Lobo Baseball Hosts Northern Colorado for Home Opening Weekend Feb. 21-23

New Mexico Baseball (2-2) returns home from its season-opening trip to Arizona for the Lobos’ first home series of the 2025 season at Santa Ana Star Field — a four-game set with Northern Colorado (2-2) Feb. 21-23.

The Lobos sit at .500 through the first four games of the season, defeating Austin Peay 9-6 in their opener and bouncing back from a 4-18 loss to UC Irvine with a 5-3 win over Seton Hall to close out the MLB Desert Invitational. They stuck around for a midweek matchup with Arizona at Hi Corbett Field on Tuesday but couldn’t plate a run through seven innings in a 10-0 run-rule victory for the Wildcats.

Meanwhile, the Bears also sit at 2-2 heading into this weekend’s matchup after splitting a four-game series with Utah Tech to open the 2025 season.

UNM’s weekend series will be broadcast free via the Mountain West Network, with live stats, streaming options and more available via GoLobos.com/BSBGameDay. Follow @UNMLoboBaseball on IG, X and Facebook for comprehensive coverage, promotional updates, behind-the-scenes content and more.

HOME OPENING WEEKEND
vs Northern Colorado (2-2)
Albuquerque, N.M. | Santa Ana Star Field

GAME ONE: Feb. 21, 2 p.m. MT
GAME TWO & THREE (DH): Feb. 22, 12 p.m. MT
GAME FOUR: Feb. 23, 12 p.m. MT

THIS WEEKEND’S PROMOS: UNM’s own Lobo Louie will throw out a ceremonial first pitch on Friday, with tickets only $3 on Friday and Sunday. Sunday Funday — with free tickets for kids 12 and under and a chance to run the bases postgame (weather permitting) is also in effect for Sunday’s game.

ALL-TIME SERIES
UNM is 30-10 against Northern Colorado all-time in a series that dates back to 1959, with all but one of those games (1962 in Greeley, Colo.) taking place in Albuquerque. The Lobos have won 11 straight dating back to 2010; in their last meeting in 2023, UNM cracked double-digit runs in all three games to sweep the Bears (30-1, 11-3, 18-2 [7 Inn.]).

STAY HOT, COOPER BRASS!
In the first three games of his collegiate career, redshirt freshman infielder Cooper Brass is batting .800 (8/10) with a 1.818 OPS — he racked up three hits in each of his first two outings against UC Irvine and Seton Hall and added two more singles in UNM’s Tuesday game at Arizona with only one strikeout in that span, and currently leads the nation in batting while leading the MWC in total hits as well as on-base percentage and slugging.
After going 6-for-7 to open his collegiate career at the MLB Desert Invitational, Brass was named MW Freshman of the Week on Monday.

MCALISTER TOUCHING ‘EM ALL
Senior infielder Josh McAlister was the only player to hit two home runs at the MLB Desert Invitational, but did so in unorthodox fashion — after mashing a solo homer Friday vs. Austin Peay — the first of the year for UNM — the senior slashed a looping 108.5 mph line drive two days later vs. Seton Hall that zagged under the center fielder’s glove. From there, he utilized a 28.7 ft/sec sprint speed to scoot around the bases for an inside-the-park homer that put two runs on the board to break a scoreless tie. McAlister finished the weekend having reached base in six of his 10 plate appearances and is batting .300 — he’s tied with Brass for best slugging % in the Mountain West (1.000).

