SAN MARCOS, Calif. – This week for Cal State San Marcos Athletics, the 2020 seasons for baseball and softball will get underway while men’s basketball, women’s basketball and women’s track & field continue their seasons.
Men’s and women’s basketball will get the week started by hosting Stanislaus State on Thursday. The women’s game will begin at 5:30 p.m. while the men’s game will tip-off at 7:30 p.m. Thursday night’s promotion is B-Ball with the Board as the Cougars welcome fellow campus partners, Associated Students, Inc. (ASI). There will be free pizza and a t-shirt giveaway to the first 200 students, plus there will be contests at both games for other prizes. On Saturday, the Cougars will host Humboldt State with the women’s game scheduled for 1 p.m. and the men’s game following at 3 p.m.
Men’s basketball’s online East Bay team store is now available for a limited time. Fans will have the opportunity to buy team gear through Feb. 7.
Softball will begin its 2020 season on the road at the Concordia Irvine Kickoff Classic. On Friday, CSUSM will face Western Washington at 12:30 p.m. and host Concordia Irvine at 3 p.m. The Cougars will then face Azusa Pacific at 10 a.m. and Hawaii Pacific at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday. CSUSM will round out the first weekend of competition by facing Biola at 12:30 p.m. on Sunday. All games will take play at Great Park in Irvine.
Women’s track and field will continue its indoor season by returning to Seattle for the UW Invitational on Friday and Saturday at Dempsey Indoor. Events will begin at 1:30 p.m. on Friday and 10 a.m. on Saturday.
Baseball will start its 2020 campaign at home with a three-game series against Dixie State. Friday’s season opener will get underway at 2 p.m., and the first 100 fans will receive a free hot dog. CSUSM’s student-athlete advisory committee (S.A.A.C.) will also be on hand to collect donations for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. The action will continue on Saturday at noon before the series wraps up on Sunday at 11 a.m.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Thursday, Jan. 30 – 5:30 p.m.
RV/RV CSUSM (15-4, 10-4 CCAA) vs. Stanislaus State (11-8, 9-5 CCAA)
San Marcos, Calif. – The Sports Center
Live Stats | Watch Live
Saturday, Feb. 1 – 1 p.m.
CSUSM vs. Humboldt State (11-8, 7-7 CCAA)
San Marcos, Calif. – The Sports Center
Live Stats | Watch Live
LAST WEEK •CSUSM went 1-1 last week on the road in CCAA play.
•The Cougars’ late rally came up just short despite putting together 27 points in the fourth quarter, falling 54-50 at Sonoma State on Thursday.
•CSUSM rebounded with a monstrous 81-52 victory at San Francisco State on Saturday, tallying a season-high in points while recording the Cougars’ largest point deferential of the season at 29.
•Saturday’s 10 3-pointers against SF State was a season-best with Chloe Eackles leading the way with three.
•The Cougars notched their third season sweep with Saturday’s victory over SF State. CSUSM tallied a program-best four season sweeps last season.
•With Saturday’s win, the Cougars took sole possession of second place in the CCAA standings with UC San Diego one game ahead. Sonoma State, Stanislaus State and Cal State East Bay are in a three-way tie for third with a 9-5 conference record.
•For the ninth consecutive week, the Cougars are the NCAA Division II national leader in 3-point field-goal percentage defense, holding their opponents to 22.7%. North Georgia slipped back into second with a 24.1%.
•CSUSM boasts the highest field-goal percentage in the CCAA and 61st best nationally at 43.6%.
•Stephanie Custodio is the CCAA leader and ranks No. 29 in the nation in free-throw percentage, going 49-of-56 (87.5%).
•Emma Forel continues to lead the CCAA in field-goal percentage while ranking No. 9 nationally with 60.8% (104-of-171).
•Forel and Jon’Nae Vermillion rank third and seventh in the CCAA in rebounds per game, averaging 9.2 and 8.3, respectively.
•In the latest D2SIDA West Region Poll, the Cougars stay steady with a No. 5 ranking.
ANOTHER SHOWDOWN AGAINST STAN STATE •The Warriors knocked off CCAA leader Cal State East Bay on Saturday by a score of 57-54.
