NMSU opens CUSA Championship against second-seeded Western Kentucky

LYNCHBURG, Virginia - After wrapping up its regular season on the road at LA Tech over the weekend, NM State now makes a trip east for the Conference USA tournament, which begins Wednesday, May 21.

NM State enters the week as the No. 7 seed and will begin with a first-round tilt against WKU, which finished the year 18-9 in league play to earn the second seed in the eight-team bracket.

The entire tournament, with the exception of the championship game, will stream live on ESPN+ with radio coverage provided by Adam Young via Magic 104.9 FM. Sunday’s title game will air live on CBS Sports Network.

The first round matchup against WKU will serve as the 25th all-time meeting between the two sides, while also being the fourth matchup this month after the Aggies and Hilltoppers met in Las Cruces on May 9-11.

NM State is seeking its fourth conference tournament title in program history and first since 2022 when they were crowned WAC champs.

GAME INFO       

2025 Conference USA Baseball Championship

No. 7 NM State (23-31, 11-15 CUSA) vs. No. 2 WKU (42-12, 18-9 CUSA)

Worthington Field at Liberty Baseball Stadium

Lynchburg, Va.

Wednesday, May 21 – 10:30 a.m. MDT

Watch: ESPN+

Listen: Magic 104.9 FM

Stats: StatBroadcast

Tickets: Purchase Here

LAST TIME OUT              

In their final series of the regular season, the Aggies dropped two of three games on the road at LA Tech, picking up a 10-5 win on Friday night.

In Thursday’s opener, the Aggies fell behind 8-0 before a seven-run fifth inning immediately brought the Aggies back within one run. However, LA Tech would tack on four runs across the sixth and seventh to earn a 12-7 win.

NM State flipped the script on Friday as a two-run home run off the bat of Steve Solorzano gave the Aggies a 10-0 lead in the 6th. Despite a comeback effort, the Aggies held on to win 10-5. On Saturday, the Aggie offense struggled to convert on its opportunities, stranding nine runners on the way to falling 8-1 in the regular season finale.

NM State ultimately finished the year with a 9-17 record in road games and an 11-15 mark in CUSA contests.

TOURNAMENT AGGIES              

NM State has now officially qualified for the CUSA Championship in each of its first two seasons in the league and will seek its first CUSA tournament title in program history. In total, the Aggies have been crowned conference tournament champs three times, doing so twice in the Western Athletic Conference (2018 and 2022) and once as a member of the Sun Belt Conference (2002).

SO WE MEET AGAIN    

This will also be the second consecutive year that the Aggies earned the No. 7 seed in the CUSA tournament and will once again matchup against WKU, which eliminated the Aggies from the CUSA Championship last year. Including last year, the Aggies have now met the Hilltoppers three times in the postseason as they also collided in the 2002 Sun Belt Conference Tournament, when they faced off and defeated WKU two times on their way to winning the title.

Last year, NM State was ultimately bounced by WKU, however, only three of the 14 Aggies that appeared in that game still remain on the roster, with Steve Solorzano, Mitch Namie and Connor Wylde making up the trio of returners.

MAY MEETING NO. 4  

Wednesday will mark the fourth meeting this month between the Aggies and Hilltoppers after WKU made the trip to Las Cruces on May 9-11. The Aggies will look to produce a different outcome on Wednesday after being 41-11 during the regular season series.

During the series in the City of Crosses, the Aggies were led by Brandon Forrester, who finished the weekend batting .455 (5-11). Meanwhile, Mitch Namie and Steve Solorzano finished the weekend as the only Aggies with double-digit RBIs as Namie drove in three runs on four hits and Solorzano notched four RBIs on two hits, including a home run.

ALL-CUSA HONORS     

Tuesday, the league office released its list of all-conference honorees and NM State’s Steve Solorzano (First Team), Brandon Forrester (First Team) and Mitch Namie (Second Team) each garnered recognition. Notably, the Aggies were one of just two teams not to land a single player on the league’s preseason all-conference team.