CSUN Kicks Off 68th Season of Baseball Against Seattle U

Friday, February 13

Northridge, Calif.

5:00 p.m.

California State University at Northridge

Seattle U

Buy Tickets

Photo by: Bella A Enriquez

CSUN Kicks Off 68th Season of Baseball Against Seattle U

2/12/2026 1:31:00 PM | Baseball

BASE Game Notes - Feb. 12

NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN embarks on its 68th season of baseball this Friday, hosting Seattle U in a three-game series at Robert J. Hiegert Field. Friday's opener is set for 5 p.m. on ESPN+ while the series continues with a Saturday matchup at 4 p.m. and a Sunday series finale at 1 p.m. on ESPN+. Audio only broadcasts will be available all weekend at GoMatadors.com/Radio.

BOB HIEGERT MEMORIAL GAME
CSUN is set to honor the memory of legendary head coach Bob Hiegert when the Matadors take on Seattle U in the season opener on Friday. On hand for the game will be Hiegert's wife of 61 years, Jackie, alongside several members of his family.

A former four-year starter on the CSUN Baseball team, Bob Hiegert coached CSUN to NCAA Division II National Championships in 1970 and 1984 while accumulating the most wins in school history with 586 over 18 seasons at the helm from 1967-84. Hiegert would also serve as the school's Athletic Director from 1978-1995, capping a career that spanned four decades in Northridge. He was inducted into the Matador Hall of Fame in 1998. Prior to last season, CSUN renamed its home ballpark to Robert J. Hiegert Field to honor its former skipper.

CSUN ROSTER AT A GLANCE
The Matadors have returned 14 letterwinners from last season's roster, coupled with 24 newcomers. The team's new faces this season consist of 13 transfers, five of which from Division I schools, and 11 true freshmen. Among the returning group, the Matadors boast six players which started at least 25 games last season with five of those hitting above the .300 mark at the plate. Returning players also accounted for 25 home runs and 35 stolen bases in 2025. On the other side of the ledger, CSUN has nearly overhauled its pitching staff as the team boasts an entirely new weekend rotation while only five pitchers returning from last year's club.

FAMILIAR FACES
CSUN welcomes back a pair of All-Big West honorees in infielder Kyle Panganiban and outfielder Andrew Becker to lead the returning crop. Panganiban, a second-team selection last year, became the first Matador freshman in 28 years to record at least 63 hits in a season while he added five homers, 15 doubles, 29 RBI and a .313 batting average in 49 games. Becker, an honorable mention as a true freshman, posted a team-high 31 RBI to go with a .324 batting average, 12 doubles over 47 games.

Junior shortstop Trent Abel returns after finishing second on the team in hitting at .326 while committing just four errors last season. Senior utility Will Linberg drew a team-high 22 walks a year ago, posting 20 RBI and a .322 batting average. Another senior, infielder Cameron Calvillo also hit above the .300 mark, batting at a .304 clip with three homers and 18 RBI. Other top returners include first baseman Matthew Pena who smacked seven homers and drove in 30 RBI as a sophomore. Rounding out the returners are sophomore catchers Xavier Rios and Jehee Lee along with sophomore middle infielder Colton Boardman.

CSUN's bullpen will have a bit of a similar look to last season's squad with the return of relievers Logan Miller, Gabriel Hernandez and Jackson Banuelos. Miller, a junior, led CSUN with 21 appearances out of the 'pen, totaling 25 strikeouts and one save in 29.1 innings. Hernandez also picked up a save last season, making 10 appearances with 20 strikeouts. Banuelos had a 6.00 ERA in 11 appearances with 15 innings pitched as a true freshman. Other returning pitchers include sophomore Kody King, who worked as a left-handed specialist last year, along with senior Calix Armijo, who entered his second season with CSUN.

MEET THE MATADORS
The Matador pitching staff saw a near complete overhaul with 15 hurlers joining the program this season. A Northridge native, senior right-handed pitcher Adam Christopher returns home for his senior season as he looks to build on a 2025 campaign where he went 8-1 with a 3.54 ERA with Reinhardt University (NAIA). Another senior addition, right hander Zach Johnson spent last season at Linfield University (Division III) after beginning his career at Portland. Joining CSUN from Cal, graduate right hander Lucas Alaniz pitched in eight innings last season, but previously had two standout seasons at Modesto Junior College. A New Mexico State transfer, Cody Carson looks for an expanded role with the Matadors after tossing three games in 2025. Traig Oughton, a Yavapai College transfer, had a stellar sophomore season by tossing a perfect game before picking up all-conference honors. Other transfers include MJ Seo (Wichita State), Cade Barry (Pepperdine), Jaiden Turner (Allan Hancock College) and Ryan Ellis (Grossmont College).

Six total freshmen have been added to the CSUN pitching staff, which includes two-way players James Voorhies (College Park HS) and Charles Rogers (Centennial High School), right hander Forest Zelmer (Valley Christian Schools) and left handers Jack Jones (Lompoc HS), Ryan Oaks (Summit HS) and Reef Sharman (West Torrance HS).

New position players include Matthew Thomas, an outfielder who spent his first two collegiate seasons at Cal. Evan Saito looks to provide depth in the middle infield after batting .363 last season with Cerritos College. Catcher Matthew Cormier joins the Matadors following a solid freshman season at San Joaquin Delta College and infielder Daniel Behrmann is coming off a Gold Glove season with Chabot College.

Outfielders Vaughn Coleman (San Dimas HS) and Dylan Nusz (Rocklin HS), first baseman Mateo Rickman (Torrance HS), infielder Blaise Czyz (Bishop Montague Catholic HS), and catcher Gage McCown (Las Vegas HS) will all make their collegiate debuts as Matadors.

BIG WEST PRESEASON RANKINGS
In the annual Big West Preseason Coaches' Poll, CSUN was picked to finish ninth with 25 points. UC Santa Barbara was selected as the favorite with 95 points followed by Cal Poly, last season's Big West tournament champions, in second place at 89 points and UC Irvine, the defending regular season champion, in third place with 86 points. The remainder of the poll listed Cal State Fullerton and Hawai'i in fourth place (67 points each), UC Santa Barbara in sixth place (60 points), Long Beach State in seventh (41 points) and UC Davis in eighth (40 points). Below CSUN was Cal State Bakersfield in 10th (22 points) and UC Riverside in 11th (13 points).

SCOUTING SEATTLE U
The Redhawks finished 20-32 last season with an 8-16 mark in the WAC, placing ninth overall in the league. The 2026 season represents the first season for Seattle U in the West Coast Conference. Jared Stevenson returns as one of the team's top letterwinners from last season as he batted .260 with 36 walks, 27 RBI and three homers. Perhaps the Redhawks' top arm from 2025 returns in Micah Hagler who sported a 3.66 ERA with a 4-3 record and 35 strikeouts across 16 games. As a team, Seattle U batted .259 while posting a staff 6.96 ERA.

Series History: CSUN and Seattle U have played 16 times with the Matadors holding a 12-4 record in the series. The teams last competed in the 2015 season as CSUN swept a four-game series in Bellevue, Wash. CSUN last hosted Seattle U in 2014 when the teams split four games.

#GoMatadors