Nevada (0-0) at California (0-0)
Friday-Monday, Feb. 14-17
Berkeley, Calif. - Evans Diamond at Stu Gordon Stadium

Watch: ESPN+/ACC Network Extra
Listen: The Varsity Network (PxP: Zak Basch)

RENO, Nev. - Nevada Baseball opens the 2025 campaign, the third under head coach Jake McKinley, with a four-game, Friday-Monday series at California.

Friday's opener is scheduled for a 6 p.m. first pitch from Evans Diamond at Stu Gordon Stadium, with afternoon starts scheduled for the rest of the series. The teams will clash Saturday at 2 p.m., Sunday at 1 p.m., then with a 2 p.m. finale Monday.

All games this weekend will be streamed on ACC Network Extra (ACCNX) and ESPN+. Audio broadcasts of the series will be available online through The Varsity Network, at www.thevarsitynetwork.com and on the Varsity Network app. Zak Basch will be on the call.

ABOUT CALIFORNIA
California went 36-19 overall and 17-13 in Pac-12 play a season ago, and will play its first campaign in the ACC in 2025.

Among the top returners for the Golden Bears is 2024 leading hitter Jarren Advincula, who batted a team-best .325 with 69 hits, five homers, nine doubles, and 31 RBIs. Other 2024 full-timers returning to the lineup are infielders PJ Moutzouridis (.299, 15 doubles, six HR, 42 RBIs in 2024) and Max Handron (.280, 15 doubles, six HR, 30 RBIs).

On the mound, Cal does not return any pitchers who started more than two contests in 2024--Quinn Larson, who went 1-0 with a 4.85 ERA over seven appearances and two starts, is the only returner with at least two starts under his belt.

THREE NAMED TO PRESEASON ALL-MOUNTAIN WEST TEAM
Nevada Baseball landed three players to the 2025 Preseason All-Mountain West Team on Feb. 5, as infielder Michael Ball, outfielder Taylor Holder, and pitcher Ethan O'Neal, all named to the All-Mountain West Second Team a season ago, were voted in by the conference's head coaches.

Ball comes into 2025 off of a career conference season at the plate in 2024 in which he batted .321 with five homers, 13 doubles, and 35 RBIs. Besides leading the Wolf Pack with 42 hits in Mountain West play, he also ranked fourth in the conference in both doubles and RBIs.

He hit safely in each of the first 12 conference games last season, and had 12 multi-hit games including five three-hit performances.

Holder ranked in the Mountain West top 10 in homers (9, eighth) and triples (3, T-second) while batting .333. Holder also provided the pop for the Pack, with his nine homers, three triples and six doubles leading to a team-best slugging percentage of .685 over the 30 Mountain West games, along with a team-best 1.104 OPS.

Along with Ball, Holder had 12 multi-hit games in conference play, two of those being three-hit days. He also provided the dramatics, hitting walk-off home runs against New Mexico and Air Force.

O'Neal put up big numbers in his debut campaign for Nevada as the Wolf Pack's workhorse out of the 'pen. The College of Southern Nevada transfer went 3-1 in relief, making five saves (second in conference play) with 33 strikeouts over 29.1 innings of work.

Besides buttoning up five Wolf Pack wins in conference play, O'Neal's finest moment came April 29 at Air Force, when he went the final 5.2 innings, a career long, and struck out seven to pick up a hard-earned win and a key road series victory.

NEVADA PICKED SECOND IN PRESEASON MOUNTAIN WEST POLL
The Mountain West head coaches are predicting big things for Nevada Baseball in 2025, as the Wolf Pack earned 35 points to land second in the conference's preseason poll. Fresno State, which took six first-place votes and 43 total points, topped the poll, while each of the two remaining first place votes went to Washington State (30 points) and UNLV, with the Rebels, New Mexico, and San Diego State tied for fourth with 27 points each. Air Force (19) and San José State (16) rounded out the poll.

PLENTY OF OFFENSE RETURNS FOR THE PACK
Along with the return of Michael Ball and Taylor Holder to the lineup in 2025, Nevada retains key contributors in Jackson Waller (.357, four homers, 11 doubles, 24 RBIs in 2024), who will move to the outfield this season, and starting catcher Jake Harvey (.304, five homers, eight doubles, 23 RBIs in 2024).

ON THE BUMP
While Ethan O'Neal, a 2025 Preseason All-Mountain West pick, anchors the pitching group for the Wolf Pack, Nevada also returns two in starters in Casey Burfield (4-2, 5.12 ERA, 42 strikeouts, 45.2 innings pitched) and Peyton Fosher (3-6, 47 strikeouts in 61.1 innings in 2024).

In the bullpen, along with the return of O'Neal, Nevada brings back relievers Eddie Tierney (30 strikeouts over 23.1 innings in 17 appearances) and Dominic Desch (21 strikeouts over 18.0 innings in 16 appearances), with Ian hughes (10 appearances) and Jake Cumming (eight appearances) also available.

BIG PLANS FOR THE NEWCOMERS
Nevada's newcomers for 2025 offer plenty of potential, led by freshman infielder Sean Yamaguchi. One of the heroes of Hawaii's 2018 Little League World Series champion squad, Yamaguchi impressed in fall ball and is expected to start at third base while providing pop in the Wolf Pack lineup.

Also expected to be a key contributor is infielder Junhyuk Kwon, a South Korean national who batted .348 with 19 homers and 90 RBIs over two seasons (2023-24) at New Mexico Military Institute.

On the pitching staff, Reno native and UCLA transfer Caedon Kottinger returns home after three seasons in Westwood. With the Bruins, Kottinger made 32 relief appearances, and struck out 21 batters over 29.1 innings over his last two seasons (2023-24). Lefty Alessandro Castro will get the start Sunday at Cal--Castro went 7-5 for Pima Community College in 2023 before redshirting the 2024 campaign at Arizona.

NORTHERN NEVADA REPRESENTATION
There's a strong Northern Nevada presence on the Wolf Pack's 2025 roster, as nine players hail from the area.

Representing the local area on the squad are Casey Burfield (Reed HS), Takeo Cervantez (Bishop Manogue HS), Jake Cumming (Fernley HS), Jacob Doyle (Spanish Springs HS), Jack Helmholz (Reno HS), Caedon Kottinger (Reno HS), Donovan Ratfield (Wooster HS), Jake Tierney (Damonte Ranch HS), and Eric Valdez (Damonte Ranch HS).