By Teziah Howard / The Jambar
The start of the 2025 season has the Youngstown State University baseball team traveling to Waco, Texas for a three-day competition against Baylor University. The first game is set to begin at 4 p.m Feb. 14.
The team looks to rewrite the script and improve on last season, when it lost 44 games. The Penguins finished last season with a 9-21 record in the Horizon League.
YSU opens its seasons back-to-back in Texas. In 2024, Youngstown State faced Texas State University for a three-day competition. The Bobcats fired on all cylinders and dominated the Penguins in the first matchup, with a score of 20-2.
Although the second and third matchup did not hold as much scoring for Texas State, the outcome remained in the Bobcats’ favor. Texas State won its second game over Youngstown State 6-1 and won the third 11-1.
Despite a losing season last year, the Penguins received several preseason accolades for 2025. Seniors Kyle Fossum and Jacob Gehring were each named to Perfect Game’s Horizon League Preseason All-Conference Team.
Gehring was named First-Team All-Horizon League selection as a junior in 2024. Fossum, in his first year as a Penguin, is not alone as YSU added 21 newcomers to the roster since the 2024 season.
Fossum played over 30 games and made 14 starts at the University of Washington, before he found his home in northeast Ohio. The team will look to its veterans for leadership as the Penguins return 19 players to the program.
The Penguins added another newcomer, who is now at the helm of the YSU baseball team. First-year Head Coach Trevor Charpie is a former minor league pitcher who previously coached at Golden West College.
In an interview with ysusports.com, Sharpie expressed his gratitude to his background for shaping the opportunity to lead the team.
“I am so blessed and grateful to be named head baseball coach at Youngstown State University,” Charpie stated. “I would like to thank all the coaches and players I have had the chance to be alongside and who have helped me reach this point.”
As Youngstown State gears up for the start of its season, some Penguins may be gearing up for the next level after collegiate sports.
The YSU baseball team has six athletes ranked amongst the top MLB draft prospects in the Horizon League by Perfect Game USA.
Redshirt senior JJ Tylicki was ranked the Horizon League’s No. 2 prospect. Joining him in the top 15 was Gehring and Fossum at No. 10 and No. 12, respectively.
The Penguins rounded out the top 25 with junior Brayden Kuriger and redshirt junior Garrett Cutting, who ranked No. 17 and No. 25, respectively. Freshman Tyler Heflin was listed as the No. 1 draft prospect for the class of 2027.
After the three-game series against Baylor, the Penguins will travel back to Texas the following week to face Abilene Christian University for a four-game series. The team will not see a home game until the middle of March.
The series against Baylor will be televised on ESPN+.