By Cesar Rivas, January 27, 2026
Cal Poly Pomona baseball returns to the diamond this week, when the Broncos open the 2026 season with a three-game series against the Azusa Pacific Cougars Jan. 30-Jan. 31.
After battling with injuries last season, Broncos baseball finished with a conference record of 12-28 and an overall record of 15-34, tying them for last place in the CCAA with Sonoma State University, which later shut down all of its athletic programs.
Head coach Randy Betten spoke on the team’s mindset of moving toward the new season, where he enters his 15th season at the helm.
“We had some good talks in the summer about how we need to move forward,” Betten said. “I feel like it’s a good mindset in the sense of it was a kind of a reset, kind of a punch in the face a little bit, and we need to adjust. I feel like the fall went well, and I like where we’re at today.”
Under Betten, the Broncos have made nine NCAA tournament appearances, with a 431-300 record and .590 winning percentage. Now with a completely rebuilt roster comprised of returning veterans, transfers and freshmen, the Broncos are preparing for a massive resurgence for the 2026 campaign, with their eyes set on the NCAA tournament.
Senior right-handed pitcher Andrew Campbell spoke about building up the team’s chemistry, while mixing in his new teammates and the returners.
“The coaches did a very good job bringing in these new guys as they recruit very well,” Campbell said. “… But competing with them, like on the field, we have games, and I think it’s important for us to play with each other. So, I have their back; they have my back. It’s to build the trust and the chemistry. I think it’s the biggest thing.”
The team got straight to work, starting practices from the beginning of fall semester. Betten mentioned that after a short rest during winter break, the team got right back to work with intrasquad games to elevate the composition.
Some players to watch out for this season are junior infielder Julian Angulo and senior infielder Sebastian Arguelles. Angulo started 47 games last season, posting a .333 batting average, and led the team with six home runs. This earned him an All-CCAA Honorable Mention. Arguelles had a .256 batting average with 14 multi-hit games, along with a .944 fielding percentage.
Also, be on the lookout for sophomore right-handed pitcher Sean Suriyaniel, who posted a 2.63 ERA in eight relief appearances, only allowing four runs. Along with Suriyaniel, senior left-handed pitcher Dylan Esquival looks to end his collegiate career on a high noteafter leading the team last season with 48 strikeouts.
As the excitement builds, the team understands the season is a marathon and not a sprint, and each game is just a step in the right direction.
“It’s just one game at a time, one series at a time, one pitch at a time, so we’re not going to get too ahead of ourselves,” Campbell said. But the main goal is obviously winning the whole thing.”
Betten also said the key to having a successful season is consistently doing the little things right every single day, whether that’s taking good at-bats, throwing strikes or just playing good team defense.
Now with the first pitch of the 2026 season just days away, both Esquival and Campbell mentioned the team is fired up for its first series of the year.
“We’re excited,” Esquival said. “We’re all ready to get out there and see some new competition, some new people in the box, new arms and stuff like that. So, I feel like we’re hungry.”
Feature image courtesy of the CPP Athletics