MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (January 27, 2020) - As the 2020 St. Thomas University Baseball season approaches, Head Coach Jorge Perez is prepared to lead the Bobcats, entering his 12th season leading St. Thomas, back to the NAIA World Series once again. 

The 2019 season saw STU reach the NAIA World Series for the seventh time in program history, advancing to the National Championship, finishing as Runner-Ups for the second time (2015). The Bobcats compiled a 49-15 record, sweeping the Miami Gardens Bracket as St. Thomas hosted the NAIA Opening Round for the first time since 2007. Perez also became the second coach in St. Thomas University's history to earn his 400th career win, joining STU Hall of Famer, Manny Mantrana (452).

The Bobcats enter the 2020 season coming off the most historic two-year stretch in STU Baseball history. The Bobcats have accumulated a 104-24 record, winning the Sun Conference regular-season title (2018), establishing a program record for wins (56) as well as two NAIA World Series appearances. The challenge for St. Thomas now is returning to Idaho with a new cast of players on the roster. The Bobcats lost critical players in Orlando Rodriguez, Ian Exposito, Jackie Urbaez, Chris Garabedian, Erick Delgado, Sergio Lopez, Alex Sarmiento, and Jack Diaz. 

Perez has realized these departures are critical, saying, "the guys that have carried us to the World Series are irreplaceable... We have new players all over the infield, outside of our catchers (Daniel Mondejar and Erik Estevez); we return one outfielder (Joey Thompson), and our starting pitching rotation lost an All-American (Rodriguez) and the Sun Conference Pitcher of the Year (Exposito)".

Replicating the success of last season will be a challenge, as St. Thomas was nationally ranked third in fielding percentage (0.972), fourth in at-bats (2053), fifth in batters struck out (508), 12th in runs scored (475) and 14th in earned run average (3.74). Individually, Exposito ranked fourth in innings pitched (108.1), fifth in wins (12); Rodriguez was ninth in wins (11); Lopez was tenth in RBIs (77), 13th in home runs (17) and took home Second-Team All-American honors. 

The Bobcats return important contributors to the World Series-run, which will anchor the line-up and give STU their deepest bullpen in years. Alejandro Rivero (0.306/15 HR/65 RBI), Mondejar (All-World Series team), Thompson (Sun Conference Freshman of the Year), Jason Graña (First-Team Sun Conference), and Joel Rivero (1.59 ERA) headline the returners. Chris Coipel, who sent STU to the second National Championship in program history, leads the rotation and is joined by Ernesto Pino. The Bobcats also have the luxury of a deep bench, highlighted by super-utility players, Gus Guerra, Daniel Lowry, Cristian Alvarez, as well as potent bats in Nick Izquierdo and Orlando Borroto.

The 2020 season brings a level of uncertainty to St. Thomas; however, Perez understands that with time, the talent on the STU roster will show their abilities. On the flip-side of the departures, Perez once again reloaded, bringing in Kobe Lopez (Florida International), Jack Khawly (Broward College), Joshua Martinez (Lipscomb University), Robert Touron and Merfy Andrew (ASA College) to fill in losses to the line-up and pitching rotation. Perez stated, "Touron was one of the best pitchers in the state of Florida, had interest from [the University of] Miami. Lopez is a skilled player up the middle; Khawly is a middle-of-the-order bat; Martinez has a professional skill-set (drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays, 2016); and Andrew has the most electric arm to come through our program."

Outside of the players, St. Thomas also has a challenging schedule, opening on Tuesday afternoon against Florida Memorial and taking on three NCAA DII opponents (Lynn, Nova Southeastern, and Palm Beach Atlantic) over the weekend. The 2020 home opener is against Florida National on Tuesday, February 4, and the Bobcats will take on No. 22 Middle Georgia State in a series that weekend. The Sun Conference schedule continues to be a gauntlet, as one of the best conferences in the NAIA, STU has weekend series against No. 4 Southeastern (4/24-25), No. 16 Webber International (4/17-18) and RV Keiser (2/14-15). The highlight of the regular season is a trip to Baton Rouge, LA. where St. Thomas takes on Louisiana State University, paying a visit to Alex Box Stadium and Former Head Coach/STU Hall of Famer, Paul Mainieri, on March 18. 

When asked about the expectation for the upcoming season, Perez stated, "As a staff, we're approaching this season with the same goals... 1) win the regular-season Sun Conference title, 2) be a No. 1 seed in the NAIA Opening Round, and the World Series will come after that. It's crazy to think how six-years ago, our goal was the Opening Round, now the thought is always Idaho and that is a credit to our players and staff."

Position Preview

Pitching Staff
Losing a 1-2 punch such as Rodriguez and Exposito is devastating to any program, St. Thomas turns to Coipel and Pino as returners from last season's team while welcoming Touron and Andrew to the rotation. 

