Conway, Ark.- There is a lot about the 2023 Warriors to be excited about. Head coach RJ Thomas and his staff have added a number of key pieces to the lineup and the bullpen in this year's recruiting class in addition to returning the vast majority of the team's starters from last year's 29-win Warriors team.
 
"It's always going to start on the mound," said Thomas when asked what he was most excited about with this group. All three of last year's weekend starters, Jack Hodgins, Andrei Stoyanow, and David Blackburn, have returned to the staff after having one of the most dominant seasons in program history. Along with the return of his starters, Coach Thomas remarked "the exciting thing about this year's group is that we're deeper. We are more talented in some positions and I think we've filled some holes offensively."
 
The freshman class is particularly eye-catching with the addition of some players who may have an opportunity to make an impact immediately. "[The freshmen] have some opportunities to play some big roles," said Thomas of the incoming talent. The freshman class includes some stellar left-handed hitters as well as a few players who provide a significant defensive edge. Some freshman position players to look out for: Austin Rabago, Shaun Pope, Caleb Ougel, Daniel and David Ripple, and Grayson Devine.
 
Left-Handed Pitcher Bryson Bales, a sophomore transfer from Louisiana Tech, "has a chance to be a really big addition" to an already stacked Warriors pitching staff, according to Thomas. Not only does Bales throw a fastball consistently in the 90s, but he compliments his hard-running fastball with a firm, hard-breaking slider and a very deceptive delivery.    
 
Coach Thomas is also very optimistic about the team's fielding: "defensively I think we are in a lot better of a spot than we were last year." This is due in part to the additions of some savvy infielders in the freshman class like Rabago, Devine, and Ripple, but it can be credited to the work that the Warrior coaching staff has put into the team's defensive ability. "For the returners, it's their second year in the system, so they know what to expect on a daily basis," said Thomas.
 
With as much depth as the Warriors have, the coaches won't have an easy task making a lineup. There are so many players who have the talent to make a serious impact that "we could have a starting lineup with seven out of nine being left-handed hitters, or a lineup with all nine hitters being right-handed," remarked Coach Thomas. The competition among the players for opportunities is very tough, and this is by the design of Coach Thomas and his staff because they "want their hardest competition to be at practice." Assistant coach JD Pulfer keeps a depth chart in his office that the staff updates daily. "It's going to be a grind for guys to get opportunities," commented Coach Thomas, "but with the number of JV games we have scheduled, guys will get plenty of reps to show what they can do."
 
The Warriors' schedule this season is markedly different from previous years with the addition of a number of games against ranked opponents such as midweek games against #21 East Texas Baptist University and a bout with #6 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater in Pensacola, Florida. Stated plainly by Coach Thomas, "we wanted to add clubs that are going to be 25 or 30-win teams to give us that challenge early in the year." Prior to beginning Southern Athletic Association play, the Warriors will square off against a number of solid programs. Bellhaven gave the Warriors some trouble in a midweek doubleheader last year, and Washington University in St. Louis has traditionally put together some very spectacular teams, with two players being drafted from their 2021 team. East Texas Baptist University has flirted with the rankings a number of times over the last five seasons, and this year's Tigers squad may be one of the best in program history. "I think our two games against ETBU will be crucial in seeing how we can handle teams like that," commented Coach Thomas about the Tigers. The Warriors will also face a very strong University of Wisconsin-Whitewater team in the Studer's Blue Wahoo Challenge. The Eagles are ranked #6 currently just behind Southern Athletic Association opponent #4 Birmingham-Southern.
 
Once they enter SAA play, the Warriors will be faced with some very competent teams from week one of conference all the way to the conference tournament. Most of the teams in the conference returned the majority of their starters because many were eligible for a 5th year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Each opponent certainly has some key additions in their recruiting classes, but SAA opponents feature the same players. "If you look at what Kellen Greer has done at Oglethorpe, I think those guys became a really solid club last year," Thomas added "Birmingham-Southern, Rhodes, and Berry are always good, and Millsaps, with the changes they made this past season will be a force to be reckoned with." Top to bottom, this year's Southern Athletic Association may have arguably the most talent that the league has seen since its inception.
 
Coming off of the second-winningest season in program history, having returned most of their talent, and adding some very key pieces, this 2023 Warriors team looks sharper than any Warriors team in recent memory.