LEBANON, Tenn.--Spring is near as we prepare for Cumberland Baseball to take the diamond for opening weekend in Florida. The Phoenix are ready to soar after their first trip back to the NAIA National Tournament in four seasons as third-year head coach Ryan Hunt leads the charge. 

Last season's team saw the resurgence of Cumberland Baseball as the team made its 11th appearance in the NAIA National Tournament since the current play-off format was put in place in the early 2000s. The Phoenix had one of the most explosive offenses in the NAIA as they hit .330 as a team, clubbed 125 home runs (3rd most in the NAIA), and totaled 553 runs, seventh-most, for 10.6 runs per game average.

Cumberland added two more All-Americans to its prestigious history a season ago as Cole Turney was named a First Team NAIA All-American and Tyner Hughes earned Honorable Mention honors. Turney blasted his way to a new school record in several categories for a single season, cranking 32 home runs in just 45 games, second in the nation. He also led the country in batting average hitting .521 across 140 at-bats, also a new school record. Hughes was an ultra-utility player for Cumberland this season, seeing time at mainly left field and behind the plate, but also playing third base, short stop, and first base for the Phoenix. Hughes' bat was a force this season behind Turney in the lineup hitting .373 with 22 home runs and 70 RBIs.

Chewy Sanders earned Second Team All-Conference and Gold Glove honors in the outfield after hitting .359 with 11 homers and 40 RBI. Santrel Farmer also graduated after patrolling centerfield for the past two seasons. Farmer hit .329 in two seasons with the Phoenix with 10 homers and 61 RBIs. He played a tremendous centerfield and was a big threat on the bases stealing 61 bases in two seasons. These guys headline the key losses for Cumberland in the field. 

On the mound, the Phoenix lost right-handed pitcher Trevor Muzzi. Muzzi was named to the Honorable Mention All-Conference list. He logged 50.0 innings with a 3.78 ERA striking out 43 batters. The Phoenix also lost Mitch Rogers who made six starts and had 20 appearances, the most for Cumberland. Rogers led the team in strikeouts with 77 in 59.1 innings pitched and had a 6-4 record with one save. 

"We have some keys back from last year that were a big part of getting us back to the national tournament. We are hoping those guys can inspire the new guys and let them know what it takes to get there," Coach Hunt said.

Around the diamond, Cumberland will return some big hitters to the 2024 lineup headlined by first baseman Dee Triplett who was a First Team All-Conference selection in 2023. Triplett bopped 17 home runs, third on last season's team, while hitting .361 with 76 RBIs. Triplett also led the team in doubles with 17 and had an outstanding .493 on-base percentage.

Also returning in the infield is Tim Holyk, a senior from Nanaimo, British Columbia. Holyk hit .290 last season with 16 homers and 68 runs driven in. Holyk posted a .398 on-base percentage last season. 

The Phoenix also get back Brandon Boxer who the Phoenix were expecting to slot in and have a big season last year, but injuries kept him on the sideline majority of the season. Boxer showed early in the season that he is the type of hitter that can make any lineup better. Boxer hit .262 with four homers and 13 RBIs in just 42 at-bats last season. Before he was at Cumberland, Boxer was Second Team All-Conference honoree at IU-Southeast hitting .391 with three home runs and 39 RBI. 

Ian Krump returns for Cumberland in the outfield after hitting in front of Turney for most of the season last year. Krump hit .263 with one home run and 14 RBI. He scored 31 runs. Behind the plate, the Phoenix bring back Trenton Duchsherer. Duchsherer was the primary catcher for the Phoenix last season hitting .247 with one home run and 13 RBIs. 

Coming back for Cumberland on the hill is Ethan Torres, an 2023 Honorable Mention All-Conference honoree, Reid Madariaga, and Ian Schilling. Torres made 10 starts and had 20 appearances throwing 64.1 innings. He posted a 4-1 record with a 4.34 ERA and 57 strikeouts. Madariaga made 12 starts for the Phoenix with a 7-2 record and logged the most innings on the staff last season at 65.2 innings pitched. Schilling has been used as a weapon out of the pen the last two seasons. The sidewinder has tossed 54.1 innings and struck out 47 batters in the last two seasons. 

Cumberland will also get Alex Smith back who missed the 2023 season with an injury. Smith is a left-handed arm that can provide the staff some depth. He threw just 3.1 scoreless innings in 2023, but tossed 42.1 innings in 2022 with 5.95 ERA striking out 51 batters. 

"We have some keys back from last year that were a big part of getting us back to the national tournament. We are hoping those guys can inspire the new guys and let them know what it takes to get there."

Cumberland lost a lot of talent on the field last season, so the Phoenix had to reload with a slew of newcomers, but head coach Ryan Hunt is optimistic that the guys he brought in are more than capable of getting the job done.  

"We will be deeper this year. The pieces are there to get back to the national tournament. The key to our season is going to what type of mindset we have. Are we going to be hard-nosed and not let the things we can't control get inside our head and things like that?"

