REBELS CONTINUE MW SCHEDULE AT SDSU THIS WEEKEND
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The UNLV baseball team are set to continue the Mountain West conference schedule this weekend with a trip west to play San Diego State.
SCHEDULE (PST)
Friday, Mar. 28 at 6 p.m.
Saturday, Mar. 29 at 4 p.m.
Sunday, Mar. 30 at 12 p.m.
TICKETS: Fans can get their tickets this weekend’s game at https://tinyurl.com/muptsawx.
MATCHUP HISTORY
Overall vs. San Diego State: 76-102
In San Diego: 29-44
Current Streak: UNLV, 1
Last Meeting: The Rebels claimed the season series 2-1 in San Diego off the 9-2 win.
BROADCAST INFO: The official livestream for the weekend will be broadcasted on the Mountain West Network. Links to broadcasts as well as live stats are available on unlvrebels.com/sports/baseball/schedule.
THIS SEASON: The Hustlin’ Rebels have been able to produce four batters with a batting average of .350 or higher through the halfway point of the season; Dean Toigo (.383), Gunnar Myro (.365), Cole Koniarsky (.359) and JP Hefft (.356) representing the highest averages. The quad represents several of the top 15 spots in the Mountain West leaderboard for those marks, ranking third, eighth, 13th and 15th in the previously-mentioned order.
UNLV holds several other top marks within the conference, Dean Toigo being the standalone leader in the Mountain West in RBIs and sharing the top spot in home runs. His home run total after last weekend sits at eight, his mark in RBIs being 32. Toigo & Hefft have garnered top-three rankings in hits among their conference peers, tying second with 36 on the season as Cooper Sheff overtakes the conference-leading spot in runs (28).
Sophomore starter Carson Lane leads the Rebels with 36 K’s of his own, currently ranked third in the Mountain West. Lane’s latest starts have held him inside the conference’s top-five ERA marks so far in the season, notching the fifth-place spot on a 3.82 note.
The Hustlin’ Rebels have collected three Mountain West weekly honors so far this season, Sheff owning two Freshman honors and Lane picking up his first Pitcher award last week. UNLV’s last set were after claiming the season series over Fresno State 2-1, Lane and Sheff dualed as Pitcher & Freshman of the Week. Lane pitched eight innings for UNLV’s first combined no-hitter since 2003, Sheff batting .467 in the four-game stretch with six runs. Lane’s performance also netted him national honors, being selected as the College Baseball Foundations’ National Pitcher of the Week on 3/25/25.
ABOUT THE OPPONENTS: The Aztecs have several threats among their lineup to claim multiple bases at once, Nevan Noonan tied for second-place in the Mountain West in doubles alongside Drew Rutter, Jake Jackson and Zane Kelly all sitting in a three-way tie for second in triples. San Diego State’s most efficient batter stands as CJ Moran, owning a .365 batting average on the season with 27 hits in 74 at bats.
The Hustlin’ Rebels will look to exploit San Diego State’s pitching, the bullpen having a team ERA of 7.33 after the first couple weekends of conference play. The Aztecs will look to hold the Rebel bats at bay via strikeout, owning the top mark in the league as a team in strikeouts with 217 on the season.
NEW FOR 2025: The Rebels feature 23 newcomers wearing the Scarlet & Gray heading into the new season, three of those student-athletes being marked as true freshman on the roster and 20 transferring to Las Vegas.
Of those 20 transfers, the Scarlet & Gray have two pairs of student-athletes to the roster arriving from the same institution, including Nicky Garritano and Michael Cruz from CSN.The duo helped lead the Coyotes to become on of the premiere JUCO programs, Garritano earning the 2024 NJCAA DI Baseball Defensive Player of the Year honor. Also being a two-time NJCAA DI Baseball ABCA & Rawlings Gold Glove recipient, both him and Cruz hold multiple All-Region selections in Region 18.
A few of UNLV’s fresh faces earned some time on the diamond during the Rebels’ scrimmage last weekend, the team having plenty of options to utilize throughout the season.Senior outfielder Dean Toigo led Hope International to their first-ever win in the Avista NAIA World Series as Toigo drove in two runs during the contest. Dwight Allen II was part of the 2022 Georgia squad that advanced to the NCAA Regional after appearing in 42 games that season and Colton Sundloff owns postseason experience from his time at Oklahoma pitching in the NCAA Super Regional.
Of the Rebel freshman trio, two arrive from California and Carl LaGrone coming from McQueen High School in Las Vegas. LaGrone ranked as the top LHP in Nevada, according to PerfectGame.com, Demetriz Lewis earning an All-Tournament nod after his performance in the 17U National Championship. Coming from Clovis North High School in Fresno (Calif.), Jayden Hertel picked up First Team All-TRAC recognition as a senior.
UNLV was voted tied for fourth in the Mountain West Preseason Poll prior to the start of the season, tied with New Mexico and San Diego State. The Rebels earned a first-place team vote during the poll, Paul Myro IV claiming All-Mountain West Preseason Team honors.