Expectations high for Gaston College as 2024 season gets underway this weekend
After two seasons of 91 victories, more than 30 eventual four-year collegians and a National Junior College Athletic Association World Series appearance, what can Gaston College's baseball program do for an encore?
If you ask coach Shohn Doty, it's to keep on keeping on as the 2024 begins with high expectations and a challenging schedule that starts on Saturday with a 1 p.m. doubleheader against Guilford Tech at Gastonia's Sims Legion Park.
"Every year is different and you've got to make your kids understand that what happened in the past is irrelevant," Doty said. "But at the same time you want to build on what's happened before.
"That first year team got us to last year and it got us to the World Series. Now it's incumbent upon these guys to take it to the next level because we have to understand the level of expectation that we've built here.
"Guys have come and gone and left behind traditions that we need to honor and build upon. Our goal is to continue to get better and continue to try and push the program forward."
Nine players return from the 50-13 team that set history with a Region 10 tournament and NJCAA East District title last season.
Those returnees along with 30 newcomers comprise the Rhinos' 2024 roster.
As in the previous two years, Doty's roster build starts with pitching and Gaston College will again have a deep rotation.
"I'm not sure the roles are defined yet or will be defined for another few weeks," Doty said. "We'll start (newcomers) Mason Smith and Calvert Clark and Connor Frail this weekend."
Smith (Campbell) and Clark (Appalachian State) are already college signees with Frail a talented freshman out of Winston-Salem Reynolds High School.
Each starter will be limited to predetermined pitch counts and Doty envisions giving "as many as 12 guys" a chance to pitch this weekend, among them weekend starting pitcher candidates like returnee Landon Carr and newcomers Wagner Morrissette, Jason Johnson and Evan Vandenbosch.
"It's the same offensively," Doty said. "We'll try to get 12 or 13 guys some at bats and opportunities and try to get them prepared."
Returnee Seth Christmas is the projected starter at catcher with newcomers Nick Lundquist and Ethan McNally as backups.
At first base, returnee and North Carolina A&T signee Freddie Oliver and newcomer Brandon Crabtree are competing for playing time.
At second base, returnee Andrew Muraco and newcomer Jackson Berini have been working out at the position.
The left side of the infield will be third baseman Trevor Lucas and shortstop Caleb Estes.
And the outfield candidates are newcomer and Campbell signee Ben Karpowicz and newcomer Tyler Burke in left field, newcomers Justin Smith and Trent Murchison in centerfield and newcomer Sean Sullivan in right field.
"We're really excited about the season," said Doty, whose team hosts No. 5 nationally-ranked Walters State on Feb. 2 in a 1 p.m. doubleheader. "We're No. 14 in the NJCAA preseason poll and we've got some big challenges. We're looking at some really big opportunities early to test our guys and see where we're at.
"The goals are the same as before: Win 40 games, win Region 10, win the Eastern district and go to the World Series."
Gaston College also will look to increase their unique, unprecedented streak for a school at any level of college baseball. Before discontinuing athletics at the school in the spring of 1972, Gaston College had won four straight North Carolina Community College Conference championships.
Since the Rhinos won the NJCAA Division II Region 10 West division regular season title in 2022 and won the Region 10 tournament title in 2023, the school is believed to the be the first in U.S. collegiate history to maintain a streak of consecutive league titles after discontinuing its program.