There is one word that can sum up the 2024 Cougar baseball season: disappointing.
The Cougs in 2024 put up a record of 21-32 with a five-game losing streak to close out the season, leaving a bad taste in many people’s mouths. What was more frustrating was their Pac-12 record, which finished at 9-21. While last year was not what Coug fans had hoped for,
the fans and the program can look to the upcoming 2025 season for a positive turnaround.
The Cougs will play their first game of 2025 on Feb. 16 at Utah Tech, kicking off a four-game series there. WSU will not return to Pullman until March 1st when the team plays Rhode Island in its home opener.
WSU has lost quite a few players in the aftermath of the 2024 season, including 15 seniors who graduated. One notable loss at the plate was Nate Swarts, who led the team in slugging percentage as well as triples. Additionally, Cole Cramer, leader in batting average, runs scored,
and hits, transferred to TCU earlier this year with one more season of eligibility left. With these two offensive generators gone, the Cougs need to find some players willing to step up to the plate and get it done.
On the mound, there is a similar situation. Grant Taylor, Connor Wilford, Duke Brotherton and Spencer Jones, the core four members of the pitching staff, all graduated after last season. However, this may prove to be beneficial for the Cougs moving into 2025. The pitching staff in 2024 underperformed, with all four repping ERAs over 4.00. Grant Taylor led the pitching staff with an ERA of 4.21, which placed him 198th overall in Division I baseball. Overall, the bullpen is in need of serious remodeling.
Considering their newfound holes at the plate and an underperforming pitching staff, the coaching staff decided to make some big acquisitions in the offseason. One notable addition to the bullpen was right-hander Brock Blatter. Blatter started his collegiate career at Alabama before transferring to USC. He posted a 3.00 ERA through nine innings in 2024 and will be coming in as a junior.
Accompanying Blatter in the bullpen is right-hander Ingmar Hutzezon, a fellow junior transferring from Los Medanos College who churned out a 2.15 ERA with 88 strikeouts last season. The Netherlands native, along with Blatter, should be interesting to watch in 2025 as
they prop up the Cougar bullpen.
Some other notable bullpen additions include Bryce Chambers, Miles Chandler, Gavin Derr and Nick Fazio. While not all of them will get their start in 2025, these additions will add depth to the bullpen in the coming years.
At the plate, WSU was able to pick up junior college catcher Noah Thein. The incoming junior rung up a .295 batting average in 2024, accompanied by 21 runs batted in and 45 runs scored.
To complement Thein, the Cougs also brought on Ricco Longo, Gavin Roy, Jonah Shull, Ryan Skjonsby, Luke Thiele and Cole Watterson. All of those transfers boasted batting averages over .300 aside from Longo and Watterson.
Overall, this offseason for WSU was incredibly productive. They added some key bats to their lineup while also creating a new pitching core that will help balance out the team.
However, it isn’t just the transfers that are making this next season interesting. Due to the implosion of the Pac-12, the Cougs will play the 2025 season competing in the Mountain West Conference. This means a slew of new conference opponents that the Cougs will be eager to take on. Most notable on the new schedule is the absence of the Washington Huskies. While it is frustrating to be denied a shot at an Apple Cup, this inaugural season in the MWC should prove to be an exciting one for the Cougars.
In the wake of an upsetting 2024 performance, the Cougs are looking strong heading into the 2025 season. With promising young hitters, an exciting new bullpen and a fresh start with the MWC, this season is shaping up to be a fun one for Cougar baseball fans.
