MCC Baseball season starts Friday in Texas
Baseball season begins Friday in Dallas for the McCook Community College baseball team with eight home games to follow in February.
The Indians are coming off a disappointing 27-30 season where they finished fifth in the region out of eight teams and lost twice in the Region IX Tournament. In a preseason poll of the eight Region IX Coaches, this year’s MCC squad is picked third, behind perennial frontrunner Southeast Community College and last season’s champion Northeastern Junior College.
Coach Jon Olsen begins his 25th year in coaching and his 20th at McCook. He is 24 wins away from career win number 600. He believes his team can contend for the top spots once again in the league.
“You always have to give respect to Southeast. They’ve won the league five of the last six seasons, and NJC won last year and has a good group of returners,” said Olsen. “But we’ve consistently been in the top part of the league the last five or six years and we return our top pitchers, a good core of our starting lineup, and I’m excited about the players we brought in.”
A strong start – especially in Region IX play – is critical according to the coach. Last season the Indians lost four of their first five games in the region, and came back from a 3-9 start (against Luna, Western Nebraska and Northeastern) to win 10 of 12 in April (against Otero, Trinidad and Lamar) and finished with a 14-14 record in the region.
“I think we’ll be in the mix at the top with SCC and NJC, but Lamar, Western and Otero always do a nice job, I really respect their coaching. Luna had a coaching change a few years ago but last year beat us three out of four to start the season and they’ve made a nice improvement, and Trinidad has proud baseball tradition.”
The coach believes that Region IX has evolved into a league where you can’t just step out on the field and hope to win.
“I do feel like it will be a tough go and the rest of the league will be shooting for Southeast and NJC,” said Olsen.
The post-season format remains the same with the top six teams advancing to the Region IX Tournament in Pueblo, Colo., with the top two teams getting first-round byes in a double-elimination format. That is set for May 6-9. The winner will host the four-team Western District playoffs starting May 14. The NJCAA College World Series runs May 23-June 1 in Grand Junction, Colo.
THIS YEAR’S ROSTER: MCC will be led by three players who received Region IX post-season honors including: second-team outfielder Dalton Berg and pitchers Aviv Bobrov and Tait Anderson, who were honorable mentions.
Seven returning position players played in at least 20 games last season, and of the nine pitchers with the most innings last season, five are returning and another is returning from Tommy John surgery after pitching in 13 games as a freshman in 2024.
“We’re carrying about 17 or 18 position players who have the chance to get at bats this spring and I feel really good about a large number of those players,” said Olsen. “And I think pitching depth will be a strength of our team.”
CATCHERS: Olsen expects a strong catching group with three returners at that position including Tyler Reyburn (Frederick, Colo.), Ben Heathcock (Little Elm, Texas) and Jeff Bullock (Medicine Hat, Ontario).
Because of injuries to the other two, Reyburn assumed a majority of the time behind the plate, appearing in 53 games and batting .301 with 15 doubles, three homers and 30 RBIs. The 6-0 left-handed hitter signed a letter of
intent last November to continue his baseball career next year at Illinois State, a D1 program in Normal, Ill.
“Tyler will be out front with his success last year. He brings a really good defensive presence and had a good year offensively last year,” said Olsen.
Heathcock played in 20 games and batted .300 with a homer and 12 RBIs in 40 at bats. Bullock appeared in 14 games, batting .185 with a homer and eight RBIs in 27 at bats. Also added to the catching mix are freshman Kieren Cutler, (Paradise, Newfoundland and Labrador) and Lucas Schultz, (Englewood, Colo.).
“Keiren is a good offensive player who’s done a nice job behind the plate and with Lucas we have five guys who can be successful for us,” said Olsen.
AROUND THE INFIELD: At first base, 6-8 freshman Jakoby Hamer (Edmonton, Alberta) came on in the fall as one of the team’s best hitters. Heathcock, who is in the mix at catcher and designated hitter will get some at bats at first base, and McCook freshman Quentin Terry is expected to get some opportunities with his bat.
“Jakoby has a lot of potential and we’re looking forward to what he can do,” said Olsen. “Ben is 6-4 and gives us some flexibility with other roles and he and Jakoby are big targets that have done a nice job defensively,” said Olsen. “And Quentin came in recovering from knee surgery and has made a huge jump from the fall into spring.”
