Cal State Fullerton baseball has long been associated with a heavy standard, built off of a legacy that the program has established with a longstanding winning culture.
At least historically, that is the case. However, in recent memory, it hasn’t been. CSUF has seen losses in four of their last six seasons, with the 2025 campaign being an exception to that.
The Titans are fresh off a vital bounce-back year, placing third among their Big West competitors in the regular season standings with a 29-25 record. Despite a disappointing finish in the inaugural Big West Championship tournament, many signs pointed to a positive outlook for CSUF’s program.
Head Coach Jason Dietrich, entering his fifth year at the helm, is vastly confident the potential for more is there – it’s just a matter of seeing their prospective talent translate on the field.
“I think the potential is there, but you know paper doesn’t play the game,” Dietrich said. “We’ll do our best to prepare them, and then we’ll see next Friday where we’re at and go game-to-game, continuously improve, or make changes … to play at the level we want to play at.”
CSUF has their sights set on their season-opener this weekend, when they will begin a split four-game set against California Baptist University, their first game being played at Goodwin Field on Friday.
With just over three weekends of non-conference baseball, Dietrich and his coaching staff anticipate having just enough time to tailor different areas of their roster to ensure they are putting their best talent on the field – particularly on the mound.
Uncertainty still remains surrounding the Titans’ pitching staff, who totaled a team ERA of 5.51 with many rotation question marks throughout last season.
“It falls on consistency, it’s how simple I’m trying to keep it with these guys. And guys staying healthy, that’s the uncertainty,” Dietrich said. “A lot of guys have pitched some, but we’d like them to take that role.”
CSUF’s most consistent arm has been senior Mikiah Negrete, who has anchored the rotation and delivered in a workhorse role over the last two seasons.
The southpaw, who looks forward to implementing a changeup to his effective pitch mix, anticipates the hunger for pitching spots to be a positive for the Titans.
“I think it’s a good thing we have so much competition,” Negrete said. “I think that during (the) season, that will push us to keep growing rather than complacency.”
The Titans have brought in multiple arms from junior college, including Joseph Jasso and Brock Mayer, both of which have shown early signs of promise.
Sophomore Dylan Smith, who made eight starts last year, could also be a part of the fold alongside fellow returner Jason Krakoski, who has dealt with injuries in recent years but has shown potential. At the tail end of the year, Jayden Harper made a case for himself to be a starter going forward, finishing the year with a 3.68 ERA.
Andrew Wright, who was named to the All-Big West first team as a closer, was mentioned by Dietrich as someone they want to give a shot in the rotation, but are settling for him to anchor the backend of the bullpen at the moment.
“As always, you’re wanting guys just to step up. Don’t have a solidified weekend rotation, I have a good idea,” Dietrich said. “Weighing out some reliever options, but that’s kind of what the first three weeks are for.”
On the field, the outlook of a lineup is a lot more situated, consisting of many established upperclassmen.
The team returns first baseman Andrew Kirchner, whose breakout campaign, in which he led the conference in RBI last year, earned him a spot on the Preseason All-Big West team. Infielder Eli Lopez and starting catcher Max Ortega return, while Dietrich anticipates outfielders Paul Contreras and Cam Burdick taking leaps in their roles.
With the departures of some key players, including Matthew Bardowell, Maddox Latta and Big West Freshman Field Player of the Year Carter Johnstone, the Titans turned to the transfer portal for reinforcements. They landed UCLA transfer Cameron Kim – who was named as a breakout player to watch by D1 Baseball.
“I know that if I just slow the game down, just play my role, I think I can help out the team a pretty good amount,” Kim said. “My goal is to come here, help out the team and win games.”
Kim offers versatility around the diamond, while having shadowed shortstop Roch Cholowsky in his limited playing time at UCLA, the projected No. 1 pick in the upcoming MLB draft.
That versatility is especially key to Dietrich, who is training all of his infielders to be ready at any position in the diamond. He has done the same for junior college transfer Ty Thomas, whose bat the coaching staff loves with intentions to factor him into the lineup.
Dietrich also anticipates contributions from Long Beach State transfer Armando Briseno, who could see himself at shortstop, and Britton Beeson, a power-hitting outfielder from Hawai’i.
Nonetheless, baseball is known as a game of translation. That remains the key for Dietrich going forward as the season blooms in February.
“We’re excited, it’s just the unknown that lies ahead,” Dietrich said. “We’ve just got to make sure we prepare our guys the best we can. So when it’s gametime, we’re ready to go.”