MOBILE, Ala. – Eastern Kentucky University will begin the 2025 season on Friday in Mobile, Alabama.  The Colonels will face Kent State on Friday, Southern Illinois Edwardsville on Saturday and then wrap up with games against host South Alabama on Sunday and Monday.
 
The games against USA will air live on ESPN+.
 
THE COLONELS
-  EKU concluded the 2024 season with a 21-37 overall record and went 14-16 in the Atlantic Sun Conference.  The Colonels finished seventh in the league standings.
 
-  Tait Nunnally was voted by fans as the ASUN Preseason Player of the Year.  Last season the outfielder earned a spot on the ASUN All-Freshman Team after batting .283 with 11 home runs, 46 RBIs and 39 runs scored.
 
-  Junior right-hander Nathan Lawson was voted by fans as the ASUN Preseason Pitcher of the Year.

-  In the final 18 games of the 2024 season, catcher Silas Shaffer hit .309 with two home runs, two doubles, a triple, 12 RBIs and four runs scored.
 
-  Ryker Walton, a senior right-hander, will start the season-opener on the mound.  He was 2-6 with a 6.86 ERA in 2024.  Newcomer Bradley Gagen, a redshirt sophomore lefty, will start against SIU Edwardsville.  Sophomore Elijah Underhill will get the ball in the first game against South Alabama.  The righty made 13 appearances and five starts as a freshman in 2024.  The starter for the second game against the Jaguars has not been determined.
 
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
-  Kent State finished 27-27 last season and 17-13 in the Mid-American Conference.  Gavin Jones, a redshirt sophomore right-hander, will start on the mound for the Golden Flashes.  He was 3-0 with a 7.53 ERA last season.
 
-  SIUE went 21-34-1 overall and 12-15 in the Ohio Valley Conference in 2024.  The Cougars were picked to finish sixth in the OVC this season and infielder Ryan Niedzwiedz was chosen as a "Player to Watch" in 2025.
 
-  Freshman righty Tim Teixeira will get the ball for SIUE against the Colonels.
 
-  South Alabama had a 31-25 campaign a year ago and went 14-16 in the Sun Belt Conference.  The Jaguars were selected to place 10th in the 14-team SBC in 2025.

-  Tyler Smith, a junior right-hander, is scheduled to start on Sunday for USA.  He was 2-0 with a 6.28 ERA in 12 relief appearances last year.  Monday's starter has not been determined.
 
INSIDE THE SERIES
-  The series with Kent State is tied 1-1.  The only two meetings between the two programs came in March of 2001.
 
-  The Colonels have a 20-13 edge in the series against SIU Edwardsville, but the Cougars have won four straight against EKU.  The most recent meeting was on March 27, 2021.
 
-  The series with South Alabama is also tied 1-1.  The two teams split a doubleheader in Mobile on Feb. 18, 2023.