ALL-TIME SERIES
UNM leads the all-time series with GCU 24-16, with an 11-5 record in matchups at home and an 11-10 record on the road (1-0 neutral). However, the ‘Lopes have taken four of the last five meetings, with the two teams most recently playing in 2023.
The Lobos also lead the all-time series against Air Force 153-61, with an 88-21 record in matchups in Albuquerque and a 56-36 record on the road. They only faced for one weekend series last season, with the Lobos dropping two of three on the road in Colorado Springs (3-12, 6-5, 7-18 [7]).
LAST TIME OUT (at Nevada, 3/21-23)
New Mexico dropped two of three to suffer its first Mountain West series loss of the year at Nevada last weekend, hitting .292 as a team while scoring 15 runs on 33 hits. UNM outlasted the Wolf Pack in Friday’s 12-inning weekend opener (6-4) thanks to some shutdown pitching from Daxton Purser, Ty Cunningham and Diego Alvarez, but was walloped in Game Two 20-4 and downed late in Game Three (7-5).
The Lobos slugged seven doubles, one triple, and five home runs, posting a .504 slugging percentage and .367 on-base percentage. Defensively, UNM recorded a .991 fielding percentage, committing just one error in three games.
- Khalil Walker (.600, 6-for-10, 3 R, 3B, RBI, .800 SLG, .692 OBP) led the team in batting average and on-base percentage, recording six hits and a triple.
- Brodey Williams (.556, 5-for-9, 2 2B, 7 TB, .778 SLG) provided extra-base power with two doubles on Saturday while hitting over .500 in two starts.
- Andrew Neil (.400, 4-for-10, 1 HR, 3 RBI, .800 SLG) kept his hot streak going in a pair of starts in left, delivering a clutch home run and tying for the team lead in RBIs.
- Ethan Ott (.364, 4-for-11, 1 HR, 1 2B, 1 RBI, .727 SLG) added another home run — his fourth of the year — while anchoring the Lobos’ lineup with a pair of hits on both Friday and Saturday.
- Josh McAlister (.333, 4-for-12, 1 HR, 1 RBI, .583 SLG) consistently reached base and contributed a home run. Jordy Oriach (.200, 2-for-10, 1 2B, 2 RBI) – Provided timely hits in two games, driving in two runs with his RBI double on Sunday.
On the mound, the Lobos kept things in reach on Friday and Sunday but the Wolf Pack’s 20-run effort on Saturday ballooned their team ERA on the weekend to a 10.73.
- Daxton Purser (6.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 11 K, .100 BAA) dominated in his start, striking out a career-high 11 batters in six shutout innings.
- Ty Cunningham (3.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K, .091 BAA) delivered a strong relief outing to keep the Lobos in contention in their 12-inning slugfest on Friday.
- Diego Alvarez (4.1 IP, 2 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 5 K) made two appearances in relief, earning the team’s only save of the series.
- Dayne Pengelly (4.1 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 6 BB, 6 K) battled through a tough start while striking out six on Sunday, exiting with the game tied.
LONG BALL LOBOS
Through 23 games this season, 11 different players have combined for 33 home runs, exiting the ballpark five times last weekend in Reno. Jordy Oriach and Josh McAlister lead the way with seven homers each, with Ethan Ott (4), Will Asby (3), Caleb Herd (3) and Andrew Neil (3) all going yard this weekend. McAlister has already already exceeded his homer total from the 2024 season (31 games played).
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).
| NEW MEXICO NCAA D-I STATISTICAL RANKINGS IN 2024 |
| Stat |
Rank |
Value |
| Batting Average |
#7 |
0.319 |
| On Base Percentage |
#13 |
0.421 |
| Doubles Per Game |
#17 |
2.24 |
| Scoring (Runs per 9) |
#25 |
8.4 |
| Slugging Percentage |
#31 |
0.515 |
| Triples Per Game |
T-#40 |
0.30 |
| Home Runs Per Game |
T-#94 |
1.33 |
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.
