Baseball roster sees 25 new players ahead of 2025 season 

The UCCS baseball roster saw a changeup during the offseason, resulting in 20 returning players and 25 newcomers for the upcoming 2025 season. 

Several Mountain Lions who have received year-end RMAC honors are returning for the 2025 season. Redshirt senior Vander Hodges was awarded the Golden Glove, the second year in a row that a UCCS short stop received the honor. The 2023 Golden Glove winner Ronan Hella is also returning this season. Redshirt senior Hayden Iverson was given an honorable mention in 2024. 

Graduate infielder Caleb Stubbings will also be returning for the upcoming season. The 2025 season will be Stubbings’ fifth year with the Mountain Lions. Stubbings redshirted the 2020 and 2021 seasons but has been a critical element of each season since then. 

Stubbings started in 46 games in 2022 and all 50 games in 2023, but an injury knocked him out of competition for the start of the 2024 season. Despite the missed time, he was still able to set the team’s all-time home run record, hitting his 37th home run in April 2024. 

Graduate catcher Nolan Ackerman is one of 25 newcomers to the team. Ackerman comes to UCCS after playing two seasons at Division I Southeast Missouri State. He started in over 20 games each season. 

For the Mountain Lions to have a winning record in 2025, they must win at least 27 games of their 52-game season, barring any canceled games. The baseball team has not had a winning season since 2021. Their 16-32 overall record and 13-19 RMAC record in 2024 marked the fewest wins in a season since the program began in 2017.  

The team won three of four games during their first weekend of play in Arizona from Jan. 31 to Feb. 2. Their home opener will be held on Feb. 21 against RMAC foe Adams State in a non-conference game. Conference play will begin March 7 when they face Colorado Christian in a four-game series at home. 

Photo via The Scribe archives.