Raiders ready for home opener against Kent State

DAYTON- The Wright State baseball team (1-5) will open up the home portion of its 2026 campaign on Wednesday, February 25, as Kent State visits Nischwitz Stadium. First pitch is slated for 3 p.m.

GAME INFORMATION
Wednesday, Feb. 25 - LIVE STATS

PROJECTED STARTER
Wednesday- Chet Lax, LHP

HISTORY VS. KENT STATE
Wednesday afternoon will be the 39^th all-time meeting between Wright State and Kent State, a series the Raiders trail 15-23. The two teams met for a pair of games last season, with each team winning on its own turf. The Raiders came out on top 11-6 at Nischwitz Stadium in March before falling to the Flashes 8-9 at Schoonover Stadium in May.

SCOUTING THE GOLDEN FLASHES
Kent State enters the week at 5-2 on the season and is coming off a series win at No. 13 Tennessee last weekend. After getting walked off on Friday night, the Flashes bounced back to take game two 2-1 and the series finale 9-5.

Sawyer Solitaria has been white-hot to start the season for Kent State. The sophomore is hitting .517 with 15 hits, four home runs, and eight RBIs while collecting two Mid-American Conference Player of the Week awards.

LAST TIME OUT
Wright State was swept at Charlotte last weekend, dropping game one 3-10, game two 4-5 in extra innings, and the series finale 2-9. Hunter Warren had a good week in the middle of the Wright State order, hitting to the tune of a .400 batting average on the weekend with four hits, including a pair of solo shots on Saturday and Sunday. Warren's two homers have already surpassed his home run total from a season ago, a campaign in which he played 61 games en route to Horizon League Freshman of the Year honors. Right-hander Matthew Johnson was great out of the bullpen for the Raiders, pitching three innings of relief Friday night, allowing just one unearned run on two hits.

SCOUTING THE 2026 SQUAD
The Raidergang returns 20 players from a season ago while adding 19 newcomers (10 transfers and nine true freshmen). The squad consists of five seniors, nine juniors, nine sophomores, and 16 freshmen.

The roster features a strong in-state contingent with 54% (21 players) coming from the state of Ohio. But the Raiders also recruit well nationally, with 13 other states being represented in the roster. The other 13 states include California, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, New York, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, and West Virginia.

IRON SHARPENS IRON
Wright State will challenge itself in its non-conference schedule, with eight of its 12 opponents winning 30-plus games a season ago. The Raiders will also face off against four teams that made the NCAA Tournament in 2025, with Georgia and Tennessee each hosting a regional.

PRESEASON HYPE
D1Baseball placed four Raiders in its annual preseason positional rankings. Patrick Fultz led the bunch coming in as the 17^th-ranked third baseman. JP Peltier joined Fultz in the top 50, coming in as the 39^th-ranked first baseman. Cam Allen enters his junior campaign as the 115^th-ranked starting pitcher, and Cam Gilkerson rounds out the bunch as the #149^th-ranked outfielder.

BUY STOCK NOW
In its conference preview, D1Baseball selected a pair of Raiders to take home specialty awards in the Horizon League. JP Peltier was selected as the preseason Player of the Year, while Cam Allen was selected as the preseason Pitcher of the Year.

D1Baseball also identified 10 Raiders as top draft prospects out of the Horizon League for the 2025 and 2026 MLB Draft. Cam Allen was selected as the top prospect for the 2026 draft, along with Andrew Duncan, Griffen Paige, JP Peltier, Warren Hartzell, and Cam Gilkerson. Sophomores JJ Thompson, Abe Crall, and Malachi Paplanus were identified as top prospects for the 2027 draft.

RAIDERS RUNNING IT BACK
In the era of the transfer portal, where many teams lose so much talent year-to-year, Wright State has recruited talent and kept them in Dayton. The Raiders returned 65% of their total production from a season ago, when factored by total points (fantasy baseball points calculation done by D1Baseball), the Raiders rank ninth in total returning production. The Raidergang return 56% of their roster from a season ago, 64% of their plate appearances, and 55% of their innings pitched. Wright State has brought back six lineup mainstays from a season ago, as well as two of its three weekend starters.

HORIZON LEAGUE PRESEASON POLL
Wright State was picked atop the Horizon League preseason poll for the sixth consecutive year, receiving 24 points and four first-place votes. Milwaukee followed, voted to finish second with 18 points. Coming in third was Northern Kentucky with 12 points, closely trailed by Youngstown State with 11 points. Rounding out the poll is Oakland with 10 points and one first-place vote.

LAST SEASON REWIND
Wright State is coming off a very successful 2025 campaign. The Raiders went 40-21 en route to capturing their seventh consecutive Horizon League regular season title and fourth trip to an NCAA regional in the last five seasons. Wright State made some noise on the national stage, knocking off #1 Vanderbilt on its way to a regional final appearance before falling to Louisville.

The Raiders set a new program record in 2025, earning 16 honors in last season's Horizon League All-League Awards, headlined by Freshman of the Year Hunter Warren and Coach of the Year Alex Sogard. Warren was also named to the All-League first team and the All-Freshman team. Wright State returns four Raiders selected to the All-League first team, two selected to the second team, and all four selected to the All-Freshman team.

UP NEXT
Wright State will hit the road this weekend to take on Campbell for a three-game slate.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Cam Allen

Abe Crall

Andrew Duncan

Patrick Fultz

Cam Gilkerson

Warren Hartzell

Matthew Johnson

Chet Lax

Griffen Paige

Malachi Paplanus

JP Peltier

Hunter Warren

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