No. 24 Wildcats Open 2024 Campaign at MLB Desert Invitational

MANHATTAN, Kan. – K-State baseball, which ranks No. 24 in the preseason standings by D1Baseball, leads off its 2024 campaign on Friday when the Wildcats head to Scottsdale, Ariz., to compete in the 2024 MLB Desert Invitational.

The Cats will open the tournament against Cal, which will be nationally televised on the MLB Network at 7 p.m. CT at Salt Rivers Fields. K-State's final two games will be played at Sloan Park against Boston College on Saturday and Georgetown on Sunday will be streamed on MLB.com. Both matchups are scheduled for 1 p.m. CT.

The season-opening tournament, which is in its fifth iteration will be played at spring training sites Sloan Park and Salt Rivers Field, will feature eight teams with K-State, BYU, Georgetown, GCU, Cal, Boston College, BYU, and USC.

Left-hander Owen Boerema, who went 7-2 with 15 starts a season ago, will get the opening-day start against Cal. Right-handed pitcher Ty Ruhl will get just his third career start in Saturday's meeting against Boston College, while left-handed newcomer Jacob Frost will get the nod in the weekend finale.

The Wildcats retain 17 letterwinners from last year's squad that reached the semifinal round of the 2023 Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship while welcoming in 22 newcomers. Key returners include Kaelen Culpepper, Brady Day, Brendan Jones, and Raphael Pelletier. Culpepper, Boerema and Tyson Neighbors were each selected to the Preseason All-Big 12 Team and were voted team captains for the 2024 season in a vote of their teammates.

Both Culpepper and Neighbors were named to the USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List, while also collecting First Team Preseason All-American honors by Baseball America. Additionally, Neighbors was named to the Preseason All-American First Team by the NCBWA, D1Baseball and Perfect Game and selected the D1Baseball Preseason Big 12 Pitcher of the Year.

Fans can tune in to the entire MLB Tournament available on News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM). Live streaming audio is available for the three-game series at KStateSports.com/watch and on the K-State Sports app.

Season tickets are now available. To purchase season tickets, fans can visit K-StateSports.com/Tickets, call 1-800-221-CATS (2287), or stop by the K-State Athletics Ticket Office in Bramlage Coliseum.

How to follow the 'Cats: Stay up to date on K-State baseball online at www.kstatesports.com and on the team's social media channels on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

GAME #1
#24 K-STATE (0-0, 0-0 Big 12) vs. Cal (0-0, 0-0 Pac 12)
Friday, February 16 | 7 p.m. CT | Salt Rivers Field (11,000)
Projected Starters: LHP Owen Boerema v. RHP Trey Newmann
Watch: MLB Network
Radio: 1350AM/93.3/93.7FM
Listen Online: kstatesports.com/watch
Tickets

GAME #2
#24 K-STATE (0-0, 0-0 Big 12) vs. Boston College (0-0, 0-0 ACC)
Saturday, February 17 | 1 p.m. CT | Sloan Park (15,000)
Projected Starters: RHP Ty Ruhl v. LHP AJ Colarusso
Watch: MLB.com
Radio: 1350AM/93.3/93.7FM
Listen Online: kstatesports.com/watch
Tickets

GAME #3
#24 K-STATE (0-0, 0-0 Big 12) vs. Georgetown (0-0, 0-0 Big East)
Sunday, February 18 | 1 p.m. CT | Sloan Park (15,000)
Projected Starters: LHP Jacob Frost v. LHP Everett Catlett
Watch: MLB.com
Radio: 1350AM/93.3/93.7FM
Listen Online: kstatesports.com/watch
Tickets

