THE 2024 GULF COAST ATHLETICS CONFERENCE BASEBALL TOURNAMENT PREVIEW
Jackson, Mississippi-The Gulf Coast Athletic Conference will kick off the 2024 postseason this weekend with the “2024 Hope Credit Union Baseball Championship” at Smith Wills Stadium in Jackson, Mississippi. In 2023, Dillard won the GCAC title, and this year, several new teams to the conference will be making an appearance in hopes of not only winning the GCAC Tournament but also advancing to the Opening Round tournament. This year, we will bring you an inside look at all eight teams participating in the GCAC baseball tournament.
SCHEDULE- Day 1(all times local)
9a- #4 SUNO vs #5 Rust
12:30p- #1 Wiley vs #8 Philander Smith
4p- #3 Dillard vs #6 Tougaloo
730p- #2 Talladega vs #7 Oakwood
HOW TO WATCH
THE TEAMS
#8 Philander Smith (AR) – 2-30 / 2-19 GCAC play – Philander Smith has wins over Tougaloo and Oakwood this season and enters the GCAC baseball tournament trying to get back on track after a 14-win 2023 season. The team has scored 137 runs in 32 games this season and has a .254 team batting average. Juan Zorola leads the team with 20 runs batted in this season; he also leads the team in hits and is second in average for the squad. Utility player Mitchell Brown leads the team in batting average, hitting .380 in 71 at-bats. Zorola leads the squad in homers with 6, while teammate Aaditya Sur sits second on the team with 9 extra-base hits this year. On the mound, Justin Downs leads the team in innings pitched, and Alejandro Coronado leads the club in strikeouts. Philander Smith enters the GCAC tournament looking to end the year on a high note.
#7 Oakwood (AL) – 2-33 / 2-19 GCAC play – 2024 has been up and down for Oakwood as they head into the GCAC tournament. The Ambassadors have scored 136 runs in 35 games and have a team batting average of .227. Offensively, the Ambassadors are led by their youth; freshman Jaylen Fairris has a team-leading 14 RBIs, junior Jeremy Matos leads the team in hits and average, and senior first baseman Dylan Grigorious is the power bat to watch with a team-leading 4 homers. Sophomore Jordan Jennings is second on the team with seven extra-base hits. On the mound, Oakwood is anchored by two utility arms: freshman Dakota Cobb, who leads the team with 43 innings pitched, and junior Mateo Hamm, who has pitched 42 innings. While Oakwood may be a long shot to win the GCAC baseball tournament, playoff baseball can be unpredictable, and no one should count them out until the final out.
#6 Tougaloo (MS) – 12-33 / 8-13 GCAC play – The Bulldogs come into the GCAC tournament looking to make a run and extend their season. Tougaloo has scored 231 runs this year with a team batting average of .275. The Bulldogs should be excited about the 6-mile drive to Smith Wills Stadium, as they have had more success at home this year. Junior Khilan Magee leads the team in hits with 45 and in batting average with .388 this season, while sophomore Javeon Dampier leads the team in runs batted in with 34. On the mound, Caleb Carter has had a great season and could be an imposing figure to face in the first round of the tournament to get the Bulldogs on track; he’s 4-6 in 82.1 innings pitched with a 3.72 earned run average and 59 strikeouts. Christian Borders will be the other arm to watch in the tournament; he’s second on the team with 78.1 innings pitched this year. Tougaloo could be an interesting team to watch in this tournament, especially if Caleb Carter is on the mound.
#5 Rust (MS) – 14-31 / 10-11 GCAC play – In 45 games this season, Rust has scored 304 runs and has a team batting average of .273. The Bearcats will enter the 2024 GCAC tournament after narrowly dropping a series to first-year program SUNO this past weekend. Rust won 25 games last year and was my pick to win the GCAC baseball tournament before falling to Dillard in the championship series 5-2 and 8-3. Offensively, this season, Malik Berrien will lead the charge with a team-high 40 hits; the Bearcats also have five different players who have driven in more than 20 runs this year. Shemaar Stapleton leads the squad with 6 homers this season, and JaShaun Franks leads the team with 15 extra-base hits. On the mound for Rust, three different arms lead the squad in innings pitched: William Baker, Xavier Campbell, and Jackson Bryant. The strength for Rust this season has been their offense, getting players on base and finding ways to bring them in. The Bearcats will look to use that offense in this tournament to extend their season; look for their upperclassmen leaders to step up.
#4 Southern University at New Orleans (LA) – 16-19 / 12-8 GCAC play – SUNO is having an excellent season in their first full season of play. The Knights ended the regular season going 6-4 in their last 10 games and taking their final GCAC series of play 2-1 over Rust. Offensively, SUNO has scored 251 runs in 35 games with a team average of .279. Sophomore Kyler Sheppard and freshman Chase Lovick are tied for the team lead in hits with 39, while junior Miles Bowens leads the team in runs batted in with 32. Browns also lead the club with 6 homers, while D’Eric Shenault sits second on the team with four. On the mound, the trio of Noah Ramirez, Joey Olveda, and Enrique Herazo lead the way in innings pitched. Ramirez leads the team in strikeouts with 46 on the year. Last season we saw Dillard win the GCAC in its first season; SUNO has been competitive in conference play, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see them play late into the tournament.
