Baseball season preview: Experienced Yellow Jackets ready to roll into new season

DEFIANCE, Ohio – The 2025 baseball season begins on Friday afternoon for the Defiance Yellow Jackets with a trip to eastern Tennessee. They are the latest Yellow Jacket team to take the field for the first time since rejoining the NAIA. Last season, the Yellow Jackets finished 9-28 and 4-18 in the HCAC but closed the season with wins in 3 of the last 4 games. Defiance placed two players on the all-conference team (Gunner Gregg and Connor Gephart) and also garnered 16 academic all-conference awards. 

Season Outlook
Defiance is entering its second season under head coach Shane Gardner, who embarks on his 14th season as a college head coach. Gardner is 22 wins shy of 300 career victories through his time at Hiwasee, Trinity International and Defiance. 

With the early start to the 50-game season, Defiance has heavy travel for the next month with expeditions to Tennessee, Alabama, Kentucky, Georgia and South Carolina before hosting their conference opener on March 15. The schedule alone means DC is primed to play the most games in the program's 111-year history with the current record of 43 games.

The team is blessed with experience all around the diamond and is focused on improving over last season's win total (9) to continue growing into a nation-wide brand at the NAIA level. The second objective is to reach the eight-team WHAC Tournament and secure the program's third postseason berth in the last decade. Offensive production and painting are two areas that Coach Gardner is relying on to deliver those expectations. The team goal is to carry a .280 batting average, .480 on-base percentage, steal at least 75 bases and hit 45 home runs. On the mound, the Jackets pitching staff is aiming for a sub-7.00 team ERA (9.03 last year), 2-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio and to be efficient in getting hitters out.

About the Team
Defiance is returning starters at eight positions in the field plus two positions that are expected to see some platoon roles. On the mound, Defiance will also have familiar faces in starting roles. The top of the lineup will feature center fielder Mitchell Roever, who will once again patrol center field for the third straight year. Hitting behind him will be reigning all-HCAC players Gunner Gregg and Connor Gephart. Gregg hit six homers with 25 RBIs last year while hitting .353 and also served as the team's closer. Gephart came one home run shy of DC's single-season record and reached base in 35 of 36 games. Jeffrey Varga is expected to take on an increased pitching role as a starter during his senior year after working in relief the previous three seasons. Blake Bowman returns to the rotation after a team-high seven starts last year with second-year pitchers Josh Gase and Donovan Armstrong expected to take the ball as starters well.

Several players are poised to break out after solid spring and fall seasons. Both catchers Jacob Hild and Tim Bobek had strong ends to last season and their experience has been relied on in preparation for the season. Seniors Tyler Dehan and Alex Rodriguez III, junior Garret Long and sophomore Jack Brubaker-Flood are also looking to build upon high spots during the 2024 season with greater consistency. 

With a high volume of experience returning, the Yellow Jackets added depth and some potential key contributors through recruitment. Starting pitcher Colin Danek came to the program after transferring from Alma and jumps right into the rotation with the ability to eat up innings with a 3-or-4-pitch mix. Freshman Andy Yoder is another name to watch out of the bullpen that could quickly turn into a reliable late-inning option. Anthony Silvera Jr. and Brady Fallon are both new position players who Coach Gardner expected to bolster the lineup at multiple positions. 

Conference Outlook
The WHAC preseason poll placed the UNOH Racers at the top of the conference followed by the Indiana Tech Warriors. UNOH won the regular-season championship last season while Indiana Tech captured the conference tournament title and both fell in the Opening Round of the NAIA national tournament. The WHAC was also represented at the NCCAA World Series by Concordia to give the league three national tournament qualifiers. The Yellow Jackets were voted to finish 13th among the WHAC baseball coaches ahead of their first season in the league. With the new conference alignment, Defiance is primed to face six conference opponents for the first time.

Returning 2024 Statistical Leaders (Top 3)

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