Coipel sent the Bobcats to the second-ever National Championship appearance, defeating No. 2 University of Science & Arts (OK.) in the National Semi-final. The red-shirt junior brings a wealth of knowledge and experience and looked upon as the staff leader, Coipel said, "as a leader of the staff, I take tremendous pride in helping guide the younger arms on our team. This is one of the best pitching staffs, from top-to-bottom, I have ever been a part of... I'm taking it day-by-day, doing my best to teach the program to our rotation."

Merfy Andrew is the most "explosive" arms in the NAIA, having a fastball that can approach triple-digits. The junior transfer from ASA has the potential to be one of the most dominant arms in the nation.

Although there is more depth, the starting rotation lacks star power. The expectation is that Touron assumes Friday night responsibilities, toeing the rubber as the Bobcat ace, while a mix of Coipel/Pino/Andrew consumes major innings on Saturday double-headers. Should the rotation determine defined roles, having, a four-person rotation can pay dividends during the playoffs at the Sun Conference tournament, Opening Round, and NAIA World Series. 

The Bobcat bullpen has more depth than ever before, with Graña, J. Rivero, and Morales as backend anchors. In addition to Graña, Rivero, and Morales, the Bobcats bullpen consists of returners Michael Pope-Diaz, Felipe Soto, JJ Galvis, and Sawyer Losey. While being joined by junior college transfers, Jose Ledesma, Perez Nichols, Luis Gonzalez, Daniel Bonsanti and freshman, Justin Kenyon round out the bullpen.

Catchers
St. Thomas features three catchers capable of starting at numerous programs around the country, headlined by All-World Series team member, Daniel Mondejar. Mondejar was the best hitter for the Bobcats in Lewiston, recording a hit in each of the six games in the NAIA World Series. The back-up catcher role features Broward College transfer, Andrew Fernandez, and red-shirt sophomore, Erik Estevez. 

Infield
The Bobcats will have to replace Jackie Urbaez, Erick Delgado, and Chris Garabedian, which is a trio that combined to hit 0.327 with 18 home runs and 143 RBIs in 2019 but return Alejandro Rivero. Rivero was a force in 2019 for St. Thomas, earned Second-Team All-Conference honors, as he started 63 games for STU while clubbing 15 home runs and driving in 65 runs.

Jack Khawly, Kobe Lopez, and Alejandro Vazquez look to add their impact to the STU program. Khawly batted 0.331 at Broward College, hitting seven home runs and driving in 32 runs while appearing in 42 games. Lopez transfers after three seasons at Florida International, appearing in over 100 games. Vazquez, in his second season at ASA, hit 0.410 and scored 31 runs.

The depth of St. Thomas can also be seen on the bench, as utility players Gus Guerra, Daniel Lowry, and Cristian Alvarez join Nick Izquierdo, Brett Mantrana, and Orlando Borroto. 

Guerra and Izquierdo are fifth-year graduate students, who have seen the STU program grow to the national contender and NAIA power. The experience has paid dividends for both, with both reaching the Opening Round in each season. Guerra said, "embracing your role and buying in is something both Iz and I have been teaching to the new players. As long as we have been here, the program has been about winning, and the World Series teams have each player understand their role."

Izquierdo added, "to be a national championship team, everyone has to trust the program. We have players that are smart enough to buy into the system and continue our tradition of success. The year before I came (2016), that was the program's first appearance in the World Series since 2007, and ever since I've been here, the expectation is a trip to Lewiston."

Outfield
Joey Thompson returns as the most experienced member of the outfield, coming off a season in which he earned Sun Conference Freshman of the Year honors. Thompson finished third on the team in batting average (0.331), recording 54 hits and thirteen stolen bases. Joining Thompson in the outfield is Avondre Hendricks (Broward College) and Josh Martinez (Lipscomb University). Guerra and Lowry are experienced in the outfield, adding to their utility expertise.

Preseason Polls

NAIA Coaches' Poll

The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics released the preseason poll on November 6, 2019. For the second time in program history, St. Thomas University was ranked No. 2 in the NAIA following the program's second runner-up finish in the NAIA World Series. The Sun Conference had three teams ranked in the top-25, with No. 4 Southeastern and No. 16 Webber International joining the Bobcats.

Full poll here

Perfect Game

For the second consecutive season, STU opens ranked second in the NAIA Perfect Game poll. The poll was released by January 14, 2020. STU comes in behind the 2018 NAIA World Series Runner-Up and 2019 NAIA World Series team, Freed Hardeman (TN.).

Full release here

Sun Conference Coaches' Poll
The Sun Conference Head Coaches voted St. Thomas as the second-place team for the second consecutive season. No. 4 Southeastern enters the 2020 season as the favorites to win the Sun Conference for the third straight season.

Poll [First Place votes]

No. 4 Southeastern 64 [8]
No. 2 St. Thomas 57 [1]
RV Keiser 49
No. 16 Webber International 43
Warner 31
Thomas 29
Florida Memorial 28
Ave Maria 12
USC-Beaufort 11

The 2020 St. Thomas University season begins on Tuesday, January 28 at Florida Memorial with first pitch scheduled for 2 p.m. The home opener and ring ceremony to honor the 2019 team is on Tuesday, February 4, against Florida National University.

-STU-