NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Friday marks the beginning of the highly anticipated return of Belmont Baseball. Months of training and practice will be on display during Opening Weekend as the Bruins travel to Atlanta and face Georgia State. The action will take place at the GSU Baseball Complex. Fans can follow along with live stats at
belmontbruins.com or follow along for in-game updates on social media.
Belmont finished last season 26-32 overall and 12-15 in the Missouri Valley Conference. The Bruins returned to the MVC Baseball Championship and have their sights set on making a deeper postseason run. The driving force behind this season's mentality is believing in the new-look Bruins.
"I think this team is going to be a completely different Belmont baseball team," said junior right-handed pitcher
Will Pryor. "It's a testament to the coaches and how well they've done in recruiting and bringing guys in. I think this is going to be a highly talented team that loves baseball above anything else."
Pryor remains slated as Belmont's Friday night starting pitcher with one of the best strikeout arsenals in the MVC. In 11 starts last season, Pryor struck out a career-high 62 batters to bring his career total to 120 in two seasons. He held opponents to a .239 batting average and was the only Belmont pitcher to record at least 60 strikeouts in over 50 innings of work. Pryor will get the start on Opening Day for the Bruins for the second time in his career.
The Bruins welcomed 20 newcomers – 13 freshmen and seven transfers - to the team after the departure of 17 letterwinners from the 2024 squad. Despite losing 2024 First Team All-MVC third baseman
Mason Landers and 2024 Second Team All-MVC and Scholar-Athlete of the Year first baseman
Brodey Heaton, Belmont's lineup will look relatively the same. Four starting position players returned from last year's team: senior catcher/designated hitter
Landon Godsey, senior left fielder
Blake Barton, redshirt-junior center fielder
Michael Lareau, and sophomore shortstop
Pete Daniel.
Godsey made 50 starts for the Bruins last season and ranked top five on the team in batting average (.247), RBIs (27), slugging percentage (.441) and on-base percentage (.343). After moving from catcher to left field in 2024, Barton posted a career-high .291 batting average and stole 12 bases. Lareau started in 43 games for the Bruins in center field with 49 appearances and has emerged as one of the top defensive outfielders in the MVC. Daniel demonstrated he can handle the responsibilities as the Bruins everyday shortstop - as proven by his 56 starts last season – and found consistency at the plate with 48 hits and 11 doubles in his freshman campaign.
The Bruins added depth all around the diamond. To help Godsey behind the plate, the Bruins brought in three transfer catchers. Redshirt-junior
Mike Sprockett spent the past three seasons at Akron and played in 101 games for the Zips. In 2024, he posted a .280 batting average with 40 hits and 33 RBIs. The Bruins will also rely on junior
Preston Heben and redshirt-junior
Gardner Lawrence for support at catcher and elsewhere in the lineup.
Another big-time transfer for the Bruins is junior infielder
Charlie Davis. A native of Paris, Tennessee, Davis put up strong numbers in two seasons at Columbia State Community College. Last season, he batted .318 with three home runs, 59 runs and recorded 46 RBIs. Davis posted a .398 batting average, .494 on-base percentage and .586 slugging percentage in 2023 as a freshman, including 51 hits in 38 games.
"This is one of the most talented groups I've been a part of from top to bottom," said Barton. "We put together two great lineups together for the Fall World Series and to see the competition between one through nine in the lineup, from a hitter's perspective, and then the pitching staff from top to bottom... makes our entire program better."
Pitching will be the backbone and driving force for the Bruins this season. In addition to Pryor – who was named 2025 Perfect Game Preseason All-MVC – junior right-handed pitcher
Joe Ruzicka and redshirt-sophomore right-handed pitcher
Jake Timbes return to the starting rotation. Ruzicka led Belmont's staff with a career-high 15 starts and 73.2 innings pitched in 2024. He also won a career-high five games. Consistency was Ruzicka's biggest weapon last season as he held opponents to a .230 batting average, the second lowest in the MVC. Timbes was poised for a breakout season in 2024 before it was cut short due to injury. In the small sample size of three games, Timbes posted a 2.16 ERA in 16.2 innings with a 2-0 record. Senior-right hander
Cade Granzow – one of Belmont's go-to arms out of the bullpen last season – stepped up in Timbes' absence with a career-high 17 appearances and three starts. The Franklin, Tennessee, native will take on a greater leadership role this season as he was named a team captain.
"I think we're going to show strongly in the MVC this year with our staff," said redshirt-sophomore left-handed pitcher
Ethan Harden. "There are some many guys that will have opportunities to throw, and that allows Coach [A.J.] Gaura to go out there and put together a solid plan on how to attack teams. We're all going to be excited for each other to go out there and shove, and we're going to build off that."
Harden's return is a huge boost for the Bruins. The 2023 Second Team All-MVC and 2022 OVC All-Freshman honoree has a 2.73 career ERA, with a 6-3 record and 58 strikeouts. Harden led the Bruins in 2023 with seven saves.
A key bullpen arm for the Bruins will be senior right hander
Jordan Zuger. The Hendersonville, Tennessee, native served as the workhorse of the staff with a team-high 28 appearances in 2024. Zuger ranked fourth among Belmont pitchers with 53 innings and 47 strikeouts. Zuger also has the potential to start for the Bruins with 25 career starts.
Transfers
Zane Brown and
Trey Maeker add experience and bolster the veteran pitching staff. Brown – a sophomore right-handed pitcher from Cottontown, Tennessee – totaled 46.1 innings of work at Cleveland State Community College in 2024 with a 3-1 record and 5.24 ERA. Brown struck out 40 batters and finished the season with a 7.77 K/9. Maeker – a graduate left-handed pitcher - balances out the Bruins' options in the bullpen. The southpaw was a four-year letterwinner at Fordham and served as a team captain in 2024. Despite only 17 appearances in the last two season, the recipe for success is there for Maeker to thrive at Belmont. In 2022, Maeker led Fordham with a team-high 20 appearances and struck out 34 batters in 31.1 innings of work.
"We've seen it all and we know what it takes," said Harden. "From our perspective, having gone through a few seasons, knowing what it takes, and being able to relay that to the younger guys, I think we're in great shape to make a run and bring it [a championship] home to Belmont."
Another major storyline entering the 2025 season surrounds Head Coach
Dave Jarvis. Entering his 28
th season at the helm of Belmont's baseball program and 43
rd overall, Jarvis was inducted into the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Hall of Fame on Jan. 3, 2025. Jarvis has a career coaching record of 1,087-862-2 in 37 years as a head coach and 767-710-2 as Belmont's skipper. He is supported by assistant head coach/pitching coach
A.J. Gaura, and assistant coaches
Jason Stein and
Will Craig.
Belmont's 2025 schedule includes seven opponents that finished top 100 in RPI last season, including five teams that played in the 2024 NCAA Regionals and three NCAA Super Regional participants. SEC members Kentucky and Tennessee reached the 2024 College World Series, with the Volunteers being crowned the 2024 NCAA Baseball National Champion. As the Bruins begin their quest for an MVC Championship tomorrow, the team knows it's on them if they want to make that goal and reality.
"I think everyone is on the same page," said Pryor. "We're expected to bring a Missouri Valley Conference Championship to Belmont, and this team is the one to do it. I think 110% that the guys we roll out can take on any team in the country and take care of business.
Follow Belmont baseball on social media -
@BelmontBaseball on X and
@belmontbaseball on Instagram - for complete coverage of the Bruins. Stay up to date with all of Belmont's athletic programs via the
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