Friday, February 13
Nacogdoches, TX
2:00 P.M.
Stephen F. Austin
vs
Mississippi Valley State
Photo by: Elysa Ripley
Jacks are Back: SFA Baseball Opens ’26 Season with Mississippi Valley State
2/12/2026 6:16:00 PM | Baseball
Year two under Matt Vanderburg begins at home as Jacks take on Delta Devils in four-game series from Pilgrim’s Park
NACOGDOCHES, Texas – Year two of the Matt Vanderburg era of Stephen F. Austin baseball begins on Friday afternoon as the first half of a four-game season-opening series with Mississippi Valley State is on tap from Pilgrim's Park. Following Friday's doubleheader, the Jacks and Delta Devils are scheduled for 1 p.m. single games on Saturday and Sunday. Live coverage links for the series are available at www.SFAjacks.com.
THE WEEKEND
SFA (0-0) vs. MVSU (0-0)
Friday | 2 p.m. DH
Saturday | 1 p.m.
Sunday | 1 p.m.
PURCHASE TICKETS
LIVE COVERAGE
Watch: ESPN+
PxP: Alex Del Barrio; Color: Stuart Paul
Stats: Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4
YEAR ONE UNDER VANDERBURG
2025 Season Statistics
--- The Jacks won 18 games last spring with half of those coming in Southland Conference play. SFA closed the season on a four-game winning streak and won five of their final six games, which included taking two of three at McNeese and a series sweep of Incarnate Word, to wrap up its home slate at 11-11.
THE RECENT SERIES
--- The Jacks and Delta Devils meet for the first time since 2017 (March 28) when SFA beat MVSU 8-2 at Pilgrim's Park. Prior to that meeting, Mississippi Valley beat the Jacks 4-3 in a 2009 meeting (Feb. 21) in Monroe, Louisiana.
DELTA DEVILS DOCKET
2025 Season Statistics
--- The Delta Devils won a dozen games in 2025 and finished 7-23 in the Southwestern Athletic Conference. Among the returning players for MVSU in '26 is senior infielder Tanner Aoki who was named a preseason all-conference performer by the SWAC and Perfect Game. Aoki led the Diamond Devils in games played (41), walks (27) and steals (19) and is the top returner from the 2025 squad in at bats (127), hits (45), runs scored (36) and multi-hit games (11).
A LOOK BACK, STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
--- In 2025, the Lumberjacks slashed .271/.373/.392. Powered by Cermodrick Bland, the Jacks led the SLC in stolen bases per game (1.51) and rated second in total thefts (74). Additionally, SFA held top five SLC marks in fielding percentage (.970), sacrifice bunts (21) and fewest walks allowed per nine (4.30). As a pitching staff, SFA's 7.22 K/9 rated as the sixth-best single-season effort in program history and the club issued the seventh-fewest walks in a single campaign. SFA's offensive totals in on-base percentage (.373), walks (225), triples (10), hit-by-pitch (56) and stolen bases (74) all land inside the top 10 all-time in a single season.
IN THE MIX
--- Ten of SFA's SLC losses in 2025 were by three or fewer runs with five one-run defeats. Overall, the Jacks lost a dozen games by two or fewer runs.
GAME ONE, GAME WON?
--- SFA eyes its first win in a season opener since knocking off Northwestern State in the first game of the 2022 campaign.
ROSTER BREAKDOWN
--- The Jacks return 19 players from the 2025 roster which includes a near-even mix of pitchers (9) and position players (10). Among the two dozen newcomers, 13 are position players, while 11 new arms join the pitching staff. Thirty-two players call the Lone Star State home.
ALL ABOUT THE JACKS
--- Highlighting the return of Lumberjacks rostered in Vanderburg's first season include the 2025 Southland Conference Freshman of the Year in Cermodrick Bland, two-time SLC Pitcher of the Week last spring in Cody Templeton, one of the Southland's top power hitters in Josh Ibe and the Jacks' '25 hits leader Julian Swift.
Bland, a Nacogdoches native, led the team with a .356 batting average, the sixth highest in the SLC, and was second with an OPS of .913. He rated second in the SLC in total stolen bags with two dozen, while his per game rate of .63 led the league and rated 31st nationally. Bland stole at least one base in each of his final 13 games of the year, which included an SFA-record six stolen bases on April 19 against Nicholls. Bland starts the spring on a seven-game hitting streak and has reached safely in his last 20 games.
