SAVANNAH, Ga.-Savannah State has played in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference baseball championship game for the past three years and for the past three years the Tigers have came away empty-handed.

SSU finished last season with a 32-14 overall while going 24-9 in conference play. It was also the fourth year in a row that a Savannah State team had ended the year with at least 30 victories which means that expectations will be high again in 2026 under second-year head coach Florentino Burgos.

Burgos lost several key players from last season but was able to address some of the pitching and hitting concerns by taking advantage of the transfer portal to add some experience to mix well the team returning veterans and talented freshmen.

Headlining the list of returnees is pitcher Brayden Thomas. A native of Lake City, Florida, Thomas finished the year with a team-leading 90 innings pitched, 76 strikeouts and four complete games. He was the starting pitcher 14 times this season and made 16 appearances. Thomas ended the season with a 2.98 earned run average and a 6-2 overall record. Thomas was also named to the ABCA/Rawlings 2025 Division II All-Region Second Team, named the SIAC Starting Pitcher of the Year and garnered All-SIAC First Team honors.

Other All-Conference selections back are pitcher Adonis Perez and infielders Johan Sandoval and Tyler Tucker.

Perez had a 3.37 earned run average to go with his 4-1 record. The senior from Woodbury, New Jersey pitched 34.2 innings and struck out 26 batters. Sandoval batted .340 with 50 hits, 37 RBI and seven home runs while stealing 29 bases while Tucker, who saw action in 23 games, hit .394 with 28 hits, four doubles, three home runs and 21 RBI.

Left-handed pitchers Austin McCormack and Gregorio Gonzalez also return. McCormack had a 3.31 ERA and a 4-1 record while striking out 26 batters in 32.2 innings while Gonzalez struck out 51 in 56 innings and had a 4-3 record along with his 6.75 ERA.

Also back is Julian Grier, Chandler Hicks, Bryce Bause and Kijani Clarington.

Grier hit .323 with 41 hits, 27 RBI and 12 doubles. The 6-foot-2 Hicks had 45 hits, 29 RBI, six doubles, three home runs, 21 stolen bases and a .292 batting average and Bause chipped in 14 hits, 14 RBI, three doubles, one home run and one triple while hitting .250 in 22 games. Clarington, who made the all tournament team, saw action in 33 games and had a .297 batting average with 22 runs, 19 hits, six doubles and 17 RBI while stealing nine bases in ten attempts.

Others back from the 2025 squad include infielder Zachary Turner, outfielder Jan'i Belcher and pitchers Giovante Tomlins, Joshua Krutchik, Aidan Turner and Noah Brown.

Returning to the lineup, after missing the 2025 season are outfielders D'Sean Prinkleton and Hakem Smith. In 2024, the Prinkleton hit .392 with 60 runs, 65 hits, 14 doubles, two triples, five home runs and 33 stolen bases in 47 games while making the All-SIAC Team. Smith batted .33 with 39 runs, 41 hits, four doubles, seven triples and 38 RBI while stealing 14 bases in 15 tries.

The transfer portal allowed SSU to land pitchers Tyriq Snead and Jordan Johnson from Claflin while other transfers include Gabe Breckenridge (Coppin State), Jason Ramos (Florida Memorial), Seth Stargell (Albany State), Raymond Thomas (Community College of Baltimore County Essex), David Sanders (Lawson State Community College), Kidane Stephens (Florida Memorial) and Noah Rodriguez (Fullerton).

Burgos is counting on Breckenridge, Stephens and Rodriguez to make early impacts along with freshmen Yan Cartaya, AJ Finkley and Bynton Edge.

Cartaya hit .257 at Bermudez High School in Hialeah, Florida and had a 1.58 ERA in 17.2 innings with 21 strikeouts. Finkley played at Lovejoy High in Hampton, Georgia and finished his senior year with a .594 batting average. He had a 4-2 pitching record struck out 46 in 45 innings. Edge, who is also a wide receiver on the SSU football team, is from Columbia High in Lake City, Florida. As a senior he had a .321 batting average and posted a 1.88 ERA, striking out 56 batters in 52 innings.

Burgos has high expectations for his team which will be led by veteran players with a good bit of experience.and thinks they are solid throughout the lineup.

"Pitching should be solid overall, with several arms expected to step into expanded roles. Defensively, this is a reliable group that has addressed key areas of concern. Offensively, the lineup features seasoned hitters with extensive SIAC at-bats, positioning this team to be very competitive throughout the season."

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