Bill Neale is not shying away from the lofty expectations his Kansas Wesleyan baseball team faces this spring. In fact, he and the Coyotes relish it.
KWU is the defending Kansas Conference champion, ranked 16th in the NAIA coaches' preseason poll and received all 13 first-place votes in the KCAC's coaches' preseason poll.
"We're kind of a favorite now," said Neale, who enters his 10th season at Wesleyan. "You've still got to win but it's enjoyable and we're embracing it. We're not running from the target on our back, we're not running from being really good."
Neale and the Coyotes were not blindsided by their popularity after a record-setting 2023 season that saw them finish 44-15, 27-6 in the KCAC. They were 2-2 in their NAIA Opening Round, losing twice to defending champion and eventual 2023 third-place finisher Southeastern (Fla.).
Among the single-season team records set were overall victories (44), conference victories (27), home runs (136), runs batted in (526), runs (569), walks (383) and total bases (1,171). Numerous individual records set as well.
"We just need to play the way we did for the last probably three quarters of the season," Neale said. "People are coming for us but I still think we're going to feel like we're the better team when we step on the field and just need to play loose."
KWU opens the season with a doubleheader against Texas Wesleyan on Saturday in Fort Worth. A single game is scheduled Sunday.
"I told them there are no big rah-rah speeches, no 'our season starts today,'" Neale said. "It's the first game of the season, let's just play and have fun. We're going to believe that we're better than them so let's just go play better than them and beat them."
KWU lost several key contributors from last year's squad but several returned, most notably shortstop Jarrett Gable. He was an NAIA Second Team All-American, the KCAC Player of the Year and a First Team All-Conference selection. He hit .345, led the team with 77 hits and had a school-record 82 runs batted to go along with 23 home runs and 21 doubles.
Gable is a graduate intern in KWU's advancement department and is pursuing a master's degree.
"After talking to the coaches and with the guys we've got coming back this year I figured we might have a good team and it would be worth my time to come back and see what we can do," Gable said. "We had a lot of guys leave last year but watching the team now I think we'll have just as much fun."
Gable is the lone returning infield starter. Kendall Foster, who played left field a year ago, has moved to center field after hitting .311 with 24 homers and 74 RBI last spring. Designated hitter/outfielder Zack Beatty is back after belting 19 homers with 75 RBI and a .296 average.
"That's the three-headed monster that we're excited about," Neale said.
Newcomers and other veterans will fill the gaps. Jacob Williamson will start in left field and Eric Romero in right - both transfers from California junior colleges.
Koby Roberts, a native of Australia and a California junior college transfer, will share first base and DH duties with Beatty. Adrian Villalobos, in his second season with the Coyotes, will likely play second and third base. Reece Bishop, a veteran of the program, is ticketed for third. Cruz Oxford, who played as a freshman last season, and Jovan Suarez, a Salina South product and transfer from Hesston College, are in the infield mix along with Alex Garcia, a versatile California junior college transfer who can play every position and is a "Swiss army knife," according to Neale.
The Coyotes have four new catchers starting with Tyler Favretto, a transfer from Crowder College. Junior Zach Long, a transfer from Southeastern CC, Drake Smart, another California junior college transfer, and freshman Jackson Harriger are other candidates.
"Offensively I think we're going to be a little bit different," Neale said. "I don't see us hitting 136 home runs again, we lost 70 of those with the guys who departed, but we're still going to have that home run punch. I think our offense might be a little more dynamic this year, a little more athletic. We might take some more bases and do some different things like that."
There is ample pitching: "We're 14, 15 deep," Neale said.
Jarrett Brannen (14-1, 5.56 earned run average) and Nathan Righi (11-2, 3.53) return and lead the starting rotation. Brannen's 14 victories were a school record. Brett Maddock, a newcomer from Merced College, will be the third starter. Pedro Ramirez, a transfer from Iowa Wesleyan, joins the rotation after the school closed in May.
Ritter Steinmann, who appeared in a school-record 31 games last year (6-4, 2.92), is back and will work the middle innings. KT Geralds is slated to set-up closer Ryan Sandoval, who had six saves in 2023. Danny Ramirez and Sam Cooper return and will work out of the bullpen along with Nathan Galusha, a transfer from NCAA Division II Northwest Nazarene.
"We're pro-style pitching," Neale said. "You're going to get three outs and probably hand the ball off to someone else. That way we don't burn people out. We have so much confidence in so many guys. If our starters give us four or five (innings) that's great; if they give us six or seven that's a bonus."
Neale expects the KCAC to be another back-alley brawl.
"Tabor, McPherson, Ottawa, Oklahoma Wesleyan, and us are going to be really good again," he said. "I think the conference is nine, 10, 11 teams deep."
Neale said his team is eager to get outside and play someone else.
"I know our guys are excited but it's about not trying to do too much," he said. "We went to Arizona last year and our pitching staff tried to do way too much.
"It's go play and trust the guys behind you whether it's pitching or it's in the lineup. Be patient at the start of the year because people know us, they know the guys we've got back."