Baseball opens 2025 Campaign at Houston-Victoria
The defending regular season conference champion Wiley University Baseball Team will take the field for the first time in 2025 with a three-game series at the University of Houston-Victoria on Friday and Saturday at Riverside Stadium.
The games will stream on Houston-Victoria Athletics YouTube Channel. Live statistics will be available for all three games. The links are listed in the baseball schedule on wileyathletics.com. The Wildcats will open on the road for the eighth straight season. Under head coach Kendrick Biggs, who is entering his ninth season as head coach and 11th with the program, they are 4-4 in season openers.
The Wildcats return nearly all of their main contributors from last season's team, which went 29-21, won the program's first conference title since 1983, finished runner-up in the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Tournament and earned its second berth in the Black College World Series.
Starting pitcher Keyon Guillory looks to build off his freshman season, winning GCAC Pitcher and Freshman of the Year. He was selected to First Team All-Conference and the Minority Baseball Prospects Historically Black Colleges and Universities All-Star Game. He won seven games and pitched three shutouts.
Third baseman Ryan Ready was named GCAC Newcomer of the Year and earned Second Team All-HBCUAC and All-Tournament Team. He was ranked in the top three with a .375 batting average, 10 home runs and 65 runs batted in.
First baseman Ivan Del Villar led the conference with 12 home runs. He scored 37 runs and drove in 42, which ranks in the top 10 of the HBCUAC. Del Villar earned First Team All-Conference designated hitter and Second Team All-Conference first baseman. His .558 slugging percentage was also amongst the conference's best.
Outfielder Jhan Carlos Javier ranked second in the GCAC with a .393 batting average. He was fourth with seven home runs and seventh with 35 RBI. Javier scored 44 runs which ranks ninth in the conference.
Amir Mason earned First Team All-Conference and All-Tournament. He hit .336 with 37 runs and 27 RBI. Mason ranked in the top 10 of the conference with 48 hits and 25 stolen bases.
Brendan Mendoza was a Second-Team All-Conference catcher. He hit .284 and drove in 13 runs. Mendoza ranked sixth in the conference with 13 runners caught stealing.
Nick Rodriguez earned All-Tournament after recording two saves to help the Wildcats reach the championship. He was tied for second with three saves and struck out 44 batters in 52 2/3 innings pitched.
Eddie Garza ranked third in the conference with a .500 on-base percentage and fifth with 49 runs and 39 stolen bases. Abel Rodriguez Jr. hit .322 with 35 runs and 23 RBI. He ranked fourth in the conference with 13 doubles and second with 17 double plays turned. Isaac Burciaga went 5-5 and struck out 39 batters in 55 1/3 innings.
Biggs brought in several freshmen and transfers to strengthen the roster. Transfers include Jaziel Martinez, Dorado, PR (transfer catcher from Bryant & Stratton), Juan Pena, Santiago, DR (transfer pitcher Talladega), Kaleb Gilner, Wiggins, MS (transfer outfielder from Southeastern Baptist College), Armand Daigre, Baton Rouge, LA (transfer infielder from Southeastern Baptist College), Audreyous Bingham, Jacksonville, AR (transfer pitcher from Arkansas Baptist), Adrian Cindo, Dallas, TX (transfer utility from Louisiana College), and Sammuel Urena, Brooklyn, NY (juco transfer pitcher Monroe College).
Key freshmen will be Ethan Jones, Kadin Resendez, Nathan Caboverde, Deekota Johnson, and Jose Villalobos. These young men will all play a role in the Wildcats' defense of its conference championship.
This weekend will mark the first time the Wildcats and Jaguars have met since 2022, the final season Wiley competed in the Red River Athletic Conference. The series has been owned by Houston-Victoria with the Wildcats only winning seven of 28 matchups.
The Jaguars are coming off a 34-17 season which tied their record in wins. They enter the season receiving votes in the NAIA Top 25 poll. Houston-Victoria's lineup is stacked returning six All-RRAC athletes. Hal Perez ranked fifth in the conference with eight home runs and hit .308 with 47 RBI. Juan Perez hit .282 with 17 runs and 16 RBI.
Julian Garcia was tied for the conference lead in wins with 10 and ranked second with a 3.13 earned-run average. He struck out 70 batters in 83 1/3 innings pitched. Head coach Jonathan Stavinoha brought in transfer Jonathan Jones who pitched for Southeastern University Florida.
For more coverage on the Wildcats visit https://wileyathletics.com/sports/bsb/index
About Wiley University Athletics
Wiley University sponsors 12 varsity sports, women's volleyball, men's and women's soccer, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's indoor track and field, men's and women's outdoor track and field and baseball. It competes in the Historically Black Colleges and Universities Athletic Conference (HBCUAC) and the Continental Athletic Conference for men's and women's soccer.
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