EARLY RETURNS
Walker & Asby Named Preseason All-MW; Lobo Baseball Tabbed Fourth in Coaches’ Poll:

• Outfielders Khalil Walker and Will Asby were named to the All-Conference Preseason Team and New Mexico was one of three teams tied for fourth in the Mountain West Preseason Coaches’ Poll released Monday ahead of the 2025 baseball season.
  Walker and Asby – who both were All-MW selections after their first season at UNM in 2024 – make UNM one of four teams with multiple preseason all-league selections along with Fresno State (four selections), Nevada (three selections) and San Diego State (two selections).
• With six first-place votes for a total of 43 points, 2024 MW Tournament Champions Fresno State are the favorites to win the conference again ahead of Nevada (35 points) in second and Washington State (1 first-place vote, 30 points) in third. With 27 points, the Lobos are tied for fourth alongside UNLV (1 first-place vote) and San Diego State, the third season in a row in which they’ve improved their preseason rank. Before the 2023 season, UNM was picked to finish seventh and ultimately finished fifth — before the 2024 season, they were voted fifth and closed out the regular season one game out of sharing a regular-season championship with Air Force.

Asby Named to D1Baseball.com’s Top 100 Outfielders: 

• Senior Will Asby clocked in at No. 91 in the nation on D1Baseball.com’s National Outfielders Rankings released last week. In his first season with the Lobos in 2024, Asby entered the outlet’s midseason Top 100 Outfielder rankings at No. 94 after not being ranked heading into the season.
• Last season, Asby ranked second in the league in runs scored (59), eighth in slugging (.601) and ninth in total hits (71), breaking the program record for single-season grand slams with four – he needs just one more to match Mark Wulfert’s career record of five.

“Keep an Eye On” New Mexico in Mountain West Race:

• D1Baseball.com slated New Mexico as the team to “Keep an eye on” in this year’s Mountain West race behind preseason favorite Fresno State, citing improved pitching depth and a host of high-level hitters returning.
• “This year’s team has a chance at making [an NCAA Regional] with five returnees who hit .300-plus, two returning weekend starters on the mound and five key pieces in the bullpen also coming back to campus.”

A LOOK AT THE SCHEDULE
– The 53-game schedule, including 30 Mountain West Conference games, opens up at the MLB Desert Invitational in Arizona (Feb. 14-16) and concludes with a conference weekend series at home vs. Fresno State (May 15-17). In that span, the Lobos will face four different teams that reached NCAA Regionals last spring – Arizona, UC Irvine, Grand Canyon and Fresno State – nine times.
– In total, UNM will play 27 games at Santa Ana Star Field in Albuquerque and 26 games on the road throughout the regular season, with 18 games against seven opponents that ranked in the Top 150 in the nation in last season’s final RPI rankings.
– Should the Lobos stand among the top six teams in the Mountain West standings upon the conclusion of that weekend, they’ll earn a berth to the expanded MWC Baseball Championships May 21-25, hosted this year in Mesa, Ariz. The winner earns the conference’s automatic berth into the NCAA Championships.

2024 IN REVIEW
– The Lobos wrapped up the 2024 season with the most wins (28), most MW wins (17) and best MW finish (2nd) since 2017 to punch their ticket to the conference tournament for the first time since that season.
– The last time UNM increased its winning percentage over three consecutive seasons was 2012-2014. It was also the second year in a row in which the Lobos outperformed their conference preseason rank — they were picked to finish 7th in the conference in 2023 and finished fifth before being picked to finish fifth this year and concluding the season one game out of a regular season championship. They were one of just two MW teams to finish the season above .500.
– At the conclusion of the 2024 regular season, UNM ranked No. 8 in the nation in batting average (.319), No. 15 in the nation in double plays (51) and No. 17 in doubles per game (2.24).
– The Lobos led the MW in nearly every offensive category in 2024, with a slugging percentage of .515 that tied for the 10th-best in program history (No. 35 in the nation) and an on-base percentage of .421 that was also 10th-best in program history and No. 15 in the nation.
– Jake Holland was named MW Co-Player of the Year and ABCA All-Region Second Team following the season, with four Lobos making the All-MW team (most since 2017) and UNM taking home eight MW weekly awards (most since 2013).

