Written By: Ashley deGruyter for NM State Media Relations

Juniors Tyler Mack and Ryan Beck came to New Mexico State University in 2009 from opposite sides of New Mexico, not knowing what their college career had in store for them. Three years later, they are not only making their mark on Aggie baseball, but also creating a friendship that will last forever.

Mack came to NM State as a right-handed pitcher from Katy, Texas. He was voted Katy High School most valuable player in 2008 and posted a 5-2 record, while also breaking records on the football field.

Beck came to NM State as a left-handed pitcher from Ft. Collins, Colo. He was runner-up for the conference player of the year in 2008 at Fort Collins High School and held a 7-1 record.

The two were assigned to live together in the dorms as freshman and since then have lived together and flourished individually as baseball players.   Continue Reading This Post >>

Written By: NM State Athletic Dept.

LAS CRUCES, N.M. - College Sports Madness announced the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) preseason all-conference teams, Thursday, Jan. 19, with NM State landing six players on the first team and two on the second team.

Junior Zac Fisher was named a first team selection and was also named Field Player of the Year after being named to the College Sports Madness All-American team (fourth team). Senior closing pitcher Scott Coffman, who tallied a 1.88 ERA last season to go along with nine saves, joins Fisher on the first team with junior second baseman Parker Hipp, senior shortstop Tyler Forney, and senior outfielders Bryan Karraker and Tanner Waite.

"It is exciting to see that we are getting recognized," head coach Rocky Ward said.  Continue Reading This Post >>

Written By: NM State Athletic Dept.

LAS CRUCES, N.M. - Junior Zac Fisher represented the Aggies on the College Sports Madness Baseball Preseason All-American Teams, which were released Saturday, January 7 on CollegeSportsMadness.com, as a fourth team honoree.

Fisher, who was named to the team as an infielder, could see time at first base, catcher and as a designated hitter in 2012. He was also named to the NCBWA preseason All-American team in December after leading the 2011 NCAA batting average champion at the plate.

Fisher helped the Aggies to a 34-24 record last year and hit a team-leading .398 with 68 hits. He posted 16 doubles and 56 RBI to go along with a team-high eight home runs. He also led the team in slugging percentage at .632.  Continue Reading This Post >>

Senior closer Scott Coffman was named to the Louisville Slugger Pre-Season All-American Team as announced by Collegiate Baseball newspaper today. Coffman was named to the Third Team and is just the eighth Preseason All-American in Aggie baseball history but the seventh under head coach Rocky Ward.

Coffman led the Aggies in saves with nine and finished 3-0 with a 1.88 ERA allowing just nine earned runs while striking out 36 batter and walking just 11 in 43.0 innings of relief.

Coffman is the first Aggie pitcher to ever earn All-America honors in either the preseason or postseason.  Continue Reading This Post >>

New Mexico State junior catcher/designated hitter was named to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Preseason All-American team on Wednesday. Fisher earned a spot on the Third Team at the DH position. In 52 games last season Fisher batted a team-high .398 with 15 doubles, eight home runs and 56 RBIs. "It's well deserved," said head coach Rocky Ward. "As a freshman he was pressed into service and he had an okay year, a pretty good year with the bat but just an okay defensive year. Then last year [Chuck] Howard was the number one catcher a year ago and we DH'd and caught Zac and he played a little bit at first and then late in the year he took over the position and played really really well."  Continue Reading This Post >>

Written By: NM State Athletic Dept.

LAS CRUCES, N.M. - After winning the 2011 NCAA batting title and winning 30-plus games for the third straight season, New Mexico State head baseball coach Rocky Ward has released the 2012 schedule, which features 31 home games and six teams that made it to the 2011 NCAA Tournament.

NM State produced a 34-24 record in 2011 while wining 26 of those games at home in Presley Askew Field. The Aggies face six teams that reached the NCAA Regionals in 2011 including Sacred Heart and Kent State at home. Head coach Rocky Ward expects his team to be competitive with every opponent in 2012.

"Our strength of schedule is the best it has been in the past several years and we expect it to prepare us well for the final year of the old WAC" Ward said.  Continue Reading This Post >>

Written By: Ashley deGruyter for NM State Athletic Dept.

