STEPHENVILLE, Texas – Tarleton State Baseball (3-1) is set to face off against the Kansas Jayhawks (4-0) at the Tarleton Baseball Complex this weekend starting Saturday at 12 p.m. (Feb. 22-23).

The Jayhawks will be the first of six Power Four opponents on Tarleton State's 2025 schedule. The Purple and White will look to build off their momentum from opening weekend, where they notched a 3-1 series win over Butler. The Texans currently rank second among the Western Athletic Conference with a 3-1 overall record.

HISTORIC WEEKEND RECAP:

• The Texans had one of the most historic weekends in program history last weekend against Butler.
• Tarleton State notched a 31-5 win over Butler in its second game of the season, marking their biggest victory since becoming an NCAA Division I program.
• Tyson Drake tied the all-time single game program record with three home runs against the Bulldogs on Feb. 15 during game one of the doubleheader. Drake also notched a team-high 11 RBIs over the weekend.
• Braden Gotisha was responsible for the first grand slam of the Texans' 2025 campaign. Gostisha's grand slam extended Tarleton State's lead to 11-1 at the bottom of the second inning en route to their 31-5 victory over Butler.
• After returning from a season-ending injury last season, Jaime Perez appeared in three of four games for the Texans over the weekend. Perez notched multiple hits in all three games, becoming one of two Texans to have multiple hits in all of their appearances this season (Slade McCloud).
• Perez registered six RBIs over three games played during Tarleton State's opening weekend and tallied a home run as well.
• Lane Brewster started all four games against the Bulldogs. The senior achieved three hits in two of four games played and currently ranks second on the team with nine RBIs.

TEXANS RANK AMONG TOP OF NATION:

• Tarleton currently ranks eighth across NCAA Division I Baseball with a .385 batting average.
• Jake Burcham currently ranks sixth across NCAA DI athletes with a .20 WHIP.
• Slade McCloud and Jaime Perez both rank among the NCAA top 10 in hits per game.
• Slade McCloud is currently tied for the top spot across NCAA Division I Baseball with 11 hits.
• Hunter Smith leads all NCAA Division I athletes in walks drawn (10).
• Tyson Drake is fifth in total home runs (3) and sixth in RBIs (11) across NCAA Division I.
• Tarleton State ranks fourth across NCAA Division I programs with a .536 on base percentage.
• The Texans rank eighth across Division I programs with 54 total runs.

SLADE MCCLOUD – WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK:

• Senior infielder Slade McCloud was tabbed the WAC Baseball Player of the Week during the opening week of the 2025 season.
• Throughout four games, McCloud registered a .550 batting average with 11 hits, eight runs, six steals and three RBIs. McCloud also tallied a double and a triple against the Bulldogs over the weekend.
• The Robinson, Texas, native became the first Tarleton State baseball athlete to win a weekly conference award since Feb. 2024.
• McCloud currently leads Tarleton State in hits, runs and stolen bases.

OPPONENT SCOUTING REPORT:

• The Kansas Jayhawks are currently tied at the top of the Big 12 with an undefeated 4-0 record.
• The Jayhawks completed the sweep against Texas A&M Corpus Christi last weekend. The Jayhawks shut out the Islanders during the final two games of the series (8-0, 16-0).
• Kansas currently ranks ninth across NCAA Division I Baseball with a 1.29 overall ERA.

POWER FOUR OPPONENTS FOLLOWING KANSAS:

• This weekend's series against Kansas will be the first of six Power Four opponents on Tarleton State's 2025 baseball schedule.
• The Texans will also face Baylor, TCU, Texas Tech, and Texas A&M on the road this Spring.
• Tarleton State and Kansas State will face off in a single-game showdown on March 19.
• Kansas State was a super-regional team in 2024 while Texas A&M finished in second place throughout the 2024 NCAA College World Series.

NEXT UP:

• Following their series with the Jayhawks, Tarleton State Baseball will head up to Fort Worth, where they will clash against the TCU Horned Frogs in a single-game stint on Feb. 25, 2025.