(Lewiston, ID) A remixed roster with one common goal will take the field this spring for seventh-ranked LC State Baseball when the 2025 season kicks off on Thursday. The Warriors will continue the hunt for their 20th title with Jake Taylor at the helm for his seventh season.
The LC State Baseball program ventures to Florida this week to start the season at the East/West Challenge and will face six teams on the trip. Cascade Conference play will feature teams quickly rising in the ranks of the NAIA and will kick off in late February.
THE SCHEDULE
The Warriors open the season against Ave Maria (Fla.) on Jan. 30 before taking on St. Thomas (Fla.) and No. 11 Southeastern (Fla.) on Jan. 31. LC State will close out the East/West Challenge against top-ranked Tennessee Wesleyan then travel to Warner (Fla.) and No. 8 Webber International (Fla.) before heading home.
“The trip is a tremendous way to begin the season competing against some of the other top teams around the country,” Taylor said. “Definitely a challenging start to our schedule but will be a great gauge as to where we currently are as a team and what we will need to continue to improve upon as the season progresses.”
LC State hosts NCAA Division II Western Oregon Feb. 14-16 in the home opening series and welcome College of Idaho to Lewiston Feb. 21-23 to start Cascade Conference play. With Warner Pacific (Ore.) adding baseball this season, the CCC schedule has been rebalanced. In the first three series against Cascade opponents, only the first three games will count towards the CCC record. The fourth contest will be played as a non-conference game.
“The CCC has continued to improve each year, and we expect it to be extremely competitive again this year,” Taylor explained. “It will be a great test and should keep us sharp heading into the postseason.”
British Columbia, who played in the NAIA Opening Round, presented by Avista, last season enters the year ranked No. 24. The Warriors will face the Thunderbirds both on the road and at home, with the series in Lewiston being the regular-season finale.
Bushnell (Ore.) won the Cascade Conference tournament last season to advance to its first national tournament, and Oregon Tech narrowly missed an Opening Round nod. Both return large portions of their rosters.
THE ROSTER
NAIA Preseason All-American Brandon Cabrera returns to lead the LC State offense after earning First-Team Academic All-America status in 2024. In his first season in Lewiston, the outfielder led the Warriors with a .362 batting average, 68 hits and 22 stolen bases. 2024 home run leader Dominic Signorelli returns to the hot corner after totaling 13 bombs and 50 RBI last season.
“Each year we expect all our returners to continue to take steps forward in not only their game, but leadership roles as well,” Taylor said. “We have a mature and experienced team that has played a lot of college baseball. We feel we have a balanced attack so nobody should have to feel that they need to carry the entire load.”
Charlie Updegrave returns to the lineup as well after eight home runs and 46 RBI in 2024. Ike George, who spent much of last season recovering from injury, is expected to play a role both defensively as a true utility guy, and at the plate with his speed.
Seniors Jakob Marquez and Jack Sheward, along with junior Bulla Ephan, will share duties behind the plate as they did last season.
Though not a stranger to the program after redshirting in 2020 as a freshman, Bruer Webster returns after a strong career at both Salt Lake CC and NCAA Division I Utah to finish out his eligibility with the Warriors. The Idaho Falls native won two gold gloves as a middle infielder at SLCC.
“We recruited Bruer out of high school and he spent a year and a half with us prior to him departing,” Taylor said. “We are excited to have him back in a Warrior uniform to finish his collegiate career at the same place it started. He is a dynamic competitor that will bring leadership and steadiness to our infield and should be a mainstay near the top of our lineup.
“Position player newcomers that had a successful fall and winter, other than Bruer, are Abe Affholter, Izzy Madariaga, Garrett Bevacqua, Anthony Karagiannopoulos, Spencer Zeller and Seth Nelson,” Taylor added.
Seniors Tucker Grote, Jake Green and Jantzen Lucas return the most innings for LC State on the mound. Fifth-year senior Lucas struck out 26 batters in 18 innings and walked just seven, while Green maintained a 4.34 ERA and recorded two saves.
Newcomer Evan Canfield is expected to be one of the top starters on the team this season, and Jace Taylor returns to Lewiston after a year away recovering from injury. In 2023, Jace Taylor appeared in 8.2 innings and struck out 13 batters with a 2.08 ERA.
“There are plenty of additions to our pitching staff and we have been pleased with their execution, competitiveness, and growth this,” Jake Taylor said. “Evan Canfield, Robby Butenschoen, Joey Estrada, Jackson Cloud, Zak Sullivan, and with the return of Jace Taylor, all will see innings beginning this week. Freshman left-handed pitcher, Levi Anderson, has displayed continued improvement as well.”
Anderson hails from nearby Moscow and led Moscow High School to an Idaho State title last season.
UP NEXT
The Warriors open 2025 on Thursday in Lake Myrtle at the East/West Challenge. Brian Danner is with the team and will call all games on KOZE and all games will have live stats. While in Florida, only the games at Southeastern, Warner and Webber International will be live streamed.