A LOOK AT K-STATE
K-State, who enters the season ranked as high as 24^th by D1Baseball, enters its 124th season of baseball and year six of the Pete Hughes era Friday, as the Wildcats begin the 2024 season at the MLB Desert Invitational in Scottsdale, Ariz. ... The season-opening tournament, which is in its fifth iteration will be played at spring training sites Sloan Park and Salt Rivers Field, will feature eight teams with K-State, BYU, Georgetown, GCU, Cal, Boston College, BYU, and USC ... The Wildcats retain just 17 letterwinners from last year's squad that reached the semifinal round of the 2023 Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship while welcoming in 22 newcomers ... Fourteen of the team's newcomers come via the transfer market, with five being from four-year programs including two being Division I transfers, while the other nine coming from the junior college ranks ... Returning starters include Kaelen Culpepper, Brady Day, Brendan Jones, and Raphael Pelletier ... Culpepper, Tyson Neighbors, and Owen Boerema were all voted team captains for the 2024 season in a vote of their teammates ... Neighbors became just the second student-athlete in K-State history to earn consensus All-American status a season ago after posting a league-high 11 saves with a 1.85 ERA and 86 strikeouts … A native of Royse City, Texas, Neighbors was named to the Preseason All-American First Team by the NCBWA, Baseball America, D1Baseball and Perfect Game, and was selected the D1Baseball Preseason Big 12 Pitcher of the Year … Boerema, who earn All-Big 12 honors in his first season with the Cats, made 15 starts and went 7-2 record with a team-best 95 strikeouts, which was fifth-best in the league … Culpepper was tabbed a Preseason All-American by Baseball America and is projected to be a top-30 pick in the 2024 MLB Draft by the MLB Pipeline … Day, who chose to return for his third season, was drafted in the 2023 MLB Draft by the Atlanta Braves in the 12^th round … Day led the Cats offense with a .356 average while Jones was the team leader in stolen bases with 28 … Pelletier caught 16 runners stealing last year, tying the first in the league …

SCOUTING CAL
While at the 2024 MLB Desert Invitational, K-State will face Cal (Friday), Boston College (Saturday) and Georgetown (Sunday) ... Cal ended the 2023 season with a 24-28 record and tied eighth in the Pac12 with a 12-18 mark ... Cal is just one of two teams to return to the preseason tournament where they will also face Georgetown (Saturday) and Boston College (Sunday) … Cal is in its seventh season of the Mike Neu era, where the Bears are 4-2 and 9-11 in opening weekends … The Bears returned 18 letterwinners with 22 newcomers … Among the Bears' returners include right-handed pitchers Christian Becerra (6.29 ERA, 38 ER, 54.1 IP) and Andres Galan (4.47 ERA, 23 ER, 46.1 IP) … Cal brings back 77.6 percent of its home run production from last season, which includes juniors Caleb Lomavita (16), Rodney Green Jr. (14), and Carson Crawford (13) … Cal will send right-hander Trey Newmann, a true freshman from Central Pointe, Ore., to the mound Friday against the Wildcats … Cal leads the all-time series 7-0 against K-State, including a one-game lead at neutral sites … In the last meeting on March 2, 2015, the Bears claimed a 9-1 defeat over the Cats …

SCOUTING BOSTON COLLEGE
Boston College reached the 2023 NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional, finishing 37-20 and third in the ACC Atlantic division with a 16-14 ACC record ... Making their first appearance in the tournament, the Eagles will start the season against Ohio State Friday and Cal on Sunday … The Eagles bring back 23 letterwinners, including six starters and three starting pitchers ... Among BC's returners are outfielder Barry Walsh (.314/.416/.490, 8 HR, 25 RBI), infielder Patrick Roche (.294/.403/.398, 38 RBI) and infielder Nick Wang (11 HR), who was second on the team in home runs ... Boston College will send sophomore left-hander AJ Colarusso to the mound Saturday against the Wildcats .. Colarusso made five starts (10 appearances) and went 1-1 with a 8.44 ERA (20 ER, 21.1 IP) to go with 15 strikeouts and eight walks in his freshman campaign ... Saturday's matchup marks the first meeting between the Eagles and Wildcats.

SCOUTING GEORGETOWN
Georgetown went 30-27 with a 10-10 Big East record, finishing fourth in the league ... The Hoyas were picked to finish fourth in the preseason poll, while catcher Owen Carapelloti and right-hander Cody Bowker were each selected to the Preseason All-Big East Team … Carapelloti appeared and started in all 57 games for the Hoyas and put together a slash line of .289/.380/.556 with 16 home runs … Bowker appeared in 14 games (4 starts) last season where he boasted a 2.57 ERA (12 ER, 41.0 IP) … Left-hander Everett Catlett, who made 21 appearances (3 starts) and struck out 27, will get the nod in the weekend finale against the Cats … The Wildcats and Hoyas will meet for the first time Sunday.

