points
9. Pacific – 10 points

TORERO TRIO TAKES HOME PERFECT GAME PRESEASON HONORS
• San Diego juniors Ariel Armas (catcher), Justin DeCriscio (infielder) and Josh Randall (right-handed pitcher) earned 2024 Perfect Game Preseason honors, the publication announced on January 24.

• Armas and Decriscio were selected to the Perfect Game Preseason All-WCC Team, while Randall was selected as the Perfect Game WCC Preseason Pitcher of the Year.

• Armas, a native of nearby Chula Vista, California (St. Augustine High School), was named a 2023 All-WCC Honorable Mention after hitting .292 (21-for-72) with 11 runs scored, eight doubles, three homers, 15 RBIs, 11 walks, four HBP, and a stolen base across 23 WCC contests.

• He appeared in 35 of San Diego's games in 2023, starting 31 of them at catcher.

• DeCriscio, a native of Orange, California, was named a 2023 All-WCC Honorable Mention alongside Armas in 2023 after started all 44 games he appeared in for San Diego, including 40 at shortstop and four at second base.

• He batted .322 (56-for-174) with 19 RBIs, 39 runs scored, three home runs, nine doubles, a triple, 11 walks, five hit by pitches, and 13 stolen bases last season.

• Additionally, DeCriscio recorded a team-long 13-game hit streak, ranked second on the team with 17 multi-hit games, and placed fourth on the USD roster with a 15-game reached-base streak in 2023.

BEST IN THE WEST (COAST CONFERENCE)
• From the beginning of the 2019 season until now, no baseball team in the West Coast Conference has compiled a better overall win/loss record than San Diego.

• Combining their 2019 record (32-21), their abbreviated 2020 totals (12-4), their 33-12 mark in 2021, their 37-20 record in 2022, and their 24-25-1 totals in 2023, the Toreros are a conference-best 139-83-1 (.626) in that 223-game span.

•  Next best within that timeframe are Gonzaga (126-106, .543), Portland (107-96, .527), and Saint Mary's (116-114 (.504).

WORKING THE PORTAL
• In addition to the nine freshmen entering USD's program this spring, six players have joined the Toreros from the transfer portal.

Those players include:
• INF Jakob Christian (Point Loma Nazarene)
• RHP Josh Randall (Arizona)
• RHP Colton Sundloff (Oklahoma)
• LHP Calvin Schapira (Purdue, USC)
• RHP Vaughn Mauterer (California)
• RHP Alex Schrier (UC Santa Barbara)

• Christian, a San Diego native who attended nearby PLNU, was named the 2023 Division II CCA Ron Lenz Player of the Year, a Division II CCA First Team All-American, the ABCA/Rawlings All-West Region Division II Player of the Year, and the NCBWA West Region Division II Player of the Year.

• He played and started in 52 games for the Sea Lions last season while setting the PLNU and PacWest records for single-season home runs (28) and breaking the single-season PLNU record for RBIs (70).

• Christian hit a home run in eight straight games last year, one game shy of all-time NCAA record, led Division II in home runs per game and finished second nationally in total home runs, and paced the PacWest in batting average (.408), slugging % (.901), OPS (1.407), runs scored (65), runs batted in (70) and home runs.

THEY'RE BACK
• San Diego is set to return 21 letterwinners from its 2023 squad that won 24 games and finished tied for second in the West Coast Conference's regular season standings, including 2024 All-WCC Preseason Team selections Angelo Peraza and Jack Gurevitch, 2023 All-WCC Second Team selection Austin Smith, and 2023 All-WCC Honorable Mentions Justin DeCriscio and Ariel Armas. 

• Right-handed pitcher Conner Thurman, who pitched his way to a 1-0 record and a team-best 2.00 ERA across 18.0 innings in 2023 by striking out 24 batters and walking only three, is back for another year as well.

• His 14-4 career record and .777 career winning percentage as a Torero rank third in program history, and his 12.84 career K/9 across three-plus seasons at USD is a program record.

THE GOLDEN STATE
• In total, 28 players on the 2023 USD roster hail from California.

• Another seven are from Arizona (two from Mesa, two from Scottsdale, and one from Phoenix, Gilbert, and Paradise Valley), one is from Kentucky (Jonathan Fitz), and one is from Nevada (Cal Scolari).

TOREROS IN THE PROS
• Utility player Kevin Sim's selection in the fifth round of the 2023 MLB Draft (148th overall pick) by the Arizona Diamondbacks on marked the 34th consecutive year in which at least one Torero was drafted by a big league club.

• Since 1966, 132 Toreros have been selected in the MLB Draft.

ROAD WARRIORS
• Of San Diego's first 20 games, only six are inside the friendly confines of Fowler Park. 

2024 Schedule Notes:
• 51 games
• 21 home games
• 29 away games
• 24 WCC games
• 27 non-conference games
• 12 home WCC games
• 12 away WCC games
• 9 home non-conference games
• 17 away non-conference games
• 1 neutral-site game
• 39 games in California
• 24 games in San Diego 
• 3 games in Oregon
• 6 games in Texas
• 3 games in Michigan

HOMETOWN HEROES
• Eight players on the 2023 USD roster hail from the San Diego area and attended local high schools.

Those players are:
• C Nico Libed | Chula Vista, CA | Eastlake High School

• INF  Jakob Christian | San Diego, CA | St. Augustine High School

• RHP Ivran Romero | San Diego, CA | Poway High School

• UTIL Angelo Peraza | Chula Vista, CA | St. Augustine High School

• C Ariel Armas | Chula Vista, CA | St. Augustine High School

• UTIL Ben Haar | La Mesa, CA | Helix High School

• INF Ryan Ward | Coronado, CA | Coronado High School

• LHP/OF Austin Smith | El Cajon, CA | Granite Hills High School

BIG LEAGUE DREAMS
• This year's USD roster features three players with fathers who played Major League Baseball.

• Mark McGwire, father of junior first baseman Max McGwire, played 16 MLB seasons and was a 12-time All-Star.

• Jason Schmidt, father of sophomore right-handed pitcher Mason Schmidt, played 14 MLB seasons, was a three-time All-Star, and won the 2003 ERA title with the San Francisco Giants.

• The late Kevin Ward, father of sophomore infielder Ryan Ward, played nine years of professional baseball as an outfielder, including two seasons at the major league level with the San Diego Padres. Ward died in 2019 after a battle with cancer.