Lobos Open MW Tournament vs. San Jose State on Wednesday

The Lobos will begin their postseason run as the No. 3 seed in the Mountain West Tournament this week at Sloan Park with a first-round, loser-out matchup with No. 6 seed San Jose State on Wednesday, as the Lobos hunt for their first conference title and NCAA postseason berth since 2016.

After dropping the first two narrow games last weekend (5-7, 10-11 [11 Inn.]) before salvaging Saturday’s Senior Day Finale (12-10), the Lobos wrap up the regular season third in the conference standings with a 17-13 mark in MW play for the second year in a row.

New Mexico hasn’t won the Mountain West tournament since 2016, when the Lobos won three in a row as hosts to punch their ticket to the NCAA Tournament. It’s their second trip to the tournament in a row after a six-year drought.

Bracket is 𝗦𝗘𝗧! See you in Mesa 👋#MWBSB pic.twitter.com/LBtv1uijmp

— Mountain West (@MountainWest) May 17, 2025

With the regular season now complete, UNM leads the nation in team batting average (.339 and doubles (148 / 2.85 per game) for the third week in a row – they also rank No. 2 in total hits (640), No. 3 in slugging (0.576), No. 7 in scoring (9.4), No. 9 in runs (487), No. 13 in on-base percentage (.427) and T-17th in homers per game (1.75) while cracking the Top 100 in the nation in in triples per game (T-62nd, 0.27), total base on balls (93rd, 260), double plays per game (T-98th, 0.73) and fielding percentage (95th, 0.973).

All of the 2025 MW Baseball Championship will be available to stream free via the MW Network at GoLobos.com/Watch, 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.

vs. #6-seed San Jose State (26-28, 13-17 MW)
May 21 | 2 p.m. MT | Mesa, Ariz. | Sloan Park

TOP BATTING TEAM IN THE NATION
New Mexico leads the entirety of NCAA D-I in team batting average (.339) and doubles (148 / 2.85 per game)for the fourth week in a row — with the regular season now in the books, their status as the top batting team in the nation has been sealed. Four different Lobos rank among the Top 100 in the nation in individual batting average — Khalil Walker (#23, .397), Jordy Oriach (#29, .395), Josh McAlister (#78, .371) and Ethan Ott (#91, .368) — they rank Nos. 1, 2, 4 and 5 in the Mountain West.

TY CUNNINGHAM NAMED TO NCBWA STOPPER OF THE YEAR WATCH LIST

A day after collecting his 10th save of the season as New Mexico completed a season sweep of in-state rivals N.M. State, Lobos closer Ty Cunningham has been named to the National College Baseball Writers’ Association’s Stopper of the Year Midseason Watchlist.

Cunningham’s 10 saves lead the Mountain West so far this season and rank No. 6 in the nation – he’s just one away from matching a UNM single-season record of 11 that has been untouched since 1985 (Ed Bartholomew). He’s only the fourth Lobo in program history to record double-digit saves in the same season since it became an official statistical category in 1981.

In 28 innings of work, Cunningham has posted a 3.54 ERA with 25 strikeouts (8.04 K/9) – he’s held opponents scoreless in 11 of his 18 appearances so far this season. He’s the lone Mountain West pitcher to make the cut.

NEW MEXICO BASEBALL NCAA D-I RANKING SUMMARY (5/19)

ALL-TIME SERIES
• In an all-time series between the Spartans and Lobos that began in 1998, UNM is 32-24-1 overall with a 22-8 mark at home and 10-11-1 away.
• The Lobos are 0-1 against the Spartans on neutral fields after falling to them in the opening round of the MW tournament last spring (5/23).
• Since SJSU joined the MW before the 2014 season, UNM is 30-21-1 against them.

FINAL MOUNTAIN WEST INDIVIDUAL STAT RANKINGS 

LONG BALL LOBOS
With the regular season now in the rear view, 15 different players have combined for 91 New Mexico home runs. UNM is averaging 1.76 homers per game so far this season, dropping one spot into a tie for 17th in the nation after moving up in each of the last five weeks among the nation’s home run team leaders.
After six Lobo homers last weekend, Jordy Oriach (16) and Josh McAlister (16) are tied for most homers on the team and third-most in the league, with Ethan Ott (15) just behind. Will Asby (13), Tye Wood (5), Andrew Neil (4), Caleb Herd (4), Karsen Waslefsky (5), Gene Trujillo (3) and Khalil Walker (4) all have multiple, with Cooper Brass hitting his first career homer three weeks ago at SDSU.
The Lobos moved up to No. 2 on the all-time single season list with six homers last weekend — they’re now just two away from matching the UNM single-season record set in 2003 and three away from surpassing it.

UNM SINGLE-SEASON HOMERS ALL-TIME TOP 10
1. 93……………………………….2003
2. 91…………………………………1998
2. 91…………………………2025
3. 87 ……………………………….2023
4. 85 ………………………………..1999
5. 82 ……………………………….2005
6. 75 ……………………………… 2004
7. 72 ……………………………….2024
8. 70………………………………..1985
9. 69……………………………….2005
10. 67 ……………………………….2022

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.