West Texas A&M (0-0) vs. (RV) St. Edward's (0-0)
Game 1	Friday, January 30th at 2:00 p.m.
Game 2	Saturday, January 31st at 1:00 p.m.
Game 3	Sunday, February 1st at 1:00 p.m.
Location	Canyon, Texas | Wilder Park
Live Statistics	Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3
Live Video (FloCollege)	FloCollege
Other Links	Game Notes

CANYON, Texas – The Buffaloes of West Texas A&M open up their 2026 campaign on Friday afternoon as they host the St. Edward's Hilltoppers in a three-game Lone Star Conference series at Wilder Park in Canyon. Friday's opener is set for 2:00 p.m. followed by game two on Saturday (1:00 p.m.) and Sunday's series finale (1:00 p.m.).
 
A LOOK AT THE HILLTOPPERS
Connor Cox is the leading offensive returner for the Hilltoppers as the senior outfielder from Longview hit .419 last season with 22 doubles and 12 homeruns to drive in 75 RBI with a slugging percentage of .667. Cox was a First Team All-LSC selection during his freshman campaign as he enters 2026 with a career batting average of .393 with 49 doubles, 21 homeruns to drive in 149 RBI.
 
Senior Marley Bernal returns to the mound for the Toppers following a 2025 season that saw the Corpus Christi product toss 17.1 innings with 10 appearances and two starts, Bernal struck out 18 batters with 11 walks with a 2.08 ERA and a perfect 4-0 record. SEU features the addition of newcomer arms Camden White (Eastern Oklahoma State College) and Connor Freeman (Paris Junior College).
 
HILLTOPPERS IN 2025
St. Edward's finished the 2025 campaign with an overall record of 37-23 including a 31-17 mark in Lone Star Conference action. The Hilltoppers advanced to the finals of the Lone Star Conference Championships in San Angelo and earned an at-large bid into the NCAA South Central Regionals where they topped Lubbock Christian in the opening game (10-7) before back-to-back losses to Angelo State to end their season.
 
SEU HEAD COACH RYAN FEMATH
Ryan Femath is in his third season at the helm of the St. Edward's baseball program, being named the skipper in the summer of 2023. Femath spent the previous season as the top assistant for the Hilltoppers, helping the team to an overall mark of 40-17 with a trip to the NCAA Tournament. He came to Austin following 15 seasons as an assistant at his alma mater, St. Mary's. 
 
SERIES HISTORY
The Buffs and Hilltoppers will meet for the 40th time on the diamond on Friday afternoon in Canyon as St. Edward's holds the 22-17 advantage in a series that dates back to 2003. The Hilltoppers are 11-9 all-time in the Texas Panhandle with their last trip to Wilder Park coming in 2024.
 
WT HEAD COACH CORY HALL
Cory Hall takes is in his second season at the helm of the West Texas A&M Baseball program after being promoted to head coach in the Summer of 2024. The first season under Hall's leadership saw the Buffaloes finish 31-21 with a 29-19 mark in Lone Star Conference play, advancing to the LSC Championships for the 14th time in program history.
 
Hall spent 14 seasons as the top assistant and pitching coach for the Buffaloes. Hall has had four different pitchers (Austin Moore, Josh Payne, Marshall Kasowski, Joe Corbett) drafted in the Major League Baseball Draft during his time in Canyon with multiple other professional players learning under one of the top pitching minds in collegiate baseball.
 
WT COACHING STAFF
Shawn Neale was elevated to Associate Head Coach in the Summer of 2025 as the Toronto native returns for his 10th season in Canyon. WT ranked 13th nationally in batting average along with 6th in triples, 11th in slugging percentage, 15th in on-base percentage, 21st in scoring, 27th in doubles, 41st in homeruns, and 47th in hits.
 
Ryan Cantrell joined the West Texas A&M Baseball coaching staff in August following five seasons as the pitching coach and lead recruiter at Cerro Coso Community College in California. Nollan Koon is in his second season in the dugout for the Buffaloes as a graduate assistant coach.
 
LONE STAR CONFERENCE PRESEASON POLL
West Texas A&M Baseball has been selected fifth in the 2026 Lone Star Conference Baseball Preseason Coaches' Poll announced on January 22nd.
 
Defending South Central Regional Champion UT Tyler picked up 20 of the possible 42 first place votes to sit atop of the poll with 603 points followed by Angelo State (20 first place, 599), Lubbock Christian (510), St. Edward's (501), West Texas A&M (474), St. Mary's (404), Texas A&M-Kingsville (1 first place, 389), Eastern New Mexico (326), UT Permian Basin (249), Texas A&M International (1 first place, 246), UT Dallas (243), Oklahoma Christian (181), Cameron (164) and Sul Ross State (67).
 
UT Tyler senior shortstop Drew Schmidt was named the league's Preseason Pitcher of the Year while Caden Copeland of UTT was tabbed the LSC Preseason Pitcher of the Year. Tristin Thomas and Cade Griffin of West Texas A&M were selected to the Preseason Players to Watch List. The preseason poll and preseason players of the year are voted on by LSC head coaches, sports information directors and media members.
 
NCBWA DIVISION II PRESEASON TOP-25 POLL
Defending National Champion Tampa picked up all 20 first place votes to sit atop of the poll with 500 points followed by Central Missouri (475), UT Tyler (448), Northwest Nazarene (442), Catawba (420), Lenoir-Rhyne (383), East Stroudsburg (356), Northwood (339), Colorado Mesa (333) and Florida Southern (309) to round out the top ten.
 
The South Central Region was represented by UT Tyler (3rd), Colorado Mesa (9th), Angelo State (12th), St. Edward's (RV) and Lubbock Christian (RV).
 
THIS IS LSC BASEBALL
he LSC baseball season begins as early as Jan. 30 (Friday). 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. The NCAA Division II South Central Regional is scheduled for May 14-17 with the Super Regional following on May 21-23. The NCAA Division II Baseball Championship is set for May 29-June 6 at USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, N.C.
 
WATCH LIVE
Fans can watch LSC baseball games all season on FloCollege. Monthly and yearly subscriptions are available. The LSC and FloSports reached a historic agreement in August for the largest streaming rights deal in NCAA Division II history.
 
OPENING DAY SUCCESS
The Buffs begin their 33rd season of Division II Baseball on Friday afternoon as they are 20-13 all-time on Opening Day dating back to the 1994 campaign.