Fresh off its Southland Conference Championship season, Lamar University has added 17 players to its roster via the transfer portal announced Southland Conference Coach of the Year Will Davis Thursday morning. Coleson Abel (LHP, Kerrville, Texas), Trent Baker (OF, Spring, Texas), Aiden Baumann (OF, New Braunfels, Texas), Baylor Baumann (RHP, Heath, Texas), Riely Hunsaker (RHP, Peculiar, Mo.), Will Kiesel (LHP, Wadenville, Ind.), Luke Krkovski (LHP, Worona, Australia), Mark Lopez (RHP, Conroe, Texas), Parker Mathews (RHP, Humble, Texas), Chris Olivier (RHP, Mandeville, La.), Hector Rodriguez (INF, Houston, Texas), Damon Ruiz (OF, Livingston, Texas), Matt Ryan (INF, Bethestda, MD), Zach Ryan (RHP, Alvin, Texas), Jayden Shertel (LHP/OF, Mays Landing, NJ), Zane Spinn (INF, Holland, Texas) and Tab Tracy (OF, Houston, Texas) have all been accepted by university to play baseball and further their education at LU.
The class consists of 10 pitchers with six coming from the right side of the mound and the other four being southpaws, five outfielders and three infielders with one player listed as both an outfielder and left-handed pitcher (Shertel).
The incoming class consists of six states and one player – Luke Krkovski – from Australia. Eleven players are from the Lone Star State with one from each from Louisiana, Indiana, Maryland, Missouri, New Jersey,
Below in a breakdown of the incoming transfer portal class:
Coleson Abel – LHP, 5-11, 190, Jr., Kerrville, Texas (Lubbock Christian)
Signed with Texas Tech out of high school before transferring to Lubbock Christian … During his two seasons with LCU made 23 appearances logging 71.0 innings of work … He struck out 95 batters during his two seasons in Lubbock … As a sophomore he posted a perfect 4-0 record while holding opponents to a .243 batting average.
Trent Baker – OF, 6-0, 190, Jr., Spring, Texas (Houston Christian)
Two-year letterwinner at HCU … Saw a 70-point increase in his batting average from his freshman year to his sophomore season … Collected 69 hits, including four doubles and four home runs during his time in Houston … A speedster on the basepaths also stole 19 bases.
Aiden Baumann – OF, 5-11, 200, Jr., New Braunfels, Texas (UTSA)
Played in nine games with three starts as freshman before injures put a premature end to his season … He made his collegiate debut against UAB before making his first collegiate start the very next day … Played in the MINK League All-Star game between his freshman and sophomore season … Hit .250 with a home run and a double in just 10 games as a sophomore.
Baylor Baumann – RHP, 5-10, 160, Jr., Heath, Texas (Houston Christian)
Made 25 appearances in his two seasons with the Huskies … Pitched 82 innings with 50 strike outs … Finished his time in Houston with a 1-6 record.
Riely Hunsaker – RHP, 6-3, 215, Sr., Peculiar, Mo. (Texas A&M-Corpus Christi)
Made 15 appearances including 12 starts on the mound and collected four wins … Posted the Islanders’ lone compete game with 13-1 victory over Central Michigan last season … Pitched 64.2 innings while recording 51 strikeouts … His best outing may have come against Abilene Christian where he struck out six batters in six innings while allowing just three hits and leading the Islanders to victory … Posted a 6-3 record in 11 starts at Crowder JC … Struck out 63 batters in 56 innings of work.
Will Kiesel – LHP, 6-1, 180, Jr., Wadesville, Ind. (Southern Indiana)
Appeared in 46 games during his two seasons with Southern Indiana making six starts … Posted a 1-3 record with a 4.45 ERA as a sophomore … Struck out 33 batters in 32.1 innings of work while holding batters to a team-best .209 batting average … This coming on the heels of a rookie campaign that saw him post a 1-4 record with a 6.67 ERA … Struck out 27 batters in 29.2 innings of work as a freshman, including a career-high six against Tennessee Tech.
Luke Krkovski – LHP, 6-5, 198, Jr., Woronora, Australia (Abilene Christian)
Made 19 appearances during his two seasons for ACU … Pitched 29 innings with 23 strikeouts during that time … Posted a 2-0 record while holding opponents to a .267 batting average during his freshman season.
Mark Lopez – RHP, 5-10, 160, Jr., Conroe, Texas (Houston Christian)
Posted a 2-0 record in 11 appearances with the Huskies in 2024 … Recorded a 3.52 ERA on the mound while holding opponents to a .185 batting average … Went 3-2 in 18 appearances with Alvin JC … Pitched 24 innings with 32 strikeouts while holding JUCO batters to a .191 batting average.
