SHAWNEE – A little over a year ago, Oklahoma Baptist competed for a Great American Conference Tournament Championship, just missed getting into the NCAA Tournament and finished with a 32-23 record.
Now, with key frontline players returning, and several newcomers poised to make a difference, this Bison squad of 2024 is excited to get the spring going this week in Edmond.
Head Coach
Chris Cox returns for his fifth season and brings a 101-66 record with him. He is joined on the staff by associate head coach
Cody Painter and assistant
Trace Maddux.
Among the key returnees for OBU include catcher/designated hitters
Alex Schroeder and
Troy Shields; pitchers
Brek Galbreath,
Nolan Feazle,
Ryan Turbeville and
Jordan Brewer; infielders
Jayden Shafer and
Isiah Lissade and outfielders
Austin Gonzales and
Rafael Gutierrez.
Schroeder was a National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Preseason Second Team All-America selection last week. Coming into 2024, he has 44 career homers which are two away from tying the OBU career record. In each of his previous seasons, Schroeder has reached at least 21 bombs. He is also an excellent catcher, having attained 487 putouts with a .987 fielding percentage.
In addition to Schroeder's bat, Shafer, Lissade, Gonzalez and Shields bring serious ability in the box. At first base is Shafer, who a year ago had the second-best batting average on the team (.357) and posted 11 doubles with seven homers. As for Lissade, at second, he hit .314 with 13 doubles, eight homers and stole 14 bags. Gonzales, who was instrumental in left field and in the nine-hole, batted .361 with nine doubles and 25 RBI. Shields in 2023 posted career-bests in batting average (.308), home runs (13), RBI (36) and hits (44).
On the mound, Galbreath returns after delivering an All-GAC season last year. He attained nine wins, a career-high and most in the GAC, and struck out 71 batters. That was a top-10 mark in the conference. Another solid season will move the senior from Joshua, Texas into several top-10 career OBU categories.
The other pitchers mentioned, Feazle, Turbeville and Brewer aided the Bison immensely down the stretch. Feazle picked up a pair of saves and in his last seven appearances posted a 1.59 ERA. Turbeville helped the Bison clinch a postseason series victory at Arkansas Tech while Brewer picked up 20 strikeouts in 11.2 innings pitched.
Two other pitchers that will earn playing time are
Logan Kimbro and
Cameron Pool. They both made at least 14 appearances with Pool attaining 29 strikeouts while Kimbro added 36 in 2023.
Speaking of newcomers, there are several that could make an impact for OBU. Along the infield are
Jacob Campbell and
Spencer Dickinson while
Will Joseph looks to fit in at centerfield.
At shortstop, Campbell transferred in from College of Marin (CA). Last year, he batted .329 with nine homers and 19 doubles. He also posted a .635 slugging mark. During his three seasons at Marin, Campbell registered a .960 fielding mark with just 17 errors in 423 chances.
Dickinson, a third baseman, transferred from College of the Desert (CA). In 2022, he was an Inland Empire Conference First Team selection and IEAC Gold Glove winner. That season he hit .451 with eight homers, 55 RBI and 17 doubles.
Joseph comes from Antelope Valley College (CA). Before dealing with injuries in 2023, he hit .349 in 2022 with 51 hits, 12 two-baggers and 48 RBI.
On the mound,
William Ellis and
Bryant Thornton look to provide relief. Ellis, who is from Mustang and transferred in from Murray State, notched 94 strikeouts over 88.1 innings. Thornton comes from College of Marin. Last season, he earned all-conference honors by earning three saves and posting an 11.08 strikeouts per nine innings.