With the Major League Baseball season heading into post season this week, we look at the journey of former Aggie pitcher Tyler Sturdevant has taken since leaving NM State just two years ago.

Playing baseball has always been part of Sturdevant's life. Since the age of six the baseball mindset has been instilled in him. A Colo. Native, Sturdevant started with T-ball and then played every year after that.

In high school he played at Chatfield Senior High, in Littleton, Colo. Where in his senior year with the Chargers he had a .416 batting average, 26 runs batted in, six home runs and a .702 on base percentage.

In 2005, Sturdevant decided to join the Aggie family and play for Rocky Ward. During his career at NM State Sturdevant made 51 appearances and started in 30 games. Working 210.2 innings he only allowed 26 home runs, while he marked 180 strikeouts compared to 113 walks.  Continue Reading This Post >>

Written By Eddie Soriano, for NM State Athletic Dept.

The NM State baseball team was well represented during a couple of this year's summer baseball leagues.

Brock Neil, a senior majoring in individualized studies at NM State, was named to the Horizon Air Summer Series All-Series 2011 Baseball Team as a second team first baseman, according to a press release by the California-based summer league.

"I feel pretty good about it," said Neil about the honor. "I came into the summer wanting to get my swing in line and be ready to come out and make some noise this fall and that's basically what I did. I played a lot, got a lot of time on the field, got a lot of at-bats and performed well, so I was really happy with it."  Continue Reading This Post >>

Written By: NM State Athletic Dept.

LAS CRUCES, N.M. - The New Mexico State baseball team was recently named the 2011 NCAA Division I statistical champion for batting average after hitting .337 this past season as the Aggies finished with its third consecutive 30-plus win record.

With the introduction of the new BBCOR bats to Division I baseball, the Aggies continued their offensive dominance as the closest team (Wright State) hit .323, 14 points behind. Although the NCAA does not give an award for on-base percentage, NM State led the nation with a .441 on-base percentage, while finishing seventh in slugging percentage (.474), third in runs (495), and third in walks (333).

"We have been the homerun, walks, slugging percentage and walks NCAA stat champion in the past," head coach Rocky Ward said. "The addition of the 2011 Batting Average Champion solidifies us and one of the most dominant offenses in the country."

NM State had eight starters finish with a batting average above .325, while a total of 12 players hit above .300 on the year. Sophomore designated hitter Zac Fisher, who earned 2011 ABCA (American Baseball Coaches Association) all-Midwest region honors, led the offense hitting .398 on the year as he appeared in 52 games while starting in 44. He tied for team-high honors with 68 hits including 16 doubles and a team-high eight home runs. He also led the team in slugging percentage at .632.  Continue Reading This Post >>

Aggie baseball player Tanner Rust has transitioned from the gridiron to the diamond and is spending the 2011 summer playing in the Alaska Baseball League, a wood bat college summer league. Rust is playing for the Peninsula Oilers as the every day right field starter. Rust is batting .368 and is second on the team with 15 RBIs. Rust also participated in the 2011 Home Run Derby and All-Star Game.

bleedCrimson.net: What has your experience been like this summer being up here in Alaska?
Tanner Rust: It's been a great experience being up here in Alaska. Playing football the past two summers in 110 degree heat in New Mexico, then up to here, it's a lot cooler than where I'm from. Then hopefully we got to Wichita and it'll be hot there too.

bc.net: How has the transition been from playing football and baseball in high school to basically not playing baseball for two years and then starting up this past spring with the Aggie baseball team.
TR: It took a while to get back in the swing of things. My swing is starting to feel good and I'm really starting to get comfortable playing baseball again. I'm really enjoying it.

bc.net: What are some of the differences in what you have to do to get ready fitness-wise between football and baseball.
TR: Football-wise, last summer around this time we were doing 16 110-yard springs, working out every day and it's a lot more physical. It's mental playing quarterback too but not as much as baseball. Baseball is a lot more of a mental sport and you don't have to be running 110-yard sprints all the time.  Continue Reading This Post >>