BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – Heading into his second season at the helm but with the first full year of recruiting and scheduling, Cal State Bakersfield’s Jordon Banfield is optimistically excited about the Roadrunner Baseball season ahead. With Opening Day just over a week away, Banfield’s `Runners are putting the finishing touches on preparations for what is expected to be a big step toward the goal of contending for Big West titles.

“The way that we are coaching our team to play is fun to watch,” Banfield said about the upcoming season. “The most exciting thing is winning, and we have guys who have the skillset to do it while being fun to watch. We demand that our team plays hard. We have five games on Opening Weekend; whether you’re a fan or not, just like baseball, or have never been, just come to one game and let it be our team’s job to make you want to come back.”

2026 Schedule

In his first year in Bakersfield, Banfield guided his squad through a rigorous schedule that saw the `Runners battle against some of the best talent in the West. Heading into the 2026 slate, Banfield expects the opposition to be more challenging.

“From a competition standpoint, I would say it’s probably actually tougher this year, by a tick. There are some games we feel like we need to win, and there’s some games that people wouldn’t expect us to win. If we can start to knock down some of those barriers, that will be indicative of us getting where we think we are going.”

The Big West remains one of the strongest baseball conferences in the country and Cal State Bakersfield will go toe-to-toe with the league while looking for its first trip to the Big West Championship. Including a pair of conference foes, the `Runners will play a total of 14 games this season against 6 teams that advanced to NCAA Regionals last season: Saint Mary’s, Cal Poly, USC, Utah Valley, Fresno State, and UC Irvine.

Team Breakdown

Banfield returns a core group of `Runners who excelled during the 2025 season and bolstered the roster with his first full year of recruiting.

“There were five or six guys a year ago who proved that they can be contributors in this league and we kept them all,” Banfield said. “They are guys that you want in the lineup, so that’s certainly encouraging coming off Year 1. Heading into Year 2, we needed to get way more athletic, which shows up on the bases and on defense. We also needed to get way deeper on the mound. If you look across the board, we’ve done those things and we’ll have a bunch of games early to prove whether that’s the case or not.”

Pitching Staff

Banfield enjoys an uncommon circumstance in that he returns all three of his weekend starters from the 2025 season: redshirt sophomore Ryan King, junior Shane McAlinden, and senior Jacob Gutierrez. 

“Those three guys have all elevated themselves from last year. Ryan completely dominated our hitters this Fall. Shane was not healthy last year but he went out there and wore it for our team because he knew we needed him. From a stats perspective, this Spring in particular, Jacob has really taken it to another level.”

Banfield has more options to start on the bump, a staff depth which will be showcased in five games over five days on Opening Weekend. Roman Bracamonte, Ethan Myers, and Saul Bolivar, to name just a few, are `Runners who will be battling for spots in the rotation.

Jeter Schuerman, who touches mid 90s with nasty carry, and Dante Jackson, who is nearly unhittable against left-handed hitters, are a pair of `Runner veterans expected to pitch out of the bullpen. Banfield also welcomes several talented newcomers who will all look to prove themselves in the early portion of the season.

Outfield

Following a 2025 campaign that earned him Big West All-Conference Honorable Mention, redshirt senior Nick Mascaro returns for his final season looking to make the last one a great one. Banfield is excited about the depth his outfield has this year with the ability to play matchups more efficiently with plenty of left-handed options.

Elgin Bennett also returns as an outfielder with ample experience from a year ago. Newcomer standouts in the outfield are junior college transfers Yahir Acevedo and Jacob May as well as grad transfer Garrett Teunissen. Along with Teunissen, returners Matt Dobson and Lewis Barnum V all may split time between the outfield and the infield.

Infield

Banfield returns a pair of starting infielders in Elijah Pelayo (SS) and Evan Cloyd (1B). Along with the utility trio, Banfield expects Venezuelan Carlos Cordero, freshmen Devon Wilkes and Brendan Thompson, and transfer Dusty Vela to be the biggest contenders for infield playing time. Meanwhile, several other `Runners could get into the mix if they can step up and produce on a regular basis.

Catchers

Rounding out the `Runner lineup is the trio of men who will fight for time behind the plate. Banfield welcomes back junior Kanoa Morisaki, who split time on both ends of the battery a year ago. Also contesting for playing time will be junior college transfers Carter Jorissen and Trey Mandina.

Opening Weekend

Join Coach Banfield, the Roadrunner baseball team, and `Runner Nation for Opening Weekend at Hardt Field, Feb. 13-17! Five games over five days highlight an exciting weekend of baseball action including high-level Division I baseball and a pair of exciting giveaways.

The full 2026 schedule is at GoRunners.com/Baseball while tickets are on sale now at GoRunners.com/Tickets. Skip the line; buy online!

~GoRunners.com~