Templeton led the SLC in innings pitched (87.2) during the regular season and posted a top three mark nationally in complete games with a league-best three. The Texan produced a 4.85 strikeout-to-walk ratio, the second-best in the SLC and a top 35 mark among all DI arms, and led the Southland in lowest walks per nine rate at 1.33, which ranked 11th in the country. He was named to the SLC's All-Academic Second Team last season.
Ibe recorded the league's fourth-highest slugging percentage at .675, led the Jacks in RBI (46), doubles (10), walks (29), total bases (106) and home runs (14) which stand as the sixth-most in a single season in program history. He also led SFA in multi-RBI games with 13 and begins the season on a 24-game reached base safely streak.
Swift collected a team-leading 56 hits a season ago, behind a team-best 17 multi-hit games, while becoming the toughest to strike out in the Southland with a 17.4 AB-to-K mark. That effort ranked seventh in all of Division I last spring and he rated third nationally in the statistic among players with 170+ at bats. He enters the '26 season on a 13-game hitting streak and has reached safely in 13 games: the third-longest active streak among the Jacks.
Additionally, Mark Henning returns for the Lumberjacks after slashing .277/.389/.404. He led the team in hit-by-pitch with 11 and rated among the top three Jacks in hits (46), doubles (8), multi-hit games (14), walks (22), total bases (67), RBI (31) and multi-RBI games (8). Henning joined Swift inside the league's top 10 of toughest hitters to strike out with an AB-to-K mark of 8.7, seventh highest in the SLC.
Among the new faces in Nacogdoches, and ones headed for an immediate impact at the dish, include middle infielders Coby DeJesus and Rodric Black and catcher Jhett Creel.
DeJesus, a native of nearby Diboll, joins the Jacks after a successful run at Houston. DeJesus played in 91 games over three seasons with the Cougars. His older brother Eric played four years for the Jacks. Black meets back up with Vanderburg after the two spent time together at West Texas A&M where the former played in 99 games slashing .309/.365/.449 in two seasons with the Buffs. Creel joins the Jacks from Northern Oklahoma-Enid where in 116 career games for the Jets, Creel recorded 154 hits, 58 for extra bases, with 107 RBI and a collective on-base percentage of .523.
Among the arms back for SFA in '26 include Jack James (21 App.), Elian Balmaceda (18 App.) and Dylan Mulcahy (10 starts) who all totaled north of 30.0 innings pitched last season. Mulcahy's 42.2 IP are second among returning arms as are his 48 strikeouts. Balmaceda led the team in saves with four and added 31 strikeouts in 36.0 IP. James owns the most appearances among returning arms with 21. Reid Bowyer won four games, all in relief, for the Jacks in '25.
The Jacks beefed up the pitching staff in the offseason. First-year arms Nate Vidlak, Gage Elliott, Aiden Ennis, Gabe LeBlanc, Adrian Rubio and Nate Bergeron are among the new Jacks that will see the mound in '26.
Vidlak, the younger brother of former SFA standout quarterback Sam Vidlak, joins from The College of Idaho where he won eight games and collected a save over three seasons and 145.0 innings of work. Elliott went 10-2 with a save over 78.1 innings in 15 appearances with 13 starts last spring for Carl Albert State. Ennis was an NJCAA All-Region 11 performer after a 3-1 record with a team-best four saves in 19 appearances. LeBlanc threw for Division II Texas A&M-Kingsville last spring starting ten games totaling 54.1 innings. Rubio pitched for three seasons at Division II Eastern New Mexico staking claim to nine wins and three saves with 152 strikeouts in 158.0 innings pitched. Bergeron appeared in 14 games in his lone season at Coastal Bend College tallying 59.0 innings pitched with 55 punch outs.
UP NEXT
Following the season-opening series, the Jacks welcome in NAIA Huston Tillotson on Tuesday, February 17. Next weekend, SFA hits the road for the first time as a four-game series awaits at Arkansas-Pine Bluff. The series is currently scheduled for February 20-22 with the series DH set for Saturday, February 21. Live coverage links will be available at www.SFAjacks.com.
SECURE YOUR SEATS TODAY
Single game tickets for all SFA baseball home games are available now. Fans interested in purchasing season ticket packages can secure their seats here. Don't miss out on all the exciting action from Pilgrim's Park this season!
