CLEVELAND, Miss. – The Delta State University baseball season is upon us, and expectations are high for Head Coach Rodney Batts and the Statesmen.

The Green-and-White are coming off a 2024 campaign that featured a 33-24 overall record and 19-11 record in Gulf South Conference play. Delta State forced a winner-take-all game two in the GSC Championship, ultimately falling in a 7-2 decision to claim the runner-up title. The Statesmen then received an NCAA Division II postseason berth, their 32^nd appearance in program history, going 1-2 in the tournament.

Delta State returns ABCA/Rawlings All-American Dylan Coleman, who led the Statesmen offensively with a .398 batting average, .697 slugging percentage, and 58 RBI, all of which ranked second in the conference. The Madison, Miss., native was also named First Team All-South Region and First Team All-GSC.

Coleman, a 2025 Preseason All-GSC selection, is eager to get on the field with his teammates and compete. "The expectations for the season are clear. They are embedded in the culture of this program. We all expect each other to show up with the best version of ourselves ready to compete, be a good teammate, do whatever it takes to win the game, and ultimately a national championship."

DSU also returns veterans Wes Warnock, Brett Burrell, and Brendan McCauley, who hit .330, .328, and .294, respectively, last season.

Logan Eldridge and Drake Fontenot return to the bump as starters from a year ago. Eldridge led the pitching staff with a 3.86 ERA in 79.1 innings pitched, while Fontenot recorded a 5.85 ERA in 80.0 innings pitched. The duo combined for 129 strikeouts.

Coach Batts is looking forward to seeing the experienced squad he has assembled. "We have an experienced team who have played a lot of games in this league and against this caliber of competition, while returning a good portion of pitching and several guys who were a mainstay in our lineup. There are a lot of guys who played in the conference championship game last year and played in a regional tournament. We didn't finish the job last year, and my hope is, with that experience, they are hungry for a championship."

Opening weekend, Feb. 7 and 8, at Harvey Stadium-Ferriss Field sparks a seven-game home stretch to start the season and features a three-game series with Spring Hill, followed by a mid-week game with Southern Arkansas and conference-opening weekend on Feb. 14 and 15 against Lee University.

The non-conference schedule features Spring Hill, Southern Arkansas, Ouachita Baptist, Henderson State, Arkansas-Monticello, Arkansas Tech, and Harding. The home conference schedule includes Lee, Union, Valdosta, Alabama-Huntsville, Trevecca Nazarene, and Auburn-Montgomery.

Delta State was picked to finish 3^rd in the Preseason GSC Coaches Poll and 5^th in the College Baseball Writers Association Preseason South Region Poll.

For the full schedule with game times, visit the schedule page on gostatesmen.com.