Baseball places six on all-SLC preseason teams
After falling short in last year’s Southland Conference tournament, the Lamar University baseball team is ready to hit the ground running for the 2026 season.
“A lot of things went wrong last year,” senior infielder Hector Rodriguez said. “We didn’t have strong team chemistry — I feel this year is just the opposite. Everybody pushes to be better, and win or lose, we’re gonna give 100%.”
The Cards had six players earn Southland Conference pre-season awards. Beau Durbin, Balin Valentine and Landon Grigg were named first team all-SLC, while Chris Oliver and Hector Rodriguez were selected to the second team. Ayden Sunday was named SLC Freshman of the Year.
Returning for his 10th season with Lamar, Will Davis has been named Southland’s Coach of the Year.
“With Coach Davis, he has a relationship with the players — we just love playing for him,” Rodriguez said. “He’s one of those coaches that cares about our opinions. He’ll ask me, ‘Hey, what do you think about this play?’ And he goes through with that the whole season.”
The team started the season strong with an underdog win against the Big-12’s University of Kansas.
“It helps whenever we go play conference knowing that you can compete with Big 12 and SEC schools,” Junior infielder Kevin Duran said. “I don’t think anyone’s going to be in our way, really.”
LU played other power-five schools in preseason which sets them up for SLC play. Although the Cardinals came out swinging in their game against third-ranked University of Texas, they came up short in the sixth inning after having an early lead.
“For five innings, we were winning four to two, but it kind of goes downhill when you’re playing one of the best teams in the country,” Duran said. “They had a six-run inning, and we could have avoided it. But these things still show us that we’re ready to compete the rest of the year.”
The strong pre-season schedule will help the Cardinals in the SLC.
“It doesn’t get better than Texas — it doesn’t get better than A&M,” Rodriguez said. “Coach Davis did a good job in us playing those guys before, that way our conference games look kind of easy.”
The Cardinals entered Southland Conference play with a 5-4 record. After a series sweep against UTRGV, Lamar stands No.1 in Southland after the first week of conference play.
According to 64 analytics, Lamar is ranked as the 23rd transfer portal class in the nation.
“We get these guys from the portal that have already done numbers in the Division 1 level,” Rodriguez said. “We have experience, and I feel that’s why we rank high.”
Baseball America has ranked Lamar as one of eight “sleeper teams” to watch out for in the 2026 College World Series.
“Everyone kind of plays for each other and it’s a fun atmosphere,” Duran said. “It makes you want to have a long season and hopefully go to regional supers Omaha. That’s always the goal.”
As well as the traditional weekend SLC series, LU will host big-name teams at Vincent Beck Stadium, including Oregon State and BYU.
“I’m excited for the home series against Oregon State,” junior outfielder Jose Vargas said. “They were final-eight finishers last year in Omaha, and almost went to the national championship. To be able to host them in Beaumont, it’s gonna be fun.”
Junior Catcher Jake Wagoner said a supportive fanbase is significant in the team’s success.
“Having that home field advantage is so important,” he said. “It gets the other team making errors, especially in big situations. We also love to put on a show and go out there and win for this program.”
Last season, Lamar experienced a 27-2 record for games held at Vincent Beck Stadium.
“The support means a lot because these bigger schools, like A&M, have their ‘12th man,’” Vargas said. “And instead of nine guys versus nine, it becomes 2000 versus nine.”
The Cardinals are no stranger to playing for big audiences. After playing games at Texas A&M and UT-Austin, Wagoner said that the atmosphere is exciting.
”The adrenaline and the sounds of the fans really gets you on your toes,” Wagoner said. “It gets you a little bit shaky, gets you a little nervous.”
For a complete game schedule, visit lamarcardinals.com/sports/baseball.
