Cullowhee, N.C. – With the countdown to Western Carolina's 2025 season-opener in Statesboro, Ga. down to single-digits, the CatamountSports.com position previews continue today with a look at the Catamount infielders which is among the most heralded unit for WCU entering the year.
The Catamounts raise the curtain on the season with a three-game set against former Southern Conference foe Georgia Southern at J.I. Clements Stadium. First pitch of Friday's season-opener against the Eagles is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
Returning Experience in the Catamount Infield:
Entering 2025, Western Carolina returns three starters among its infield group including the left-side of the diamond in a pair of preseason All-Southern Conference seniors,
Mason Holton and
Trent Turner. A third returner in classmate
Jack Spyke – a veritable Swiss Army knife for the Catamounts – is again expected to split time behind the plate where he was also selected all-conference and at first base. Those three seniors were each elected as team captains for the squad entering the season.
Trent Turner headlines the returning infield trio and position group as a two-time preseason All-SoCon selection, garnering plaudits from both Perfect Game and the league's head coaches. A local product from Waynesville, N.C., Turner enters his second season in the Purple & Gold after opening his collegiate career with two years at USC Union where he hit .389 with 26 doubles, four triples, and 17 home runs. Last year in Cullowhee in 54 games started, he batted .302 with 71 base knocks to rank tied for second on the squad. Among those hits ere 22 for extra-bases including 14 doubles and eight home runs.
A slick-fielding shortstop where he was dubbed preseason All-SoCon, Turner was part of flipping 38 double-plays to lead the SoCon's top unit. His efforts landed him on the midseason Brooks Wallace Award Watch List, a postseason award that honors the nation's top collegiate shortstop.
Joining Turner on the left-side of the infield is a familiar face in classmate
Mason Holton who played in 52 of WCU's 54 games in 2024 with 50 starts, all coming at third base. Originally from Overland Park, Kansas, Holton hit an even .300 last year with 20 extra-base hits including 14 doubles and six homers including a walk-off round-tripper in the series finale against Mercer last May. At the hot corner, Holton was part of starting nine double plays in the field.
Holton could see his role expanded in 2025 to become a two-way player, returning to the mound after a multi-year hiatus from his season spent at Fort Hays State as a freshman in 2022.
Spyke was highlighted with the Catamount pitchers and catchers with his primary position coming behind the plate in wearing the proverbial "tools of ignorance" as coined in the 1930s to describe the backend of the battery. Last season, the Lawrenceville, Ga., product started 29 times at first base, more than the 16 starts behind the dish – but is expected to platoon more at the right-side corner than at the No. 2 position.
Another returning Catamount that may also see time at first base is outfielder
Hayden Friese, who is expected to anchor one of the corner spots in the outfield – but could don the first-base mitt.
Filling in the Pieces, New and Returning:
In addition to the three upperclassmen listed above, the Catamounts return two infielders that were on roster a season ago.
Josh Ossiander out of Northampton, Pa., saw action in five games last season, each coming as a pinch hitter and could see time in the field in his second year.
Wyatt Stanley (High Point, N.C.), who did not see action a season ago, is listed as a first baseman and took a redshirt.
Four newcomers are also expected to push for playing time in 2025. Freshmen
Jackson Godfrey (Greensboro, N.C.) has first base listed as his primary position, and he is flanked by freshmen
Jaylen Jones (Loganville, Ga.), local-product
Jackson Lyda (Fletcher, N.C.), and
Trey Spees (Denver, N.C.).
Looking Back at the Numbers in '24:
Western Carolina finished last season ranked fourth in the Southern Conference in fielding percentage at .974 collectively as a team. The team turned a conference-best 50 double-plays to rank tied for 25th nationally, while the team's 0.93 double play per game average was ranked tied for 21st in the country.
Western Carolina baseball – among the winningest programs in Southern Conference baseball history – enters the 2025 season looking for its SoCon-record 24th team championship. The Catamounts have won 13 regular-season titles and captured the tournament championship an additional 10 times. WCU has made 12 appearances all-time in the NCAA postseason including five-straight under former head coach Jack Leggett from 1985 through 1989.
Under third-year head coach
Alan Beck, the Catamounts are poised to make another jump in 2025 coming off a third-place tie in the SoCon standings a season ago, finishing 28-26 overall with 14 wins in league play
The Catamounts open their home schedule with a four-game homestand beginning Tuesday, Feb. 18 against USC Upstate in nonconference midweek action before hosting Big Ten foe Maryland on Feb. 21-23 at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium.
Both season and single-game tickets for WCU's 26-game home baseball slate at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium are on sale now and start at just $51 for adult general admission and $26 for youth general admission. Additional seating options include reserved field-level chair back seats and upper-reserved chair backs under cover beneath the press box.
Tickets can be purchased in person through the first-floor Athletics Ticket Office in the Ramsey Center, by phone at (828) 227-2401, or online at
CatamountSports.com/BuyTickets.
Keep track of everything related to Catamount baseball and WCU Athletics through social media outlets on Facebook (fb.com/CatamountSports), Twitter (@Catamounts, @CatamountBSB), and Instagram (wcu_catamounts, catamountbsb).