WOOD HEATING UP THE BASEPATHS
– The Lobos’ projected leadoff man this season, Tye Wood became a real threat on the basepaths down the stretch in 2024, only getting caught stealing once in his last 11 attempts.
– Wood ranked second in the conference with 20 swiped bags – the most in a single season since Josh Melendez stole 22 in 2012. He stole at least one base against each of the Lobos’ last four opponents in the regular season and wrapped up the season ranked second in the MW in on-base percentage (.488) behind Walker (.490).
– Wood stole three bags – matching Sean Stephens for the most in a single game last season by a Lobo – in UNM’s series opener against Nevada May 10.

SEEING DOUBLE
– The Lobos excelled at getting two for one in 2024, ranking No. 15 in NCAA D-I in double plays per game (0.94) and No. 17 in doubles per game (2.24). They ranked No. 21 in total DP (51) and No. 50 in total doubles (121).
– Last season, the Lobos had four players hit double-digit doubles — two of them, Khalil Walker (11) and Will Asby (17), return for this season.

BROWN’S PROGRAM-BUILDING RESUME
– In his first five seasons as head coach at North Dakota State, Brown’s teams improved their winning percentage in each season, going from 15-30 (.333) in his first season in 2008 to 40-20 (.667) in 2012 and finishing each of the next nine seasons above .400. The Bison reached the Summit League tournament eight times in that span, advancing to NCAA Regionals in 2014 and 2021.
– He’s done the same in each of his first three years in Albuquerque, improving from 21-33 (10-20 MW) in 2022 to 26-25 (13-17 MW) in 2023 to 28-26 (17-13 MW) in 2024.
– Brown coached the Bison to 40-win seasons in 2012 and 2021.
– In Brown’s second season at UNM, the Lobos improved to 26-25 from 21-33 the year prior, with the highest team batting average since 2013 (.328) and lowest team ERA since 2016 (5.95). They finished 28-26 on the season (28-24 in regular-season games) the following season in 2024.
– In 16 seasons as a D-I Head Coach, Brown has finished the season above .400 13 times and above .500 seven times – the only three seasons in which he’s finished below .400 were his first two years in Fargo (2008, 2009) and his first season in Albuquerque (2022).

YOUR 2025 LOBOS ROSTER
– UNM’s 2025 roster includes 13 returning players with 17 newcomers – the Lobos return seven position players who appeared in at least 20 games in 2024 while losing seven.
– Of the Lobos’ newcomers, five are freshmen and 12 are transfers – nine transfers are from junior colleges and three from four-year institutions.
– 30 players are upperclassmen – 15 seniors and 15 juniors – the most upperclassmen Brown has had on a roster in Albuquerque.

THE OUTFIELD
The Lobos have the best possible problem on their hands in the outfield, with three returning starters in Khalil Walker, Tye Wood and Will Asby as well as 2023 NJCAA All-American transfer Jordy Oriach (Frank Phillips College) in the mix to compete for a spot.

In 2024, Walker led the MW in batting average (.391) and on-base percentage (.490) – ranking 20th and 43rd in the nation in those categories – with the lowest strikeout-to-walk ratio (30 BB/24 SO) among conference players in his first season as a Lobo. Asby ranked second in the league in runs scored (59), eighth in slugging (.601) and ninth in total hits (71), breaking the program record for single-season grand slams with four – he needs just one more to match Mark Wulfert’s career record of five.

They’re joined in the outfield by a productive switch-hitter in Wood (51 starts in 2024), who ranked 44th in the nation in on-base percentage (.488) and stole 20 bases last season, the second-most in the league and most by a Lobo in a single season since Josh Melendez in 2012 (23).

THE INFIELD
First and foremost, the Lobos look to replace three crucial middle infielders that soaked up most of the reps at shortstop and second in 2024 – Chase Weissenborn, Devon Dixon and Konner Kinkade. After both splitting time at the hot corner last season, junior Akili Carris (.301 average, 30 GS) looks to slot in at third full-time with senior Josh McAlister (.287 average, 10 XBH, 25 GS) moving back to second base, where he played over two seasons at Ohio State (2021-22). Luke Mansy (14 GP/7 GS) and juco transfer Karsen Waslefsky (South Mountain CC) also look to get significant reps up the middle, with utility transfer Elias Fiddler (Utah) as another option with D-I experience. Cooper Brass – who redshirted last season as a true freshman – and freshman Shane Miller are also both in the mix for reps up the middle in their collegiate debut seasons.

