Bethune-Cookman baseball ready for tough schedule, first SWAC season

DAYTONA BEACH — Bethune-Cookman baseball coach Jonathan Hernandez only has 18 games under his belt as the manager of the Wildcats' squad.

The COVID-19 pandemic canceled the 2020 season less than a month in, and that was the last time B-CU took the field. The entire 2021 season was nixed due to the pandemic, too.

"Been a long road," Hernandez said. "Best I've been doing is going about my business, getting these kids as used to each other as possible. Building that off-field chemistry made it a bit easier when we all got together."

B-CU's long-awaited return begins over the weekend as the Wildcats host Youngstown State University at Jackie Robinson Ballpark

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The past 700 days...

Most teams returned to action last spring, but with the MEAC canceling all 2021 sports, Bethune-Cookman faced a polarizing challenge of how to continue to improve.

For Hernandez, the first focus was on his current players and getting them the experience they deserved. He sent a handful of players off to join junior colleges across the country.

"It was all about getting them the playing time they felt they were getting snubbed from," Hernandez said. "The possibility of losing them for good was there, but it was more important they got an opportunity to play."

Among the returners this year is Matthew Garcia, who played the 2021 season with Chipola College.

"Those lessons and experiences were invaluable to my growth," he said. "Sure, we would have liked to have spent that year together as a single unit, but what we all learned from our different teams is sort of a blessing in disguise."

Schedule outlook

Along with a new SWAC slate, the Wildcats' non-conference schedule this year includes four top-25 programs — LSU, Florida, Miami and Florida State — along with three games against Stetson.

"We have to play the best to be the best," Hernandez said. "That was a point of emphasis I wanted to make for the year. Get these guys in front of tough teams and environments to get them ready for anything."

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: College baseball: Bethune-Cookman baseball ready for first year in SWAC