San Diego State baseball faces uphill climb in Mountain West preseason poll

Aztecs looking to rebuild behind new coach Kevin Vance

San Diego State Aztecs baseball coach Kevin Vance. | Photo courtesy of San Diego State University Athletics

San Diego State’s baseball program is looking to rebuild behind new coach Kevin Vance, and the rest of the coaches in the Mountain West believe the Aztecs have some work to do.

The Aztecs are predicted to finish seventh in their final season in the MW, according to a vote of the league’s nine head coaches. 

Defending regular-season champion Nevada was picked to repeat after receiving five first-place votes and 60 points overall, edging 2025 MW tournament winner Fresno State, which received three first-place votes and 55 points.

League newcomer Grand Canyon was picked third with the one remaining first-place vote and 47 points. A total of six points separated the next four teams, with New Mexico (36 points) fourth,  followed by San Jose State (33 points), UNLV (32 points) and the Aztecs (30 points).

Rounding out the poll were Washington State with 17 points and Air Force with 14. 

A pivotal season for SDSU baseball

San Diego State hired Arizona pitching coach Kevin Vance as its new head coach in June. Vance, who attended San Diego’s Torrey Pines High, replaced Shaun Cole, whose contract was not renewed after two losing seasons on Montezuma Mesa.

Vance spent the last two seasons with the Wildcats, who reached the College World Series in 2025 before losing to Coastal Carolina and Louisville.

The Aztecs have reached the NCAA regionals 14 times but have never advanced to the super regionals, which is surprising given the amount of prep talent in the area. 

Vance is trying to raise around $4 million to upgrade Tony Gwynn Stadium, which is named for the Hall of Famer who played at SDSU and was coaching the Aztecs when he died of cancer in 2014.

Tony Gwynn Stadium. | Courtesy of San Diego State University

Vance hired SDSU alum and former Washington Nationals star Stephen Strasburg as a special assistant.

Key transfers and local talent joining the roster

The Aztecs have added 19 college transfers, including 13 players who competed for Power 5 baseball programs last season. Among them are five from perennial powerhouse Oregon State, two from Arizona State and two from Arizona.

Oregon State and Arizona State both reached the College World Series last season. 

One San Diego native is among the 19: Trey Telfer, who attended Cathedral Catholic High and joins his hometown team after pitching in nine games for Indiana.

The five players from Oregon State are infielders Levi Jones of Portland, Tyce Peterson of Kirkland, Wash., Dawson Santana of Lake Oswego, Ore., and Jabin Trosky of Carmel, Calif., as well as pitcher Drew Talavs of West Linn, Ore. 

Two other players, utilityman Reeve Boyd of Seattle and catcher Anthony Marnell of Las Vegas, previously played for OSU before moving on to Washington and the College of Southern Nevada, respectively. 

Peterson has the most experience of the former Beavers, hitting .288 with eight home runs and 35 RBIs for his career. He was named to the Corvallis Regional All-Tournament Team after leading OSU to four consecutive wins to close the regional.

Vance coached pitchers Carson Johnson of Chandler, Ariz., and Bryce McKnight of Phoenix the last two seasons at Arizona.

The former ASU pitchers joining the Aztecs are Alec Belardes of San Jose and Rohan Lettow of Chandler. 

Other Power 5 players heading to Montezuma Mesa are infielder-outfielder Adam Magpoc from Boston College and catcher Zach Justice from Oregon. 

Also joining the Aztecs are right-handers David Ladjevic of Golden West College, Nick Falla of Allegany College of Maryland, Colton LaFave of Central Arizona College, Simon Lemke of College of Southern Nevada and Andrew Parker of Santa Ana College. 

Final go-round in the MW

The Aztecs open the season on Feb. 13 in the opener of a three-game series against LIU.

Effective July 1, San Diego State officially becomes a member of the new Pac-12 Conference, joining Oregon State, Washington State, Fresno State, Gonzaga, Texas State and Dallas Baptist University in baseball.