With the graduation of Reed Spenrath – who started 89 of 104 games at first base for UNM the past two seasons – UNM has two sluggers that could feasibly move into the starting spot in Ethan Ott (.553 slugging, 23 RBI in 30 games in 2024) and Gene Trujillo (.630 slugging, 13 RBI in 25 games). Both showed plenty of power at the DH spot in 2024, combining for eight homers and 10 doubles even with limited AB’s. 

CATCHERS
UNM relied on two fifth-year catchers in 2024, and there’s a three-way competition for who will get the most reps behind the dish in ‘25. Ironically, Caleb Herd – a junior who played his true freshman season at UNM in 2023 before transferring to Pima CC and returning to UNM this fall – is the only catcher on roster who’s appeared in a collegiate game for the Lobos. But junior transfer Brodey Williams (McLennan CC) and 2024 greyshirt Luke Banister are both in the mix to become key pieces.

PITCHING STAFF
In ‘24, the Lobos’ pitching staff posted a 7.71 team ERA after losing all three weekend starters from 2023 to the draft or graduation – with 10 newcomers and 32 games at elevation in New Mexico, UNM’s arms had significantly improved by the end of the season, posting a 5.17 ERA over the Lobos’ final 10 games and a 5.98 over their last 20. 

In the process, they struck out 394 in total – the most in a single season in Brown’s tenure and seventh-most in a single season in program history. This year’s returning arms produced 233 of those punchouts.

This year, all three projected weekend starters are senior returners that all got significant reps in 2024 in RHP Dayne Pengelly (11 GS, 50 IP), RHP David Lopez (11 GS, 65.1 IP) and LHP Daxton Purser (7 GS, 35 IP). 

• From D1Baseball: “The highlight of the fall practice sessions had to be the performance of the three projected starting weekend pitchers: righthanders Dayne Pengelly and David Lopez and lefthander Daxton Purser. The three seniors offer a lot of experience and combined for 30 of last year’s 54 starts. Pengelly can hit 95 on the guns and though he had some peaks and valleys last year (4-5, 7.63), the coaches say he can flash “unicorn-level stuff” when he is on. His power slider is his go-to pitch when he needs a big out. Lopez also posted some lofty numbers (4-2, 7.71) but his low-90s fastball has good life and his four-pitch mix (fastball, curveball, slider, splitter) has shown good improvement over the course of the offseason. Purser came out of high school as the No. 2-ranked lefthanded pitcher in the state of Utah and held opposing batters to a .245 average last season, which was the best of all the regular Lobo pitchers. He did not allow an earned run in his final three appearances.”

Four other pitchers that saw crucial innings as midweek starters and/or trusty relievers also return – Brian McBroom (95.1 IP in 59 app. at UNM), Josh Barnhouse (18 app. 35.1 IP in 2024), Ryan Castillo (10 app., 20.1 IP in 2024) and Ben Baker-Livingston (52.2 IP in 24 app. at UNM) – with six transfer juniors and four freshmen joining them.

• From D1Baseball: “The bullpen has some interesting pieces and timely additions. Righthander Ryan Castillo exceeded expectations as a freshman last season and looks to improve on his  1-2, 11.57 numbers. The coaches say he showed flashes of “next-level strike throwing” in the fall sessions. Castillo could also figure into a starting role this coming spring. Two transfers who will play key roles this season are lefty Matthew Cornelius (12 appearances at Arizona State, 3-0, 10.80) and righty Jack Messmore (13 starts at Delaware State, 2-4, 6.47), who both have key D1 experience. Another southpaw who will play a big role in the bullpen plans will be JC transfer Presley Monteforte, who uses a ton of deception in his offspeed offerings, which makes his 87-89 fastball play way up.”