Around the diamond, the Phoenix will see a bunch of new faces contributing this season. Starting behind the dish, Cumberland expects Alonzo Zuniga to do big things. Zuniga is great defensive catcher, a good catch and throw guy, that will provide some pop with the bat. Zuniga hit .286 with four home runs and 30 RBIs at Mineral Area Community College last season. Takumi Kimoto will also be seeing some time behind the plate this season. Kimoto, an Australian native, is a transfer from Miles Community College where he hit .377 with seven home runs and 54 RBIs. 

Around the infield, the Phoenix will use a lot of new guys to mix and match and find the right combination. Coach Hunt feels they are all versatile enough to move around and play multiple positions to get the right guys in the right spot. 

The new infielders coming in are Seth Sweet-Chick, Rafeal Garcia, Toshiki Kuriya, and Javier Beal to join Triplett and Holyk. Sweet-Chick is a transfer from Nevada and prior made a stop at Kansas. He played in 13 games last season for the Wolf Pack hitting .176 with one home run. In high school, Sweet-Chick was the ninth-ranked player coming out of the state of Arizona and was named First Team All-State his senior campaign. Garcia, a Venezuela native, is another transfer from Mineral Area CC where he hit .361 with two home runs and 30 RBIs. 

Kuriya, a Japan native, transfers in via Pasadena City College. Kuriya hit .347 last season for the Lancers while belting six homers and driving in 38 runs.  Beal is a left-handed bat that comes in as a transfer from Southern Illinois. Beal is the type of player that can play multiple positions around the field while also being a left-handed bat at Woody Hunt Stadium. 

The outfield was fully reloaded this year and is perhaps the most deep position group on the team. Joseph Rodriguez, Brayden Koenig, Preston Welchel, Daniel Schweitzer, and Riley Light are all coming in competing for a starting job. 

Rodriguez played in 45 games last season for El Paso Community College hitting .308 with one home run and 15 RBIs. Koenig is a transfer from NCAA Division II Northwestern Oklahoma State and is a left-handed bat for the Phoenix. Over the last two seasons for the Rangers, he has hit .297 with eight home runs and 50 RBIs making 68 starts. 

Welchel is a transfer from NAIA Tennessee Wesleyan. Welchel played against Cumberland three times last season. Welchel hit .281 with six home runs and 30 RBIs for the Bulldogs and will slot in well as left-handed power bat. Schweitzer is a transfer from Yavapai where he hir .276 in 19 games with four doubles. Light comes in as a transfer from Hill College where he hit .273 with two home runs in 18 games. 

The Phoenix also revamped the pitching staff and will see a lot of new guys on the hill this season. Anthony Patterson, Thomas Wilhite, Carter Rost, Bracken Rice, Carson Glavich, Dylan Berry, Jeremy Gee, JP Kenyon, Quinlin Wiley, Brennan Abendroth, and Jake Green all come in to fill innings on the mound.

"All of these guys have the ability to be really good pitchers for us. If they come on and compete the way we know they can, we can be really good." 

Rost is a transfer out of Wichita State where he made two appearances for the Shockers last season. The year prior, Rost was named a NJCAA All-American at Bismark State College where he posted an 8-2 record with a 2.63 ERA. He struck out 108 batters in 68.1 innings of work. Patterson threw 53.2 innings for Central Alabama last season with a 5.87 ERA. Patterson struck out nearly a batter an inning with 51 strikeouts to 29 walks. 

Wilhite is another transfer from Tennessee Wesleyan. He threw 20.0 innings for the Bulldogs with three starts and nine appearances posting a 2-1 record. Rice is coming off an injury at Walters State where he tossed just 12 innings with a 3.75 ERA.

Carson Glavich is left-handed arm that worked out of the bullpen at Chabot College last season. He made 15 appearances throwing 29.2 innings with a 3.64 ERA and 27 strikeouts. Dylan Berry is a transfer out of Columbia Basin where he had a good season last year. Berry threw 67.1 innings with a 3.21 ERA. He struck out 74 batters while opponents hit just .178 against him. 

Kenyon comes to CU after transferring from Columbia State. Kenyon logged 53.2 innings with a 3-2 record and 39 strikeouts. Brenna Abendroth comes in from Southern Illinois as well. Abendroth made 13 starts with 80.2 innings. He struck out 90 batters with a 6.02 ERA. 

The Phoenix added a pair of arms from East Georgia State in Jake Green and Quinlin Wiley. Green threw 33.0 innings with 34 strikeouts and a 4.64 ERA and Wiley logged 46.1 innings in 14 appearances with a 5.44 ERA. 

Cumberland will have several position battles and guys trying to earn their time on the mound across the first month of the season. The Phoenix are out on the road this weekend to take on Webber International and Warner University in Florida before returning home for a significant amount of time throughout February and March before conference play starts rolling.