Big 12 Baseball Preseason Poll
1. TCU (11) - 143
2. Texas (2) - 131
3. Oklahoma State - 119
4. Texas Tech - 107
5. Kansas State - 98
T6. Oklahoma - 85
T6. West Virginia - 85
8. Kansas - 67
9. Houston - 56
10. UCF - 45
11. Baylor - 36
T12. BYU - 21
T12. Cincinnati – 21

2023… A SEASON OF FIRSTS
The 2023 roster became the first team in program-history to record 14 road victories after defeating Oklahoma State, 10-9 … Wildcats reached 30-wins for the first time since 2021; 17th time in program history … The 2023 season marked the Cats first appearance in a national poll since 2014, ranking 26th by Collegiate Baseball in week 12 … Roberto Pena became just the third player since 1997 to have a 15-plus home run season … The Wildcats' Dillons Sunflower Showdown series sweep was the first road sweep over KU since 2013 … The 2023 team was the fastest team to nine conference wins in program history … Fastest team to 24 overall wins since 2013 … K-State completed its first sweep over Oklahoma at home since 1990 … The sweep over the Sooners marked the first Big 12 series sweep since 2013 … K-State was the first member of the Big 12 to reach nine conference victories this season … First time in 123-years of K-State baseball history the Wildcats led off the season with a four-game road series sweep.

OPENING DAY
The Wildcats is 2-3 in season openers under head coach Pete Hughes after collecting a 7-6 victory over Stephen F. Austin last season ... The Cats are 5-5 over their last 10 season openers and 15-9 going back to the year 2000.

NEW FACES
The 2024 roster is comprised of 22 new faces with 14 transfers and eight freshmen... Five of the Wildcats' 14 transfers come from four-year universities, including junior infielder David Bishop from TCU and senior outfielder Chuck Ingram from Wichita State ... Ingram was ranked No. 25 in the preseason outfield player rankings by D1Baseball.

COACH HUGHES FILE
Pete Hughes enters his in 27th season as a head coach and sixth at the helm of K-State baseball … Hughes grabbed his 100^th victory at K-State on Feb. 18, 2023 against Stephen F. Austin … … Hughes has compiled a career record of 785-608-3 (.563) as a head coach … His 785 career victories ranks first among active Big 12 head coaches … In five seasons as the head coach of the Wildcats, Hughes has put together a 133-116 (.534) record … He's led the Cats to three straight runs in the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship semifinals ... In 2023, K-State turned in a 35-24 mark, its highest win total since posting 45 in 2013 … Two players were selected in the 2022 MLB First-Year Player Draft increasing Hughes' career draft total to 84, including 10 while at K-State, with 21 top-10 round picks.

CAN'T CATCH THIS
K-State caused problems on the base path for opponents, stealing a 114 bases which ranks 19th in all Division I and third in the Big 12 while sitting 24th with 1.93 stolen bases per game … Brendan Jones has been the speedster for the Cats lineup with 28 stolen bases which is second in the Big 12 and ranked fifth in the single-season records … The Cats stole a season-high 11 bases against Youngstown State … The K-State single-season record is 149 set in 2009 thru 62 games …

A LOOK AT THE NUMBERS
K-State has a season +71 run differential through 59 games averaging 7 runs on 8.8 hits ... The Wildcats outscored opponents 139-73 (+66) from the seventh and on … Cats were 25-3 when leading after the sixth and 5-0 when tied after six ... K-State finished 18-12 when committing no errors in a game ... The Wildcats were 27-8 when scoring first and 11-8 when scoring in the first inning … K-State outhit opponents in 30 contests … The Cats were 24-5 when limiting opponents to five or less runs … The Cats won 27 of their 35 total games against right-handed starters …

OFFENSIVE GOODS
The 2023 team was one of just three teams in the country that walked over 300 times, hit over 75 home runs, and stole over 100 bases ... Offensively, his team batted .270 as a team and averaged just under seven runs per game and hit 77 home runs ... In the past three seasons, the Cats have registered the top three home run marks in school history – 89 (2021), 84 (2022), and 77 (2023) ... Three players had double figure home runs led by Roberto Pena with 15 to tie second in the single-season records ... The offense generated top 10 performances in five K-State offensive categories: home runs (77 – 3rd), stolen bases (114 – 5th), walks (340 – 3rd), sacrifice flies (34 – T-4th), and runs batted in (379 – 9th) …

WALK THE WALK
The Cats plate discipline generated 340 walks which marked the first 300-plus season since 1997 ... The Wildcats 340 walks ranked 13th in the final Division I standings, including five straight weeks as the national leader from March 22 to April 24, while finishing 19th in stolen bases.