Freshman Kon Yoshimura (Nagasaki, Japan) has emerged as the shortstop while sophomores Conor Charvat (Elkhorn South, Omaha) and Mason Regan (Centennial, Colo.) are looking at position switches this year. Regan batted .304 with 79 at bats with three homers and 21 RBIS and Charvat batted .244 in 45 at bats with two homers and 10 RBIS.
“Kon is an excellent defender and I feel like he’ll be a great asset defensively, and will be able to hit a little too,” said Olsen. “Conor played third and some second last year and Mason played a lot of second last year and will slide over and start at third base this year,” said Olsen.
Sophomore Garrett Bacon (Tulsa, Okla.) played third and DH. He had three homers in 53 at bats last season, but has been hampered with a back injury as the season begins. Sophomore Hunter Southey (Auckland, New Zealand) transferred in from Eastern Arizona, is expected to hit in the middle of the batting order while playing any of the infield slots.
Freshman Hayden Galvin (Calgary, Alberta) came to McCook as a shortstop, but his versatility allows him to play second, third or leftfield. Freshman Lucas Munns (Toronto, Ontario) really impressed as a hitter the first half of the fall season and will be competing for time at second base. Redshirt freshman Bunji Nakao (Auckland, New Zealand), transferred from Northern Oklahoma - Tonkawa, and brings a left-handed bat into the mix and Max Trujillo, freshman (Golden, Colo.) will vie for time at third base.
“These guys are looking at the bulk of the time on the infield and so I think we’re pretty deep and have some pretty good ability,” said Olsen.
IN THE OUTFIELD: A pair of returning sophomores anchor the corner outfield spots to start the season for MCC. Dalton Berg (Frederick, Colo) is a returning All-Region second-team player. He batted .305 in 56 games with 15 doubles, nine home runs and 50 RBIs with a .457 on-base mark and a .554 slugging average. Chase Williams (Brampton, Ontario), bats left and plays left field. Last season he hit .275 with a .431 on-base average in 31 games and 80 at bats for the Indians.
“Dalton played rightfield and batted in the middle of the order and will do that again for us,” said Olsen. “C.J. took over toward the end of the season and he’s back and having a nice spring.”
Three freshmen are looking for outfield time. Galvin, who can play infield too, is joined by left-handed hitting Matthew Botticelli (Edmonton, Alberta) who plays the corner outfield spots and Owen Weales (Bowmanville, Ontario) has the inside track for center field.
“We’re pretty excited about Owen,” said Olsen. “He’ll be the opening-day center fielder and he’ll hit leadoff for us and is a talented player.”
Sophomore Corbin Lockhead batted .200 with a .344 on-base average in 25 at bats last year and is a left-handed pitcher who will get some time in the field but Olsen said Lockhead has bumped up his pitching stock.
ON THE PITCHING MOUND: A pair of sophomores are coming off solid freshman campaigns and look to anchor the pitching staff. Aviv Bobrov and Tait Anderson both received Region IX honorable mention.
Bobrov, 5-11 right hander from Shekhanya, Israel) appeared in 13 games, starting 12 of them with a 6-5 record, an ERA of 5.98, three complete games and 71 strikeouts in 58.2 innings. He was fifth among all pitchers in Region IX in strikeouts and was a three-time winner of the region’s pitcher of the week.
Anderson, the 6-4 left-hander from Auckland, New Zealand, appeared in 13 games, starting five with a 1-2 record and two saves and a team-best 3.18 ERA. He fanned 34 hitters in 39.2 innings pitched.
“Both had great years for us. Aviv in the rotation and Tait was kind of our Swiss-army knife, starting some, long relief some and closed some games for us,” said Olsen. “Both those guys are looking good and another guy who will pitch for us in multiple roles is Colby Kaplan,” said Olsen.
Kaplan (sophomore, Parker, Colo.) is a 6-2 right-hander who appeared in 14 games. In 20.1 innings he allowed 22 hits, and struck out 16 hitters.
“He finished in the bullpen last year and will start this year in high-leverage innings for us,” said Olsen.
Other returning pitchers include: Kaden Noble, 6-0, right-handed pitcher (Orilla, Ontario) and Kaden Frizzell, 6-4 right-hander, (Littleton, Colo.). Noble appeared in 12 game and went 1-1 with a save and a complete game. He fanned 22 hitters in 19 innings. Frizzell appeared in four games.
“They both had good innings for us last year and we expect good things this spring,” said Olsen.
Tobey Cassino, 6-1 lefty (Arvada, Col.) missed last year with a Tommy John injury but is getting close to being back on the mound. He went 5-3 in 2024 in 13 appearances and struck out 45 hitters in 40 innings.
