CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — College baseball opening day is almost here, and the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders kick start their season at Chapman Field on Friday. 17 of their 18 games are in Corpus Christi, whether they're on campus or at Whataburger Field, to start the season.
Islanders redshirt junior pitcher Kade Budd transferred to Corpus Christi over the offseason.
"Coming back to Corpus was a super cool thing to me," Budd said. "Growing up I went to all of the baseball camps they had every year, so being able to come back and play for the community, for the city was super cool."
Baseball fans might remember Budd from London high school's first ever State Championship baseball team in 2022.
"As a left-handed pitcher I know I don't throw the hardest, but I like to go out there and throw a bunch of different pitches to different spots," Budd said. "Just do whatever the team needs me to do at that moment."
The past few seasons Budd played for Tyler Junior College. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi baseball head coach Scott Malone
"He's an older guy and he had unbelievable success at London," Malone said. "He had success at Junior College. We need that guy to come in here with confidence and let all of the other pitchers feed off him."
Malone has named pitcher Preston Watkins the starter on opening day. The junior appeared in 11 games last season, making two starts and striking out 17 hitters.
"We're going to come out hot. I think so far in the scrimmages leading up to this the offense has been there and the pitching has been there. I think that we're set up in a good position to have a great season."
The Islanders returned nearly half of last seasons roster that finished middle of the pack in the Southland Conference standings. Corpus Christi brings back some big hitters, and Malone hopes to see them lead the way early.
"Christian Smith-Johnson, Austin Russell, Jackson Smith. Those are three big time guys that are all in their fourth year of college. They're all 22, they've been around, they've done it and they've seen it. We have very big expectations for those guys."
The Islanders host Stonehill College for a 4-game series starting Friday at 6:30 p.m. Then a double-header on Valentine's Day starting at 2 p.m. and then their last game on Sunday at 1 p.m.
