Clarksville, TN – The Austin Peay State University (APSU) baseball team opens the 2025 season at the MLB Desert Invitational on Friday at 6:30pm CT when they face New Mexico at Sloan Park in Mesa, Arizona.
The Governors also take on Seton Hall and Grand Canyon in the MLB Desert Invitational before playing Arizona State, Monday, in Phoneix.
First Time Meetings
The new-looking Governors roster, led by third-year head coach Roland Fanning, will face four opponents that have never met in program history this weekend in the greater Phoenix area. Those teams include New Mexico, Seton Hall, Grand Canyon, and Arizona State.
Notes and Notables
Flipping The Opening Day Script
Austin Peay State University looks to break a six-game losing streak in season openers with Friday’s opener. The last time the Governors won an opener was in 2018, when they came back from behind to post a 4-2 victory against South Dakota State.
Michael Costanzo was the opening day starter that season and allowed just one unearned run in five innings. Reliever Brett Newberg picked up the win with 3.2 innings, and Ross Walker picked up the save by recording the game’s final out.
“A Bay Bay”
Redshirt senior outfielder John Bay was named the 2025 ASUN Preseason Player of the Year on February 6th. The 2024 Second Team All-ASUN selection returns with a hot bat after a stellar season at the plate, where he batted .365 with 24 home runs, 20 doubles, and 72 RBI.
With a repeat of last year’s power numbers, Bay will be on pace to break Austin Peay State University’s home run record currently held by former Gov Parker Phillips (2017-19). He currently sits at 32 career homers which is tied for eighth all-time in program history. Don’t let his power build fool you though, as he is a speed threat on the bases after going 11-14 in stolen base attempts last year.
Replacement Bats On Tap
Austin Peay State University returns roughly a third of their offense regulars after losing the bats of an offense that posted one of the best seasons in program history. Of the ten hitters with 100 or more at-bats last season, only three return.
Two-way superstar Lyle Miller-Green and shortstop phenom Jon Jon Gazdar both leave Austin Peay State University after being drafted in the 2024 MLB Draft. Outfielder Clayton Gray also leaves after graduating and signing as a free agent with the Colorado Rockies.
It will be up to the trio of veterans John Bay, Brody Szako, and Gus Freeman to lead the fresh faces on the Governors offense. Of the projected starting nine in the lineup, five are first-year APSU student-athletes, and all five are transfers from other Division I institutions.
National Eyes on The Govs
John Bay received preseason honors by being named the 2025 ASUN Preseason Player of the Year by the ASUN, Perfect Game, and D1Baseball.com. The ASUN and Perfect Game also had senior slugger Brody Szako listed as a preseason All-ASUN selection.
The senior out of Bellville, Texas finished 2024 batting .319 with 15 homers and 59 RBI. Szako ranked in the top-10 of three ASUN offensive categories for slugging percentage (.628), RBI, and home runs. In addition, Gus Freeman made D1Baseball.com’s Preseason Top-50 First Basemen list, ranking 28th.
Around The Horn
Into The Gray
This will be the first time that Austin Peay State University and New Mexico’s baseball teams have met face-to-face. The Lobos finished the 2024 season with a 28-26 overall record and went 17-13 in conference play to finish second in the Mountain West.
Head coach Tod Brown enters his fourth season at New Mexico looking to pace the Lobos for another winning season after his first .500+ season last year.
New Mexico returns junior outfielder Khalil Walker who led the Mountain West with a .391 batting average with three home runs, 11 doubles, and 19 RBI.
Also joining the outfield for UNM, graduate Will Asby returns this year after finishing third on the team in home runs (12) and second in RBI (59). The super senior will be a tough opponent to keep off the bases after finishing with a 1.023 OPS in 2024.
Senior southpaw Dayne Pengelly returns to the Lobos staff after a 4-5 season in 2024 after starting 11 games on the mound in 13 appearances and accumulating a 7.56 ERA. He ranked third on the team in innings pitched with 50.0.
Hall Pass
The Governors meet Seton Hall for the first time in program history on Saturday.
The Pirates finished 2024 7th in the Big East after a 24-30 (7-14) season.
Head coach Rob Sheppard, who has been with Seton Hall since 2004, looks to continue his successful career and bounce back from a sub .500 year with his Pirates last year.
Seton Hall’s pitching staff comes off a decent year on the mound after finishing the season third in the Big East with a 4.85 team ERA.
Outfielder Aiden Robbins returns to the roster after an impressive freshman season in 2024 where he batted .302 with six home runs, six doubles, five triples, and 31 RBI.
The pair of regular starting arms of Cole Hansen and Ryan Reich return to the Pirates’ bullpen. The pair both started in 10+ games, and each saw at least 70.0 innings on the mound. They paired for a 6-10 combined record in 2024. Hansen finished with a 3.96 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP, while Reich had a 4.09 ERA and 1.31 WHIP.
Chasing The Lopes
Austin Peay State University will face Grand Canyon University for the first time in program history in the Governors’ final game of the Desert Invitational on Sunday.
The Antelopes had an impressive season last year after going 36-25 overall and winning the conference regular season title with a 23-7 WAC record.
Despite GCU not winning their conference tournament, the Lopes received the WAC’s automatic conference bid into the 2024 Tuscon Regional due to Tarleton State finishing their final year of its transition from Division II to Division I.
Gregg Wallis enters his third season as GCU’s head coach after being named WAC Coach of the Year. In his time as head coach at GCU, he has a 73-46 (.613) record.
The Antelopes return First Team All-WAC selection Isaac Lyon to the bullpen after an impressive 6-1 sophomore season with GCU. In 2024, he started 11 games on the mound of the 17 games he appeared in and finished with a 3.97 ERA with 79 strikeouts over 81.2 innings.
GCU lost their 2024 WAC Player of the Year, Tyler Wilson, but they returned junior first baseman Zach Yorke, who was a key offensive player for the Lopes last year.
Zach Yorke finished the 2024 season batting .285 with 11 home runs and 50 RBI. He will be an important bat for the Lopes this season.
Taming The Devils
Arizona State will be the Governors’ final opponent in their trip to Arizona. It will be the first time the two teams have ever met.
ASU returns redshirt sophomore Brandon Compton, who was named the Pac-12’s Freshman of the Year.
Compton finished the 2024 season leading all freshmen in the Pac-12 in home runs (14), doubles (16), batting average (.354), slugging percentage (.661), OBP (.427), and RBI (51).
Senior infielder Jacob Tobias joined Compton on the all-conference team last year and returns to the Sun Devils’ lineup after batting .322 with a team-leading 58 RBI and 18 homers.
Another all-conference bat returning to ASU’s lineup this year is Kien Vu, a junior outfielder who hit a league-best .413, which ranked sixth in the country.
Junior Ben Jacobs returns to the mound this season after leading the 2024 Sun Devils in wins with a 7-3 record and finishing the season with a 4.75 ERA with 102 strikeouts over 66.1 innings.
Willie Bloomquist enters his fourth season as ASU’s head coach. He saw five players reach double digits in home runs last year, which was the first time the program has done so since 1993.
Broadcast Information
All games for the MLB Desert Invitational will be streamed on mlb.com, with Saturday’s game against Seton Hall being televised on MLB Network.
Follow Along
Keep up to date with all Governors baseball on the official website of Austin Peay State University Athletics – www.LetsGoPeay.com. Follow @GovsBSB on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram for all Governors Baseball updates and ticket information as they happen.
