On Friday (Jan. 31) afternoon, the Francis Marion University baseball team will throw out the first pitch of the 2025 season against Tusculum University on Cormell Field at Sparrow Stadium. The series begins with a 1 p.m. game (moved up from an earlier 4 p.m. start time due to forecasted rain) and will be followed up on Saturday with a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m.

Daily admission is $10 for adults and $5 for students with FMU students being admitted free with ID.

Francis Marion head coach Jeff Jefferson enters his first year at the helm of the baseball program, joining FMU after ten years as an assistant at Conference Carolinas member institution UNC Pembroke.  He is only the third head coach in Francis Marion's 53-year baseball history.

Jefferson stated, "It is a great honor and something that will never be taken for granted in being the head baseball coach here at Francis Marion University. Loyalty is a trait that I value in the highest regard and to be only the third head baseball coach of the program shows a great deal of loyalty and faith from an administration standpoint.  We will do everything in our power to make (university president) Dr. (Fred) Carter, (athletic director) Murray Hartzler and our baseball alumni proud of our baseball program."

In addition to Jefferson, Francis Marion welcomes assistant coaches Matt McCarty, Tyler Bender, and Chris Ford to the coaching staff. "Adding Matt, Tyler, and Chris to our coaching staff has been a great addition in all aspects on and off the field. All three guys are extremely knowledgeable, loyal and have track records of success on a national scale," said Jefferson.

McCarty joins the FMU staff from NCAA Division II school Shepherd University, where he served as the head coach for 12 seasons and earned a record of 349-208-2. For the past three seasons, Bender has been the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator at Georgia Southwestern State University, while Ford most recently served as the assistant coach at Lake View High School.

While bringing in an entirely new coaching staff to the school, 17 newcomers also don the red, white, and blue comprised of 12 transfers and five freshman. Freshman newcomers include outfielder Adrian Nina (Punta Gorda, FL), left-handed pitcher Jackson Madden, right-handed pitcher Owen Powell (Georgetown, SC), and infielders Reed McLain (Aiken, SC) and Myles Proffitt (Lexington, SC).

Senior southpaw Rijnaldo Euson heads the list of transfers for Francis Marion after playing the past two seasons at Peach Belt Conference member Georgia Southwestern, where he garnered ABCA/Rawlings second-team All-America recognition and was named the PBC's Pitcher of the Year after going 7-2 with a 2.87 earned run average in 14 starts. He held opponents to a .205 batting average, which was lowest in the PBC for pitchers with at least eight starts and ranked fourth in NCAA Division II with 105 strikeouts in only 84.2 innings. Euson was also recently named a Pre-Season All-American (third team) by the D2 Baseball Publication.

Other key transfers that will likely contribute this season are senior outfielders Daniel Hussey (Central Connecticut State University) and Austin Bunn (Univ. of Northern Colorado), senior right-handed pitcher Daniel Barcena (Georgia Southwestern), senior infielder Rayth Petersen (Univ. of Illinois at Chicago), junior infielder Jimmy Koza (VMI), and junior outfielder Will Dorrell (Winthrop University).

FMU returns 17 letterwinners from last year's 18-30 squad. Among the returnees are three starting position players and four pitchers.

Senior outfielder Caleb Oakley (.268 average, 34 runs scored, 16 runs batted in), designated hitter Noah Stout (.283, 8 homers, 33 RBIs), and senior second-baseman Owen Taylor (.273, 3 HRs, 31 RBIs) are amidst the returning starters alongside senior right-handed hurlers Josh Adams, Danny Leo, and Braxton Elms IV and junior righty Tyson Hall.  Junior right-hander Robbie Jordan returns after missing last season with an injury.  In 2023, the Florence native posted a 6-3 mark with a 3.44 ERA and 70 strikeouts in 83.2 innings.

Adams returns with a 3-5 record and a 3.78 ERA after appearing in 15 games last year.  Leo was 1-3 in seven starts last year, while Hall (3-3, 4.91 ERA) appeared in 18 contests and Elms IV (0-1) pitched in 10 games.

Also back for the 2025 season is sophomore infielder Charlie Bussey III.  The Graniteville, S.C., native played for the Patriots in 2023 and batted .259 with seven doubles, three homers, and 24 RBIs while starting 39 games at third base and 10 contests at designated hitter.

Jefferson has high hopes for this new team and their abilities ahead of the upcoming season, stating "we have added 12 transfers to the roster over the summer and are excited about what they can do.  We are equally as excited about the returners that we retained and plan to try to get the most out of everybody on our roster."  

Francis Marion was recently picked to finish seventh in the 2024 Conference Carolinas Baseball Preseason Coaches' Poll.

The Patriots 50-game schedule consists of 29 home games in Sparrow Stadium, and they will begin Conference play on Saturday (Feb. 15) with a road series against the University of Mount Olive at 1 p.m.

The opening round of Conference Carolinas Tournament is set for April 30 in Gastonia, N.C., at CaroMont Health Park, with the event continuing through May 4.