THE 'JACKS HAVE GONE MOBILE
SFA Athletics' newest mobile phone application is designed to bring Lumberjack fans closer to the action than ever before. Available now on both the App Store and Google Play, the new SFA Athletics app delivers schedules, scores, rosters, news, ticket access, and exclusive content right to your phone. Fans can also receive push notifications, so they never miss a moment of the action. Download now: Official SFA Athletics App.
FOLLOW THE JACKS
For all the latest information on SFA baseball, visit SFAjacks.com. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow the Jacks on X, Instagram and Facebook.
THE WEEKEND
SFA (0-0) vs. MVSU (0-0)
Friday | 2 p.m. DH
Saturday | 1 p.m.
Sunday | 1 p.m.
PURCHASE TICKETS
LIVE COVERAGE
Watch: ESPN+
PxP: Alex Del Barrio; Color: Stuart Paul
Stats: Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4
YEAR ONE UNDER VANDERBURG
2025 Season Statistics
--- The Jacks won 18 games last spring with half of those coming in Southland Conference play. SFA closed the season on a four-game winning streak and won five of their final six games, which included taking two of three at McNeese and a series sweep of Incarnate Word, to wrap up its home slate at 11-11.
THE RECENT SERIES
--- The Jacks and Delta Devils meet for the first time since 2017 (March 28) when SFA beat MVSU 8-2 at Pilgrim's Park. Prior to that meeting, Mississippi Valley beat the Jacks 4-3 in a 2009 meeting (Feb. 21) in Monroe, Louisiana.
DELTA DEVILS DOCKET
2025 Season Statistics
--- The Delta Devils won a dozen games in 2025 and finished 7-23 in the Southwestern Athletic Conference. Among the returning players for MVSU in '26 is senior infielder Tanner Aoki who was named a preseason all-conference performer by the SWAC and Perfect Game. Aoki led the Diamond Devils in games played (41), walks (27) and steals (19) and is the top returner from the 2025 squad in at bats (127), hits (45), runs scored (36) and multi-hit games (11).
A LOOK BACK, STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
--- In 2025, the Lumberjacks slashed .271/.373/.392. Powered by Cermodrick Bland, the Jacks led the SLC in stolen bases per game (1.51) and rated second in total thefts (74). Additionally, SFA held top five SLC marks in fielding percentage (.970), sacrifice bunts (21) and fewest walks allowed per nine (4.30). As a pitching staff, SFA's 7.22 K/9 rated as the sixth-best single-season effort in program history and the club issued the seventh-fewest walks in a single campaign. SFA's offensive totals in on-base percentage (.373), walks (225), triples (10), hit-by-pitch (56) and stolen bases (74) all land inside the top 10 all-time in a single season.
IN THE MIX
--- Ten of SFA's SLC losses in 2025 were by three or fewer runs with five one-run defeats. Overall, the Jacks lost a dozen games by two or fewer runs.
GAME ONE, GAME WON?
--- SFA eyes its first win in a season opener since knocking off Northwestern State in the first game of the 2022 campaign.
ROSTER BREAKDOWN
--- The Jacks return 19 players from the 2025 roster which includes a near-even mix of pitchers (9) and position players (10). Among the two dozen newcomers, 13 are position players, while 11 new arms join the pitching staff. Thirty-two players call the Lone Star State home.
ALL ABOUT THE JACKS
--- Highlighting the return of Lumberjacks rostered in Vanderburg's first season include the 2025 Southland Conference Freshman of the Year in Cermodrick Bland, two-time SLC Pitcher of the Week last spring in Cody Templeton, one of the Southland's top power hitters in Josh Ibe and the Jacks' '25 hits leader Julian Swift.
Bland, a Nacogdoches native, led the team with a .356 batting average, the sixth highest in the SLC, and was second with an OPS of .913. He rated second in the SLC in total stolen bags with two dozen, while his per game rate of .63 led the league and rated 31st nationally. Bland stole at least one base in each of his final 13 games of the year, which included an SFA-record six stolen bases on April 19 against Nicholls. Bland starts the spring on a seven-game hitting streak and has reached safely in his last 20 games.
Templeton led the SLC in innings pitched (87.2) during the regular season and posted a top three mark nationally in complete games with a league-best three. The Texan produced a 4.85 strikeout-to-walk ratio, the second-best in the SLC and a top 35 mark among all DI arms, and led the Southland in lowest walks per nine rate at 1.33, which ranked 11th in the country. He was named to the SLC's All-Academic Second Team last season.