“It’s a nice position to be in with pitching because a lot of these guys have proven success so it’s going to be a matter of who’s going to get the first opportunities this spring,” said Olsen.
FRESHMEN EXPECTED to get some innings this year are: Mikah Targett, 6-1 RHP (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia); Isiah Lopez, 5-9 right-hander (Midland, Texas); Nolan Jackson 5-10, right-hander (Grimsby, Ontario);
“We feel these three have the ability to start or play key roles out of the bullpen,” said Olsen.
One unexpected arm materialized this past fall from the catching ranks in Jeff Bullock.
“He had an excellent fall and threw a lot of strikes and showed some great ability so he’s going to factor in as a pitcher this year too,” said Olsen.
Other pitchers who’ve demonstrated some potential are: Santiago Rodriguez, 5-10, right-hander (Okatoks, Alberta); Justin Ackerman, 6-3 right-hander (Parksville, British Columbia); Chase Chabi, 6-2 right-handed sophomore transfer from Clarendon College, is coming off elbow surgery and looks to occupy a spot in the bullpen.
Also looking for innings are: Timmy Hunt, 6-1 right-hander (Ashland, Neb.); Raul Romero, 6-1 right-hander (Brisbane, Queensland Australia); Tyler Parent, 6-3 right-hander (Newmarket, Ontario); Austin Maleki, 6-2, right-hander (Arvada, Colo.); Jaden McKinney, 5-11 right-hander (Denver, Colo.); and Kamurhan Burnett, 6-0 right-hander (Frisco, Texas).
“We feel we have the starting rotation down, and the key bullpen pieces nailed down but then we have a group of anywhere between six to eight guys who we feel can go in the game and be successful,” said Olsen.
ON THE SCHEDULE: MCC will open this weekend with four games in Dallas, two Friday against Dallas College Richland and two more Saturday against Dallas College Brookhaven.
“These are good Division 3 programs. Richland is ranked in top 20 and Brookhaven No. 7. They are among seven schools in the Metroplex and compete in a highly competitive market so we’re expecting some competitive games this weekend,” said Olsen.
Western Nebraska is set to open the home portion of the schedule Feb. 18 with a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m. at the Jaycees Sports Complex. These games will not be considered Region IX games
“We scheduled Western Nebraska eight games this year, with the sole purpose of trying to get more home games on our schedule early. The first four games we play with Western (two here and two there March 4) won’t be considered region games. Last year it was frustrating that because of an unbalanced Region IX schedule we only had 17 home games,” said Olsen. “So adding Western early in the season gives both teams flexibility to move if we need to flip games because of weather or push them back.”
Dawson Community College will travel from Glendive, Mont. to play a pair of doubleheaders Feb. 21-22 at the Jaycees Sports Complex.
“We are hoping if the weather cooperates to give a team from up north the chance to get some games in,” said Olsen. “Really during the time frame of the nonconference schedule, we’re not going to get teams from south wanting to coming up this far north.”
The Indians will close out February with a home-and-home series against Northeastern Community College with the two teams playing in McCook Feb. 28 and in Norfolk on March 2.
In March, the non-conference schedule includes the March 4 doubleheader at Western Nebraska, a three-game series with No. 14 Iowa Western Community College (March 7-8) at Council Bluffs, a trip to Alva, Okla., against Northwest Oklahoma State University JV, and one game at Dodge City.
The Region IX schedule begins March 20 with a four-game home set against Lamar with four more home games against Otero the following weekend. April begins with a home-and-home series against Northeastern Junior College with a home doubleheader April 2 and a road doubleheader in Sterling, Colo. April 4.
The Indians travel to Trinidad April 10-11 for a pair of doubleheaders then return home for four games against Luna Community College April 17-18. Western Nebraska comes to McCook April 23 for their first official Region IX games and a return trip to Scottsbluff April 25. MCC wraps up the region April 30-May at Beatrice for four games against Southeast CC.
The season is spilt with 28 nonconference games and 28 conference games. After the start of region play, MCC will play six mid-week games against Colby Community College and Garden City.
“For me it’s important to not just play on weekends, so those midweek games are important – especially to keep the offense going. Going weekend-to-weekend is too long to just practice, so over the last six weeks of the season, we’ve got four mid-week games with Colby and two with Garden City,” said Olsen.
Up-to-date information about MCC baseball including schedule, roster, statistics, photos and livestream links for home games and more can be found on the MCC Athletics website, www.mccindians.com