#3 Dillard (LA) – 18-25 / 14-7 GCAC play – The reigning GCAC tournament champions ended the year on a hot note, going 9-1 with a three-game win streak. Dillard took all three from Tougaloo, outscoring their opponent 30-8 on the weekend. In 37 games, Dillard scored 213 runs, and as a team, they are hitting .256. Junior Jalen Ayers leads the team in hits, average, extra-base hits, and runs batted in. Ayers has even walked more times this season than he has struck out. On the mound, junior Jorge Guerra has thrown over 20 more innings than anyone else for Dillard and will be a pitcher to watch in this tournament. Guerra has a K/9 (strikeouts per 9 innings) of over 12 and has struck out 80 batters in 59 innings. We could see one of the best first-round pitching matchups of the entire tournament if Jorge Guerra faces Caleb Carter from Tougaloo on Wednesday. The defending GCAC champions will be out to defend their title in Jackson.
#2 Talladega (AL) – 32-15 / 17-3 GCAC play – Without question, Talladega is the hottest team in the GCAC right now, going 10-0 in their last 10 games and winning 11 straight. Talladega has scored 426 runs in 47 games this year, with the offense clicking at a league-high .342 team average. Miguel Oropeza is hitting .541 in 47 games with 79 hits and a team-leading 55 runs batted in. Oropeza also leads the team in extra-base hits with 30; tied with him for the team lead in homers is Darlin Fernandez. Talladega has registered 151 extra-base hits this season, which is the clear leader in the GCAC. On the mound, Samuel Guadmuz and Jose Franco lead the way in innings pitched, with Guadamuz also leading the team in strikeouts with 81 on the year. Talladega seems to be putting it all together at the right time; this is a team with postseason aspirations and experience.
#1 Wiley (TX) – 24-17 / 18-3 GCAC play – What a week for Wiley! The GCAC regular-season champions claim their first title since the late 1950s when they were founding members of the SWAC. The team from Marshall, Texas, has made a turnaround in a short amount of time. Wiley went 5-41 in 2022 in the Red River Athletic Conference; last year, the team was 21-22 and went 0-2 in the GCAC tournament. This year, the Wildcats have higher expectations for themselves, and they’ve been competitive all season. In March, Wiley had 11 straight wins against NAIA competition before suffering a loss. The team has scored 346 runs in 41 games and is hitting .315 as a unit. Ryan Ready has been great this year, leading the team in runs batted in with 52; Ivan Del Villar and Jhan Carlos Javier are two other names in the lineup that need to be watched. On the mound, Keyon Guillroy has pitched 63 innings this year and struck out 87 along the way. Four other Wildcat arms have plenty of experience on the mound, with more than 35 innings pitched this year. The Wildcats will be a fun team to watch in the GCAC tournament; I fully expect them to be a team playing late in it.
DAY 1 PREDICTIONS
#4 SUNO vs #5 Rust– These two ball clubs just met to end the regular season with SUNO taking the advantage 2-1 in the series. Rust did walk-off SUNO in game 2 of their series when Christian Hill hit a walk-off homer to win it, but SUNO outscored Rust in the series 28-15. Noah Ramirez had a great duel with Jackson Bryant in game 1 of that series and I’d love to see it again.
Our pick– SUNO
#1 Wiley vs #8 Philander Smith– Wiley outscored Philander Smith 33-8 this past weekend, but there was a way too close for comfort 1-0 in game 2 that took the Wildcats 7 innings to have a run come across the plate. But Keyon Guillroy was excellent in that game and so was Brett Marcel for Philander Smith.
Our pick– Wiley
#3 Dillard vs #6 Tougaloo– This is probably the game I am most interested in, Dillard swept the series last week and actually did it in fashion outsourcing Tougaloo 30-8. But game 1 was a back and forth contest between the two that featured great pitching and late runs leading to a 5-3 Dillard win. I think throwing Caleb Carter gives Tougaloo the best chance to win, and Dillard has a few different routes they can go with their arms, as much as I’d like to pick an upset here I think the experience of the Dillard club gets it done.
Our pick– Dillard
#2 Talladega vs #7 Oakwood– Talladega just outscored Oakwood 51-18 this past weekend. The closest score between the two was an 11 run deficit where Talladega won 18-7 in game 2 of their series. Talladega is hot right now and I don’t see them as a team who will let off the gas pedal right now. All gas no brakes in this one.
Our pick– Talladega
NAIA Ball Staff Picks Tournament Winner
Robby- Talladega
Conner- Wiley
Taylor- Talladega
Tyler- Talladega