Ibe recorded the league's fourth-highest slugging percentage at .675, led the Jacks in RBI (46), doubles (10), walks (29), total bases (106) and home runs (14) which stand as the sixth-most in a single season in program history. He also led SFA in multi-RBI games with 13 and begins the season on a 24-game reached base safely streak.
Swift collected a team-leading 56 hits a season ago, behind a team-best 17 multi-hit games, while becoming the toughest to strike out in the Southland with a 17.4 AB-to-K mark. That effort ranked seventh in all of Division I last spring and he rated third nationally in the statistic among players with 170+ at bats. He enters the '26 season on a 13-game hitting streak and has reached safely in 13 games: the third-longest active streak among the Jacks.
Additionally, Mark Henning returns for the Lumberjacks after slashing .277/.389/.404. He led the team in hit-by-pitch with 11 and rated among the top three Jacks in hits (46), doubles (8), multi-hit games (14), walks (22), total bases (67), RBI (31) and multi-RBI games (8). Henning joined Swift inside the league's top 10 of toughest hitters to strike out with an AB-to-K mark of 8.7, seventh highest in the SLC.
Among the new faces in Nacogdoches, and ones headed for an immediate impact at the dish, include middle infielders Coby DeJesus and Rodric Black and catcher Jhett Creel.
DeJesus, a native of nearby Diboll, joins the Jacks after a successful run at Houston. DeJesus played in 91 games over three seasons with the Cougars. His older brother Eric played four years for the Jacks. Black meets back up with Vanderburg after the two spent time together at West Texas A&M where the former played in 99 games slashing .309/.365/.449 in two seasons with the Buffs. Creel joins the Jacks from Northern Oklahoma-Enid where in 116 career games for the Jets, Creel recorded 154 hits, 58 for extra bases, with 107 RBI and a collective on-base percentage of .523.
Among the arms back for SFA in '26 include Jack James (21 App.), Elian Balmaceda (18 App.) and Dylan Mulcahy (10 starts) who all totaled north of 30.0 innings pitched last season. Mulcahy's 42.2 IP are second among returning arms as are his 48 strikeouts. Balmaceda led the team in saves with four and added 31 strikeouts in 36.0 IP. James owns the most appearances among returning arms with 21. Reid Bowyer won four games, all in relief, for the Jacks in '25.
The Jacks beefed up the pitching staff in the offseason. First-year arms Nate Vidlak, Gage Elliott, Aiden Ennis, Gabe LeBlanc, Adrian Rubio and Nate Bergeron are among the new Jacks that will see the mound in '26.
Vidlak, the younger brother of former SFA standout quarterback Sam Vidlak, joins from The College of Idaho where he won eight games and collected a save over three seasons and 145.0 innings of work. Elliott went 10-2 with a save over 78.1 innings in 15 appearances with 13 starts last spring for Carl Albert State. Ennis was an NJCAA All-Region 11 performer after a 3-1 record with a team-best four saves in 19 appearances. LeBlanc threw for Division II Texas A&M-Kingsville last spring starting ten games totaling 54.1 innings. Rubio pitched for three seasons at Division II Eastern New Mexico staking claim to nine wins and three saves with 152 strikeouts in 158.0 innings pitched. Bergeron appeared in 14 games in his lone season at Coastal Bend College tallying 59.0 innings pitched with 55 punch outs.
UP NEXT
Following the season-opening series, the Jacks welcome in NAIA Huston Tillotson on Tuesday, February 17. Next weekend, SFA hits the road for the first time as a four-game series awaits at Arkansas-Pine Bluff. The series is currently scheduled for February 20-22 with the series DH set for Saturday, February 21. Live coverage links will be available at www.SFAjacks.com.
SECURE YOUR SEATS TODAY
Single game tickets for all SFA baseball home games are available now. Fans interested in purchasing season ticket packages can secure their seats here. Don't miss out on all the exciting action from Pilgrim's Park this season!
THE 'JACKS HAVE GONE MOBILE
SFA Athletics' newest mobile phone application is designed to bring Lumberjack fans closer to the action than ever before. Available now on both the App Store and Google Play, the new SFA Athletics app delivers schedules, scores, rosters, news, ticket access, and exclusive content right to your phone. Fans can also receive push notifications, so they never miss a moment of the action. Download now: Official SFA Athletics App.
FOLLOW THE JACKS
For all the latest information on SFA baseball, visit SFAjacks.com. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow the Jacks on X, Instagram and Facebook.
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