GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- The Tusculum University baseball team will open the 2026 season this Friday when the Pioneers travel to UNC Pembroke for a 12:30 p.m. doubleheader.
TU head coach Brandon Steele, who is entering his eighth season at the helm at his alma mater, returns 16 lettermen from last year's squad.
OUTFIELDERS
Sophomore Ryan Ortega (Miami, Fla.) is the lone starter returning to the Tusculum outfield. He earned the start in 38 contests where he posted a .313 batting average with 42 hits including eight doubles, two home runs and 26 RBI. He accounted for 21 walks and was hit by pitch eight times while only striking out on 12 occasions. He finished with five stolen bases in as many attempts and scored 29 runs and was responsible for 13 multiple-hit games.
Redshirt sophomore Jake Absher's 2025 season was cut short due to injury. In his seven starts, he was batting .348 with three doubles, a triple and four RBI. During his 2024 rookie campaign, Absher (Lenoir, N.C.) played in 44 contests with 39 starts as he batted .261 with 37 hits including eight doubles, four home runs and 34 RBI.
Veteran Connor Jurek (Knoxville, Tenn.) batted .271 last season as he finished with 26 hits, 14 RBI, 10 walks and scored 21 runs. During his 59-game career, he has totaled 44 hits with 22 RBI and 10 stolen bases.
Senior Caleb Mulcahy (Dover, Tenn.) also returns for the Pioneers after batting .284 with four doubles, two homers and eight RBI. He accounted for four multiple-hit games and a nine-game hitting streak.
Also returning for TU in the outfield are redshirt freshmen Cutter Womack (Cleveland, Tenn.), Landon Dockery (Maryville, Tenn.), Blake Bible (Morristown, Tenn.) and Nathan Hayworth (Rockwell, N.C.).
Joining the Tusculum team this year is Pellissippi State transfer Evan Cage (Knoxville, Tenn.). He played in 55 games and totaled 62 hits with 13 doubles, two triples, two homers and 51 RBI with the Panthers. The junior outfielder accounted for 41 runs and 18 multiple-hit contests as Pellissippi went 33-23 including 19-10 in conference play.
Junior Steve Scarfone (Staten Island, N.Y.) batted .286 last year for RCSJ Gloucester. He totaled 20 hits including five doubles, one triple, one home run, 17 RBI and three stolen bases.
Freshmen Alejandro Ponte (Miami, Fla.) will be competing for playing time in the outfielder after batting .420 and winning a Region title at Rise Prep Academy.
INFIELDERS
There will be lots of newcomers in the Tusculum infield this season led by All-American junior college transfer Mason Johnson (Tiffin, Ohio). He was a 2025 NJCAA All-America first team selection at Terra State Community College as he led the nation in home runs (17), RBI (82) and slugging percentage (.963). He batted .494 and totaled 79 hits with 18 doubles, three triples and scored 54 runs. During his junior college career, he posted a .443 batting average with 25 homers, 130 RBI and 62 walks.
Chowan University transfer Caden Rector (Knoxville, Tenn.) played in 36 games last season for the Hawks including 35 starts. The graduate student finished in 2025 season at Chowan with 22 hits including five doubles, two home runs and 15 RBI. He boasted a .967 fielding percentage and tallied a pair of stolen bases.
Junior Kolby Watson (Mount Airy, N.C.) played the last two years at UNC Asheville. In 2025, he made 31 appearances with four starts for the Bulldogs. In his 2024 rookie campaign, he batted .294 with a home run.
Keygan Miksa (Toronto, Ontario, Canada) played two years at SUNY Niagara as he finished with a .398 batting average. Last year, he batted .342 with 26 hits including four doubles and 18 RBI. He went a perfect 6-of-6 in stolen bases and had a .412 on-base percentage.
Evan Goins (Knoxville, Tenn.) played the last two years at Cleveland State as he batted .339 last year and tallied 11 doubles with 50 RBI, while boasting a .421 on-base percentage. In 2025, he recorded 13 multiple-hit games and ended the year with 59 total hits.
New to the Tusculum infield this season are Chattanooga State transfer Adam Buerger (Gahanna, Ohio) along with true freshmen JeanCarlo Hernandez (Miami, Fla.) and Riley Schild (Springfield, Tenn.).
Back for the Pioneers are senior Julian Jennings (Port St. Lucie, Fla.) and junior infielder Justin Millsaps (Louisville, Tenn.). Millsaps played in 25 games last season for TU with 18 starts. He batted .260 with 19 hits including five doubles, one homer, eight RBI and 19 runs.
Returning for Tusculum are redshirt freshmen Jake Smith (Winston-Salem, N.C.) and Jake Trottier (Fort Myers, Fla.).
PITCHERS
Nine lettermen return to the Tusculum pitching staff with 2025 closer Cooper Emery (Lakeland, Fla.) atop the list. He made 18 relief appearances in his rookie season as he posted three saves and a 5.58 earned run average. He recorded 33 strikeouts and tallied a 2-2 record as he tossed 40.1 innings and held batters to a .264 average.