Parker Mathews – RHP, 6-5, 182, So., Humble, Texas (Abilene Christian)
Pitched 13 innings in 11 appearances for the Wildcats as a rookie … Finished the season with 13 punch outs while holding batters to a .250 batting average … Signed with ACU out of high school after a prep career that saw him earn 2021 first-team all-district honors and 2022 District Utility Player of the Year honors … Guided Atascocita HS to a 2021 district title.
Chris Olivier – RHP, 6-1, 150, Jr., Mandeville, La. (New Orleans)
Made nine appearances with two starts, posting a 2-1 record, in 28.2 innings of work with the Privateers … Struck out 18 batters in his lone season with the Privateers … Garnered Honorable Mention NJCAA All-America honors in 2023 … Posted a 12-2 record in 15 games with a 4.31 earned run average (79.1 innings pitched) … Recorded six complete games which ranked fifth among all NJCAA pitchers that season … Struck out 87 batters.
Hector Rodriguez – INF, 6-1, 198, Sr., Houston, Texas (UTSA)
Hit .282 (33 hits) with six doubles and a .370 on-base percentage during his lone season with the Roadrunners … Transferred to UTSA from Galveston College where he collected 117 hits, with 45 runs driven in and 53 runs scored after posting a .341/.388/.399 slash line in two seasons … Named to the NJCAA Region 14 All-Conference team following his sophomore season.
Damian Ruiz – OF, 6-1, 170, Jr., Livingston, Texas (Houston Christian)
Sophomore season was cut short due to injury but in the 13 games he played hit three home runs and scored nine runs … As a freshman in the Southland hit .263 (46) with nine doubles and eight stolen bases.
Matt Ryan – INF, 6-0, 205, Sr., Bethesda, MD (UMBC)
Three-year letterwinner at UMBC … Rated as the No. 158 transfer in the country according to 64 Analytics … Posted a .287 batting average with 18 doubles, nine home runs, and 40 RBIs last season … Also scored 53 runs and was 10 of 13 in stolen bases … This coming of the heels of a 2023 season that saw him start all but one game, while hitting .289 with 12 doubles, nine home runs and 37 RBIs (with 12 stolen bases) … Took over the starting role early in his freshman season and never looked back.
Zach Ryan – RHP, 6-1, 195, Sr., Alvin, Texas (Houston Christian)
Posted a 1-1 record in 19 appearances for the Huskies … During his two seasons with HCU, He pitched in 26.2 innings while striking out 24 batters.
Jayden Shertel – LHP/OF, 5-10, 190, Sr., Mays Landing, N.J. (UMBC)
Rated as the No. 74 transfer according to 64 Analytics … Garnered second-team All-America East Conference honors as a junior … Appeared in 35 games making 25 starts last season … Posted a 3.70 earned run average in 75.1 innings pitched … As a sophomore, appeared in 28 games making 18 starts … Pitched in 75.2 innings while posting a 5.71 ERA … Went 5-5 on the mound as a sophomore … Had a breakout season as a freshman earning a spot on the 2022 America East All-Rookie Team … Appeared in 45 games during his freshman season including 15 on the mound … Tied for the team lead in wins (4) and was second in innings pitched (69.1) and games started (11) … Was fourth in the league with a 4.41 ERA … His first collegiate win came in a relief appearance that saw him pitch six hitless innings while striking out seven against Niagara … Also had a strong debut at the plate going 4-for-6 with three RBIs in the season opener against Navy … Hit .301 at the plate with 16 RBIs as a freshman.
Zane Spinn – INF, 6-4, 218, Sr., Holland, Texas (UTSA)
Hit .267 with two doubles, two home runs, 17 runs scored and a .365 OBP … He transferred from Sam Houston after a successful career at Temple JC … During his junior college career, he recorded a .336/.416/.546 slash line … Ended that season with 55 hits, 37 runs scored, 38 RBIs and 23 extra-base hits … Finished his JUCO career with a .312 batting average scoring 43 runs and recording 41 RBIs.
Tab Tracy – OF, 6-3, 205, Jr., Houston, Texas (Texas A&M)
Played in 57 games including 13 starts during his two seasons with the Aggies … Posted a .326 average with four doubles and a couple of RBIs in 2023 … Also scored 11 runs and stole two bases that season … Utilized his redshirt last season … Played for the Falmouth Commodores of the Cape Cod League this past summer where he hit .368 with four runs scored.
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