•Since the Cougars last saw the Warriors on Jan. 11, Stan State has gone 3-1 in CCAA action.
•Stan State handed CSUSM its third loss and first on the road of 2019-20, tallying a 62-55 win in Ed & Bertha Fitzpatrick Arena on Jan. 11.
•The Warriors enter Thursday’s game on a three-game win streak.
•Stan State is in a three-way tie for third in the CCAA standings, one game behind CSUSM and two games out of first place.
•The Warriors lead the CCAA and is 33rd in the nation with a 10.9 steals per game average.
•Stan State is also leading in the conference in free throws attempted (428) and made (294).
•Angelica Baylon leads the CCAA in steals per game (2.7) and is second in assists per game (4.9).
•CSUSM looks to snap a two-game losing streak against the Warriors on Thursday.
•The Cougars are 1-2 against Stan State when playing in The Sports Center.
SATURDAY AGAINST HUMBOLDT STATE •The Cougars posted a come-from-behind 59-56 overtime victory at Humboldt State on Jan. 9.
•Since last hosting the Cougars, the Lumberjacks have recorded a 2-3 conference record.
•HSU lost by six points in all three of those games.
•The Lumberjacks took down Cal State East Bay, 82-78, on Jan. 23 in Lumberjack Arena.
•All eight of HSU’s losses were by less than 10 points.
•The Jacks are third in the nation (CCAA leader) for fewest turnovers per game, averaging 11.6.
•HSU ranks last in the CCAA with 31.95 rebounds per game.
•Five Lumberjacks are averaging 30 minutes or more with CCAA leader Tyra Tuner averaging 38.3, ranking her fourth in the nation.
•Alexis Thrower is the CCAA leader with 21.1 points per game (12th nationally) and is second with 11.6 rebounds per game.
•The Cougars and Jacks are even at 5-5 in the all-time series and 2-2 when playing in The Sports Center.
•The Jacks enter the week eighth in the CCAA standings.
THE JIMENEZ FILE •Head coach Renee Jimenez enters her fifth season in charge of the Cougar women’s basketball team, a program that is only in its eighth season of existence.
•Jimenez has compiled a 186-133 (.583) in her 12 seasons coaching in the CCAA, spending two seasons at Cal State San Bernardino after a five-year stint at Cal State Monterey Bay.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Thursday, Jan. 30 – 7:30 p.m.
CSUSM (10-10, 6-8 CCAA) vs. Stanislaus State (13-6, 9-5 CCAA)
San Marcos, Calif. – The Sports Center
Live Stats | Watch Live
Saturday, Feb. 1 – 3 p.m.
CSUSM vs. Humboldt State (7-12, 3-11 CCAA)
San Marcos, Calif. – The Sports Center
Live Stats | Watch Live
PREVIOUS WEEK •CSUSM went 2-0 this past weekend with victories on the road against Sonoma State (59-46) and San Francisco State (71-67).
•With Saturday’s win over the Gators, the Cougars earned their 10th overall win of the season – matching last season’s total.
•Khalil Fuller tallied his eighth double-double of the season in Saturday’s win with a season-high 15 rebounds to go along with 13 points. His double-double total ranks 21st nationally and second in the CCAA.
•Fuller is the conference’s leading rebounder at 8.7 per game and ranks 46th nationally.
•Jayce McCain’s assist-turnover ratio of 3.9 ranks fourth nationally and first in the conference while his 2.4 steals per game rank 10th nationally and lead the CCAA.
•CSUSM is now seventh in the CCAA standings with a 6-8 conference record.
•The Cougars have the third best field-goal percentage defense in the CCAA at 42.4% and rank 48th nationally.
•CSUSM’s 165 total steals rank 32nd in Division II.
THURSDAY AGAINST THE WARRIORS •Stan State earned home victories against Cal State Monterey Bay (57-56) and Cal State East Bay (82-78).
•The Warriors are currently fifth in the CCAA standings with a 9-5 conference record.
•Stan State is ranked 10th in the latest D2SIDA West Region Men’s Basketball Poll.
•The Warriors have the 10th-best offense in the league at 72.8 points per game and the sixth-best defense at 70.6 points allowed per game.
