Coming off a 31-18 GNAC campaign and a conference championship, the Wildcat baseball team is favorited to defend their first ever GNAC tournament title, according to the pre-season GNAC coaches poll.

The team is determined to repeat their success and have made strides in the off-season to achieve that goal.

“This team has worked really hard. They truly want to accomplish some big things,” Coach Desi Storey said.

And what better way to start a season than proving their determination with a 4-0 record?

This baseball team has some high expectations coming into the season, and Storey believes they have the make up to get it done.

“Obviously we want to win conference again, we plan on playing well enough that we can also make the push into regionals this year.” Storey said.

2015 marks Storey’s 24th season as the head coach of the Wildcats.

He led the Wildcats team through nine winning seasons and five runner-up finishes in GNAC play.

Storey now has over 500 career wins and a winning average of .468 following the 2014 season, making him the winningest coach in Wildcat baseball history.

Last year the team came incredibly close to making regionals, which is a motivating factor this season.

There is a great group of returning players that will to have a crucial impact on this upcoming season; unfortunately the Wildcats are not returning a big group of those players.

This means there will be a lot of pressure on the new players, and some big shoes to fill following last seasons impressive record.

“The new guys are going to have to contribute right away, that is going to be key,” Storey said. “If they can get that accomplished then they will be able to help us reach our goals.”

Some key players to keep an eye on are returning pitcher Brandon Williams, who will need to be huge for this season’s team.

“My expectations for the team is nothing under a championship to be honest,” Williams said. “We have a great group of guys that have a solid foundation of skill and physical ability to take us deep into the season. We lost some key components from last year, but this year we are better overall.”

Williams is already off to a great start throwing for a no hitter last week. He is looking to build off his 2014 GNAC pitcher of the year award.

“The few of us that felt what it felt like to win the GNAC want nothing else than to win it again, and hopefully move on to regionals,” Williams said. “It’s tough with so many new guys that didn’t see or feel what we did last year, but this team is full of motivated players.”