-and-
Solorzano, Forrester and Namie claim all-conference honors.
Source: NMSU Athletics
Stories by Michael Naverrette
Photos: Courtesy
NM State Opens CUSA Championship Against Second-Seeded WKU
LYNCHBURG, Va. – 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 19. 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.
Trio of Aggies Earn All-CUSA Recognition
DALLAS – Ahead of the Conference USA Championship, three Aggies garnered all-conference honors, the league office announced on Tuesday following a vote of the league’s 10 head coaches. Steve Solorzano and Brandon Forrester earned First Team All-CUSA honors, while Mitch Namie secured a Second Team All-CUSA selection.
This marks the second consecutive year that the Aggies have claimed three all-conference honors, while Solorzano’s selection is his second all-conference award after being named to the CUSA All-Freshman Team last year.
Solorzano, a sophomore from Las Cruces, N.M., earned the lone designated hitter spot on the first team after a season in which he has played in 48 games and made 47 starts, including 23 as the Aggies’ designated hitter. He is among the best hitters in the conference and enters the CUSA Championship ranked second in CUSA in on-base percentage (.478) and eighth in batting average (.341). He currently paces the Aggies’ regulars in batting average, slugging percentage and on-base percentage.
Earlier this season, Solorzano smashed a three-run go-ahead home run against Jax State on March 19 to mark his third go-ahead home run of the season. In total, the sophomore has eight home runs on the season to rank tied for first among NM State hitters. He also ranks eighth in the league in OPS (1.046) and third in hit-by-pitch (15) and he has 17 multi-hit games and 10 multi-RBI games this season.
Forrester, a redshirt sophomore from Sacramento, Calif., earned the first team all-conference bid as one of four infielders following a year in which he has played in 51 games and made 50 starts with 23 starts coming at third base and 27 starts coming at shortstop. This season, he has served as the Aggies’ starting leadoff hitter in 40 of the team’s 54 games and has maintained a .325 batting average to rank second among Aggie regulars.
His 68 hits currently rank second on the team and are tied for ninth in the conference. The second year Aggie also has 13 extra-base hits, including two home runs and a pair of triples. He is currently the team leader in multi-hit games with 20 on the year, including a four-hit performance on April 26 against MTSU to serve as one of two Aggies with four hits in a single game. Forrester enters the CUSA Championship as the only Aggie with double-digit steals as he is 16-for-21 on stolen base attempts this season.
Namie, a junior from Mesa, Ariz., collects all-conference honors and is one of three outfielders on the second team. As it stand, he paces the team in both games played and starts as he has started and appeared in 53 of the Aggies’ 54 games. He also currently leads the team in hits with 69, which ranks tied for sixth in the conference. Additionally, Namie leads the Aggies in RBIs with 41, which is good for 17th among CUSA hitters. He is also tied for the team lead in multi-RBI games with 12 while ranking second on the team in multi-hit games with 18. In total, he has posted five three-hit games this year, doing so most recently against rival New Mexico on April 15.
Namie opened the season on a 15-game hitting streak and later produced a 12-game hit streak and is currently riding a team-best six game hit streak. In his third season with the program, he has logged a hit in all but seven games. This year, he was also named to the 2024 Academic All-CUSA team.
The complete list of All-CUSA honors can be found below.
Player & Newcomer of the Year
Ryan Wideman, WKU
Pitcher of the Year
Drew Whalen, WKU
Defensive Player of the Year
Nathan Humphreys, DBU
Freshman of the Year
Brooks Roberson, LA Tech
Keith LeClair Coach of the Year
Marc Rardin, WKU
Assistant Coach of the Year
Dillon Napoleon, WKU
First Team All-Conference
C: Grant Jay, DBU
INF: Keaton Grady, DBU
INF: Chayton Krauss, DBU
INF: Brylan West, FIU
INF: Brandon Forrester, NM State
OF: Nathan Humphreys, DBU
OF: Eston Snider, MTSU
OF: Ryan Wideman, WKU
SP: Ryan Borberg, DBU
SP: Easton Marks, FIU
SP: Ben Blair, Liberty
SP: Drew Whalen, WKU
RP: Bo Rhudy, Kennesaw State
RP: Lucas Hartman, WKU
DH: Steve Solorzano, NM State
UT: Donovan Cash, Kennesaw State
Second Team All-Conference
C: Grayson Ashe, Jax State
INF: Trey Hawsey, LA Tech
INF: Brett Vondohlen, MTSU
INF: Kyle Hayes, WKU
INF: Carlos Vasquez, WKU
OF: Kishon Frett, FIU
OF: Nate Anderson, Kennesaw State
OF: Mitch Namie, NM State
SP: Jackson Phipps, Jax State
SP: Brooks Roberson, LA Tech
SP: Drew Horn, MTSU
SP: Jack Bennett, WKU
RP: Mason Peters, DBU
RP: Cal Higgins, WKU
DH: Sebastian Mexico, LA Tech
UT: Hunter Autrey, Sam Houston
All-Freshman Team
Cole Cleveland, FIU
Andrew Ildefonso, FIU
Wesley Alig, Kennesaw State
Ty Bayer, Kennesaw State
Jack Frankel, Liberty
Landon Scilley, Liberty
Trey Hawsey, LA Tech
Brooks Roberson, LA Tech
Brett Rogers, MTSU
Reid Howard, WKU
Taylor Penn, WKU