•Vida Faniel is Stan State’s leading scorer at 14.8 points per game.
•Xavier Francois’ 56.1 field-goal percentage leads the CCAA.
•CSUSM lost the first meeting of the season against Stan State by a score of 66-53 with Marcus Brown leading both sides with 17 points.
•The Cougars own a 5-3 lead in the all-time series against the Warriors and are 2-1 in games at The Sports Center.
•Stan State is currently on a three-game winning streak against the Cougars.
•The Warriors are 8-2 in road games this season.
SATURDAY AGAINST THE LUMBERJACKS •HSU comes into the weekend on a three-game losing streak as it suffered a pair of home losses to Cal State East Bay (85-74) and Cal State Monterey Bay (76-72) this past weekend.
•At 3-11 in conference play, the Jacks are currently 12th in the CCAA standings.
•In road games this season, HSU is 1-6.
•Leland Green is the Jacks’ leading scorer at 14.5 points per game.
•HSU has the fourth-best scoring offense in the league at 80 points per game, but they have the worst scoring defense at 83.4 points allowed per game.
•The Jacks’ field-goal percentage defense of 48.9% is the worst in the CCAA.
•CSUSM earned a 76-74 victory over HSU in the first meeting of the season on Jan. 9.
•The Cougars own a 5-4 series lead against the Jacks and are 2-2 when playing in San Marcos.
•CSUSM is on a two-game winning streak against HSU and has won three of the last four meetings.
THE FOSTER FILE •Head coach B.J. Foster enters his fourth season in charge of the CSUSM Men’s Basketball program after taking over the head position in 2016.
•Under his leadership, the Cougars advanced to the CCAA Tournament for the first time in 2017-18 after finishing the season with a 15-7 conference record and a 20-9 overall record.
•Prior to becoming head coach of the Cougars, Foster was an assistant coach with the team from 2013 to 2016.
•Foster has tallied a career record of 57-48 (.543).
SOFTBALL
CUI Kickoff Classic
Irvine, Calif. | Great Park
Live Stats | Tickets
Friday, Jan. 31
vs. Western Washington – 12:30 p.m.
vs. Concordia Irvine – 3 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 1
vs. Azusa Pacific – 10 a.m.
vs. Hawaii Pacific – 12:30 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 2
vs. Biola – 12:30 p.m.
YOUR 2020 COUGARS •The 2020 CSUSM roster will have consist four seniors, nine juniors, two sophomores and 12 freshmen.
•The Cougars return 14 from last year’s squad including All-CCAA honoree Melody Forstie.
•The 2020 recruiting class consisted of 17 new faces including two junior college transfers and two four-year university transfers.
•The Cougars finished the 2019 season with a 14-31 record (10-28 CCAA) and 10th in the CCAA standings.
•CSUSM was picked to finish 10th in the 2020 CCAA Softball Preseason Coaches Poll.
OPPONENT BREAKDOWN •This will be CSUSM’s first meeting with Western Washington.
•WWU finished its 2019 campaign with a 27-18 record, narrowly missing out on competing in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference softball tournament.
•The Cougars have a 9-20 all-time series record with Concordia Irvine with their last win over the Eagles coming in as a 1-0 victory in 2016.
•The 2019 CUI Eagles finished the season with a 47-8 record, winning the NCAA Super Regional before falling to UC San Diego in the NCAA West Super Regional.
•CSUSM boasts 13-9 lead in the all-time series against APU, winning their three of its last five games.
•The 2019 APU Cougars ended the season with a 31-17 record, finishing third in the PacWest Conference.
•The Cougars and Hawaii Pacific have only faced each other three times, once in the NCAA Division II era. The Sharks hold a 2-1 advantage in the all-time series, defeating CSUSM 15-7 last year at Tournament of Champions.
•The 2019 HPU Sharks wrapped up the season with a 31-24 record, finishing fifth in the PacWest Conference.
•CSUSM has faced Biola 34 times since 2007 with the Cougars holding a 19-15 lead in the all-time series. In their last three meetings, the Cougars have fallen by two runs or less.
•The 2019 Biola Eagles ended last year’s season at 28-17, fourth in the PacWest Conference.