PHILLIPS 66
At the 2023 Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Championship, Hughes led the Cats to their first conference tournament shutout since 1976 in a 7-0 defeat over No. 20 Texas, before taking down school rival KU to advance to the semifinals ... Seven players received All-Big 12 recognition with Tyson Neighbors, Owen Boerema, Nick Goodwin, Kaelen Culpepper, Brady Day, Brendan Jones, and Raphael Pelletier ...

MAKE IT CONSENSUS
Neighbors became just the second Wildcat is school history to earn consensus All-American honors and was a First Team All-Big 12 selection and led the league with 11 saves ... He set school season class records in saves along with a record setting 1.85 ERA (10 ER, 48.2 IP) as a sophomore pitcher ... He also broke the program's TrackMan-era pitch velocity record at 99-mph in the series opening win against No. 14 Texas Tech (April 28) ... Neighbors was named NCBWA Stopper of the Year Finalist as he held opponents to a .135 batting average In 25 outings with 86 strikeouts ... The Royse City, Texas product was one of just two relievers from the Big 12 to rank in the Top 10 in total strikeouts in league standings.

USA! USA! USA!
Culpepper and Neighbors became just the second and third players in school history to represent K-State on Team USA as members of the Collegiate National Team ... The duo earned positions on Team USA to compete against Chinese Tei Pei and Japan ... A two-time All-Big 12 Honorable Mention selection, Culpepper was the top slugger for Team USA last summer as he led the Red, White, and Blue with a .471 batting average and slugging percentage of .853 ... In four appearances, Neighbors allowed just three hits with four strikeouts during his 3 2/3 innings in relief for Team USA ... He made two appearances during the national training camp where he struck out five batters during two hitless innings ...

2024 MLB DRAFT
Two players were selected to the MLB's First-Year Player Draft with Goodwin (Toronto Blue Jays -7th round (No. 214 overall)) and Day (Atlanta Braves – 12th (No. 369 overall)) ... Goodwin became the fifth Wildcat to be picked in the top 10 rounds over the last five seasons ... The duo increases Hughes' career draft total to 84 over his 25-year career, including 10 while at K-State ...

FROM THE PEN
In his first season with the Wildcats, pitching coach Rudy Darrow led the pitching staff that finished just second to Oklahoma State with a 2.36 strikeout-to-walk ratio and fifth in the Big 12 conference with a 5.20 ERA ... The Cats struck out 507 batters while issuing 215 walks, compared to the previous year with a 5.84 ERA and 280 walks ... The staff was led by senior transfer Owen Boerema as the left-hander worked his way into the starting rotation. Boerema earned Second Team All-Big 12 accolades in his first season, striking out a season class record 95 batters which ranked fifth in the league … K-State issued the fewest walks in the Big 12 with 215 while also leading the league in walks allowed per nine innings (3.82).

UP NEXT
K-State will close out the Arizona trip on Tuesday, Feb. 20, with a nightcap against Arizona State inside Phoenix Municipal Stadium. First pitch is slated for 7:30 p.m. CT. The game will be streamed on Pac-12 Network with radio coverage on News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM). Live streaming audio is available for all games at KStateSports.com/watch and on the K-State Sports app.

Season tickets are now available. To purchase season tickets, fans can visit K-StateSports.com/Tickets, call 1-800-221-CATS (2287), or stop by the K-State Athletics Ticket Office in Bramlage Coliseum.

How to follow the 'Cats: Stay up to date on K-State baseball online at www.kstatesports.com and on the team's social media channels on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

-- www.k-statesports.com --

Kansas State University, the nation's first operational land-grant institution and a Carnegie Foundation Tier One university, is recognized as one of the nation's best colleges with world-class research and academic excellence located in America's No. 1 College Town (Manhattan, KS).

No. 24 Wildcats Open 2024 Campaign at MLB Desert Invitational

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Players Mentioned

David Bishop

Owen Boerema

Kaelen Culpepper

Brady Day

Jacob Frost

Nick Goodwin

Chuck Ingram

Brendan Jones

Tyson Neighbors

Raphael Pelletier

Roberto Pena

Ty Ruhl

Kansas State University Athletics