Senior Brice Anders (Brevard, N.C.) has been a fixture in the Tusculum weekend rotation the last two seasons including last year where he made 15 appearances with 11 starts. He went 3-9 with a 9.64 ERA as he recorded 34 strikeouts in 46.2 innings of work. During his TU career, he has an 8-14 record in 116.1 innings with 78 strikeouts and a 7.12 ERA.
Drew Sliwinski (Knoxville, Tenn.) has been a workhorse out of the Tusculum bullpen in his 53 career outings. He has a 5-10 career record with six saves and a 4.82 ERA. He did not play last season due to injury.
Senior lefty Scout Martin (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) enters his final collegiate campaign and has made 25 appearances with one start. He has pitched in 35.1 innings and has tallied 28 strikeouts. Last season, he made 14 bullpen showings while notching 22 strikeouts and a 7.11 ERA.
Junior Aiden Tipton (Knoxville, Tenn.) returns after making 16 appearances on the mound with three starts. He went 1-3 with a 7.89 ERA in his 29.2 innings of work and finished with 20 strikeouts.
Senior right-handed pitcher Luke Maicon (Wake Forest, N.C.) saw limited action last year as he played in three contests where he pitched in 8.1 innings with six strikeouts. In 2024, he went 1-1 and a save in his 14 appearances where he posted 14 strikeouts.
Junior right-hander Noah Vickers (Milan, Tenn.) recorded five appearances in 2025 with two starts as he saw action in 6.1 innings and posted eight strikeouts.
Sophomore right-hander Ayden Moore (Lebanon, Tenn.) went 2-0 as a true freshman in his 16 relief appearances and finished with an 8.10 ERA. In his 20 innings, he accounted for 16 strikeouts vs nine walks.
Also returning for the Pioneers is sophomore southpaw Payne Ladd (Bristol, Tenn.) who made nine appearances with one start. He went 0-1 and finished with five strikeouts in his 8.2 innings on the mound.
Tusculum welcomes nine newcomers to the pitching staff this spring.
Junior right-hander Maverick Foster (Bethel, Conn.) played two seasons at Mercer County Community College as he went 4-1 with a save and a 4.82 ERA. He made 12 appearances including seven starts as he finished with 50 strikeouts in 37.1 innings. He helped Mercer County to a 34-20 record including 14-1 in conference action.
Junior right-handed pitcher Will Webb (Knoxville, Tenn.) made 15 appearances last year with Cleveland State. He finished with a 5.51 ERA and a 1-2 record with 19 strikeouts in 16.1 innings.
Junior right-hander Walker Pedante (Glen Allen, Va.) comes to Tusculum after playing the 2025 season at SAC member Lenoir-Rhyne. Pedante made five appearances and three starts for the Bears as he went 1-0 and accounted for nine strikeouts in 7.1 innings. LR would finish the year 50-15 winning the NCAA Division II Southeast Region title and placed fourth at the DII College World Series. He played previously at Caldwell Tech as he went 4-4 with a 5.14 ERA. Pedante went 63 innings and finished with 62 strikeouts.
Sophomore right-handed pitcher Owen Canter (New Franklin, Ohio) comes to Tusculum from Walsh University. He played his prep career at Manchester High School where he holds two strikeout record and tossed three no-hitters.
Junior right-hander Ben Randall (Land O Lakes, Fla.) comes to Tusculum after pitching last season at Middle Georgia College. He made five appearances out of the bullpen with no decisions and a 4.50 ERA. In 2024, he pitched at Edison State Community College where he finished with 34 strikeouts in logged 40 innings of work.
The freshman quartet of Ryan Miller (Brooksville, Fla.), Isaiah Pinero (Fayetteville, N.C.), Christian Ponte (Miami, Fla.) and Aidan Sproles (Johnson City, Tenn.) will be competing for playing time on the mound for the Black & Orange.
CATCHERS
This year's roster features six catchers on it including: Jack Gagen (Ashburn, Va.), Nick Satterly (Erwin, Tenn.), Joey Socorro (West Deptford, N.J.), Adrian Salas (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), Tine Bowman (Johnson City, Tenn.) and Nate Davidson (Nashville, Tenn.).
Gagen is entering his fourth season with the program as he made 16 appearances behind the plate with 14 starts in 2025 and batted .250.
Socorro is a Mercer County Community College transfer who played in 40 games and batted .319 with 46 hits, 11 doubles, two triples, five home runs and 41 RBI. He scored 37 runs with 13 walks and was an All-Conference second team choice with 14 multiple-hit games.
Salas comes to Tusculum after playing the last two seasons at SUNY Niagara. Last spring, he batted .391 in his 18 games where he totaled 18 hits with five doubles, one triple, one homer, 17 runs and 19 RBI.
Satterly is a redshirt freshman who played his prep career at nearby Unicoi County High School where he was a two-time All-Conference and All-Tournament selection.
Bowman earned All-State honors in his senior season at Providence Academy. He was a three-time All-Conference standout and was the 2025 Conference Defensive Player of the Year. He batted .390 with seven home runs and a school single-season record 44 RBI.
Davidson batted .370 in his final season at Lipscomb Academy as his team won the 2025 State Championship.
Following Friday's doubleheader, Tusculum will open at home with a weekend series against the University Charleston (W.Va.).