THE EWING FILE •Head coach Stef Ewing enters her second season in charge of the Cougar softball season, finishing last year with a 14-31 record that included a series sweep over Cal Stat East Bay on the road.
•Ewing captured her first win as a collegiate head coach on Feb. 17th as the Cougars won 5-4 in a walk-off over Concordia Portland at CSUSM Softball Field.
•She previously served as the assistant coach at New Mexico State where she helped the Aggies to three WAC Regular Season Conference Championships and two WAC Conference Tournament Championships.
WOMEN’S INDOOR TRACK & FIELD
Friday, Jan. 31 – 1:30 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 1 – 10 a.m.
UW Invitational
Seattle, Wash. – Dempsey Indoor
Live Results | Schedule of Events
PREVIOUS MEET •The Cougars began their 2020 indoor season at the University of Washington Indoor Preview on Jan. 18.
•Clarissa Garcia broke the school record in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:14.86 – nearly five seconds faster than the previous record posted by Heidi Swanson (2:19.72) in 2011.
•Altogether, CSUSM had 12 new entries on the program’s top-10 lists across 10 different events.
COUGARS RETURN TO SEATTLE •CSUSM will once again head to Seattle to compete at the UW Invitational.
•This week’s meet will be a two-day meet spread across Friday and Saturday at Dempsey Indoor.
THE OLSON FILE •Head coach Torrey Olson begins his second season at the helm of the men’s and women’s track & field programs after taking over in the summer of 2018.
•In 2019, Olson’s men’s and women’s squads tallied three CCAA Championships for outdoor competition while the men’s team earned five All-West Region selections.
•Olson came to CSUSM after spending three seasons as the Director of Track & Field and Cross Country at the Academy of Art University where his teams earned 50-plus All-American honors.
•Olson served as the head cross country coach the previous three years at Academy of Art.
•In addition to the Academy of Art, Olson has also worked with the University of San Francisco and Pomona-Pitzer College.
•A graduate of Pomona College in 2009, Olson also holds an MFA from St. Mary’s College (2012).
BASEBALL
Friday, Jan. 31 – 2 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 1 – 12 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 2 – 11 a.m.
CSUSM (0-0) vs. RV Dixie State (0-0)
San Marcos, Calif. – CSUSM Baseball Field
Live Stats | Watch Live
SEASON OPENER AGAINST DIXIE STATE •The Cougars will take the field for the first time this season against Dixie State on Friday at CSUSM Baseball Field.
•CSUSM will be sporting a very young 33-man roster in 2020 with 17 freshmen, 10 returners and six transfers.
•By position, the Cougars will have 13 right-handed pitchers, six outfielders, six infielders, five catchers and three left-handed pitchers.
•In 2019, CSUSM finished with a record of 23-27 (19-25 CCAA) and tied for ninth in the CCAA standings.
•The Cougars were picked to finish 11th in the 2020 CCAA Baseball Preseason Coaches Poll.
•CSUSM was the only CCAA squad to hit over .300 last season as they finished the year batting .318.
•Senior catcher Andrew Garcia is CSUSM’s top returning hitter as he finished 2019 with a .373 average – third best in the CCAA.
•Garrett Apker and Dylan Wannamaker are the Cougars’ top returning pitchers with ERAs of 4.14 and 4.53, respectively.
•Dixie State is coming off a 35-19 season in which it finished third in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC).
•The Trailblazers received votes in the Collegiate Baseball Preseason Poll.
•DSU had five players hit .358 or higher last season – all of which are returning this year.
•This is the Trailblazer’s final season as an NCAA Division II member as they’ll join Division I’s Western Athletic Conference (WAC) in July.
THE GUILIANO FILE •Head coach Matt Guiliano enters his fourth season at the helm of the CSUSM baseball program.
•Prior to making his way to San Marcos, Guiliano was the head coach for nine seasons (2008-16) at his alma mater Sioux Falls.
•Guiliano is a 2006 graduate of the University of Sioux Falls and a 2001 graduate of Valley Center High School.
•Guiliano is 60-90 (.400) as CSUSM’s head coach and is 235-326-1 (.419) for his entire head coaching career.
