Bethune-Cookman baseball off to 3-1 start: 5 players aiming to lead Wildcats to SWAC title

DAYTONA BEACH — Quite a few names have changed for Bethune-Cookman's baseball team — specifically four of the top five hitters in the order, its starting pitcher and its high-leverage reliever from last year's SWAC Championship defeat to Florida A&M.

The end goal, however, remains the same for Wildcats coach Jonathan Hernandez: contend for the conference crown, and qualify for the NCAA tournament.

"We had to be able to revamp what our starting pitching was going to look like and also the bullpen," Hernandez said. "We wanted to add a little more power (in the lineup) this year, and I think we did that. One of the things I think we're going to be this year is a lot more athletic.

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"We had to navigate a lot of challenges but, at the end of the day, I'm very pleased with how the team's been from the fall and heading into (2024)."

So far, so good for the Wildcats. They started the campaign this week with three wins in their first four games, twice defeating Stonehill and adding a mid-week triumph over Florida International at the Jack on Tuesday night.

In the SWAC preseason media poll, Bethune-Cookman was picked to finish second in the East division behind Alabama State, receiving four of 16 first-place votes.

Here are five B-CU players expected to have leading roles in the team's attempt to return to regionals.

Tanner Boccabello

Chosen as the Friday night starter, Boccabello fit the billing of a staff ace in his B-CU debut.

The 6-foot, 190-pound junior right-hander tossed seven scoreless innings, allowing seven hits and recording seven strikeouts without issuing a walk. Boccabello, a Tampa native, pitched more than 100 innings the previous two seasons at the JUCO level, with St. Johns River State and then St. Petersburg College.

"(He's got) a three-pitch mix. He's going to pitch 91-93 (fastball mph) with the ability to punch people out," Hernandez said. "He has the ability to be just as good as Nolan was for us the last couple of years."

Boccabello inherits the Friday night role from Nolan Santos, who was selected in the seventh round of last July's MLB draft by the Minnesota Twins. Santos was B-CU's first drafted player since 2019, and its highest since 2016.

Garrett Chun

The Wildcats' everyday left fielder, Chun has proven a tough out in the early going. He has already compiled 6 hits in 13 at-bats, drawn six walks, stolen four bases and driven in six runs.

Chun posted a .308 batting average with an .819 OPS as a junior, smacking 16 doubles and scoring 50 runs. He was one of five position players to start at least 55 of B-CU's 60 games in 2023.

Fellow returner Manny Souffrain also enjoyed a productive opening weekend, going 4 for 7 with a double, four RBIs and six runs scored.

Daniel Gaviria

Hernandez opted to leave senior left-hander Gaviria, the SWAC's Preseason Pitcher of the Year, in his familiar Sunday starting spot with the mission of securing as many series wins, or sweeps, as possible.

"That's the name of the game. If we want to achieve our goal, we have to take care of business on weekends," Hernandez added. "Gaviria's just one piece to all this, but I'm very confident in all the other guys that we have in our starting rotation and I think this is the deepest bullpen we've had since I've been here."

Gaviria made 14 starts for B-CU last spring, going 5-3 with a 4.41 ERA, 49 strikeouts and 14 walks — tied for the second-lowest total among qualified arms in the SWAC. He allowed six runs in five innings against Stonehill this past weekend, although three of them were unearned.

"Over the offseason, I was picking up a slider. I think that's going to be the key pitch for me coming into the season," Gaviria said. "I'm mainly a fastball-changeup, put-it-where-I-want-it kind of guy. I think having a wipeout pitch, or a pitch that moves through different planes, will definitely make me succeed more."

Jose Gonzalez

As for the aforementioned pop, Gonzalez stands out following a pair of second-team All-Sun Conference seasons at Ave Maria. He launched 19 home runs for the Gyrenes across 106 NAIA games, slugging .659 with 120 RBIs.

"I've been enjoying it here since Day 1," Gonzalez said. "Everyone's welcomed me in like I have known them before. … Everything is fast-paced. There is always high energy, ready to work, ready to go. I think this is a school and a program that's going to put up a really good fight, especially in our conference."

Gonzalez has slotted in as B-CU's designated hitter, batting cleanup in the team's three most recent outings. He's got two hits in his first 15 at-bats, most notably his first home run as a Wildcat in the second half of Friday's doubleheader with Stonehill.

Colton Olasin

A three-year starter with more than 100 B-CU games under his belt, Olasin made a big leap at the dish in 2023. He upped his batting average by nearly 70 points (.303, compared to .238 in '22) and his slugging percentage by almost 100 (.371, up from .276).

Olasin is a steady defender at second base, as well. He maintained a .981 fielding percentage last year, making just three errors in 154 chances and having a hand in 11 double plays.

Regarded as one of the Wildcats' leaders on the field and in the clubhouse, Olasin knocked in four runs in the team's four games to date, including a pair of sacrifice flies.

"It's all about enjoying what we're doing. This never feels like a job for me, and it doesn't feel like a job for anyone else out here," Olasin said. "Us being as close as we are, it just makes it easy to give it our all and get better at what we do every single day."

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: NCAA baseball: 5 players to watch for SWAC contender Bethune-Cookman