After winning the GNAC tournament in 2014, Central was picked to dethrone Western Oregon University (WOU) from their reign of dominance as GNAC regular season champs last season, but it didn’t happen.

The Wildcats lost 2014 GNAC Pitcher of the Year Brandon Williams early in the season due to injury, which was the beginning of a couple of big losses for the Central pitching staff.

But this year’s group of Wildcats isn’t going to think about what could have been.

“Just flush it. Forget about last season,” junior pitcher Mitch Yada said. “We got a new staff [and a] new team. We gotta go out there and not think about the mistakes we made last year, but think about what we can do this year.”

The Wildcats received one first place vote in the GNAC preseason coaches’ poll, and are picked to finish tied for third in the six-team GNAC baseball conference. Montana State University Billings (MSUB), last year’s regular season champions, and WOU are picked in front of Central.

Central isn’t paying attention to the rankings though. Last year, MSUB proved everybody wrong by becoming the first team other than WOU to win the GNAC regular season title ever. They were picked to finish last in the conference.

“We wanna go all the way and win the conference,” senior outfielder Darren Honeysett said. “I feel like we have the team to do it. The teams are all very even in this conference.”

Central will have to do that while replacing big pieces from last year’s staff. Williams, team ERA leader Zach Johnson and Corey Welch, who took on double-duty as a closer and starter last season, all graduated. The three combined to throw just under half of the Wildcat’s total innings pitched last season.

“We don’t necessarily have a guy like Brandon Williams on the staff, but I think we’re pretty good all the way through the staff,” head coach Desi Storey said. “And I think we’ve got some guys that have a chance to be really good.”

One man the team knows it can lean on is Yada. He is the leading returner in innings pitched, complete games and strikeouts for Central, and is ready to be the ace of Central’s staff.

However, Yada knows he can’t shoulder the load on his own.

“I’ve felt that since day one in the fall,” Yada said. “But once we started weeding guys out and seeing what our staff is gonna look like, it gave me more confidence in myself and the staff that we’ll have guys to fill those guys position in the spring.”

Central was second to last in the GNAC in ERA in 2015, and will look to retool with guys who may not have a lot of innings thrown at the Division II level, but have experience throwing at a lower college level.

“We’ve got a lot of transfer guys,” Yada said. “They know what it’s like.”

Central’s roster is filled with transfer students, even though that’s not necessarily the team’s focus in recruiting.

“We’re a small state school, so we’re gonna get a lot of transfers,” Storey said. “If we can get some quality kids, that’s our thing…if we can get the quality freshman that can be a four-year guy for us, then so be it.”

Getting transfer students with experience past the high school level can help fill holes quickly though, as Honeysett did for the offense last year.

After hitting .350 last season, ninth in the GNAC, with seven home runs and 37 RBIs, Honeysett was named co-newcomer of the year in the conference.

“It was a great moment for me,” Honeysett said. “It’s something I worked hard for.”

Honeysett headlines what, on paper, looks like the team’s strongest returning piece—the offense.

Central lost All-American and GNAC batting average leader Kasey Bielec, but returned four of the conference’s top-19 hitters in that category.

Storey said that all-around it was a down hitting year for the conference, but believes this year’s lineup offers more balance than last season.

Snow has forced the team to practice indoors, but that hasn’t stopped the Wildcats from preparing for their first game.

Central will travel to Idaho to square off with defending NAIA national champions Lewis-Clark State University.

Storey is ready to see improvements in all three aspects of the game when the Wildcats take the field.

“When you comeback, whether you win a championship or not, you don’t wanna be stagnant,” Storey said. “So we wanna improve in every area, and I think we have.”