Richardson, TX - After making the Lone Star Conference tournament last season, Texas A&M-Kingsville Baseball was voted to finish seventh in the conference standings the LSC announced on Thursday.

The Javelinas finished last season just above .500 with a 27-25 record and a LSC tournament appearance where they would eventually fall to UT-Tyler. This season however, the Javelinas return essentially their entire offensive core representing 242 hits and 167 runs scored. Texas A&M-Kingsville returns. While the starting rotation for the Javelinas is the biggest question going into 2026, Texas A&M-Kingsville returns key arms from the bullpen last year in Daniel Cardona, Ruben Rendon III and Niko Garcia.

Chief among those pitchers is reigning LSC Freshman of the Year Tyler Schumann, who was named to the preseason pitcher of the year watchlist. The Fulshear, Texas, native posted a 5.63 ERA across 14 appearances with three wins and a pair of saves. Schumann posted 30 strikeouts in his debut season with the Javelinas and held opposing batters to just a .266 average at the plate.

Senior catcher Jayden Martinez also received recognition by the conference, being named to the preseason player of the year watchlist. Martinez was an essential piece to the Javelina battery last season, finishing with 203 putouts while throwing out 18 baserunners on stolen-base attempts. Martinez was an efficient batter as well, posting a .341 average with a .781 OPS.

Texas A&M-Kingsville will be on the road for opening week, traveling to Portales to take on Eastern New Mexico. Fans of the Javelinas can watch the game on FloCollege or follow the game at JavelinaBSB on X.

Notes:

- The LSC baseball season begins as early as Jan. 30 (Friday). To see the league schedule, click here.

-Due to being NCAA Division II provisional members, UTD and SRSU are not eligible for the LSC baseball tournament but are able to win the LSC regular season title and postseason awards.

- The LSC baseball tournament's opening round is scheduled for May 1-3 (Friday-Sunday) at the site of the league's No. 2, 3 and 4 seed. The championship round is set for May 8-10 (Friday-Sunday) at the league's No. 1 seed.

- All LSC baseball regular season and tournament games can be viewed live on FloCollege. Monthly and yearly subscriptions are available.

-The NCAA Division II South Central Regional is scheduled for May 14-17 with the Super Regional following on May 21-23. The campus sites are TBD.

- The NCAA Division II Baseball Championship is set for May 29-June 6 at USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, N.C



Preseason Poll
Rank    Team                                   1st    Total
1          UT Tyler                               20     603
2          Angelo State                         20     599
3          Lubbock Christian                          510
4          St. Edward's                                  501
5          West Texas A&M                           474
6          St. Mary's                                      404
7          Texas A&M-Kingsville            1       389
8          Eastern New Mexico                      326
9          UT Permian Basin                          249
10        Texas A&M International       1       246
11        UT Dallas                                      243
12        Oklahoma Christian                       181
13        Cameron                                       164
14        Sul Ross State                               67