Cowboys Baseball Opens Season at Home

Las Vegas, New Mexico - It is the end of January, and the Cowboys baseball team begins its season at home this year in Historic Las Vegas, New Mexico.

 

COACH JONES: Friday marks the first game of the season for Coach Steve Jones, marking a return to the program for Coach Jones. He led the Highlands baseball squad for 17 years and was inducted into the H-Club Hall of Honor in 2019. Jones's NMHU teams qualified for the RMAC conference tournament 15 times and qualified for NCAA Division 2 Regionals six times, hosting the NCAA Central Regional in 2010. Jones's NMHU teams won two RMAC conference championships and three RMAC conference tournament championships. His teams reached the finals of the RMAC conference tournament championship game six times. 

 

Last Season: The Cowboys were 12-36 overall and 4-28 in the RMAC in 2025. 

 

RMAC Poll:   New Mexico Highlands was selected to finish eighth in the 2026 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Preseason Baseball Coaches' Poll, released today by the league office. The Cowboys collected 14 points in the vote.

 

2026 Roster: The New Mexico Highlands roster features 11 returners, Lubby Marujo, Jimi Welsher, and the re-addition of Taiga Sato, who was not with the team last season but returns to the Cowboys. The Cowboys roster also features 27 new players this season.

 

Roster Breakdown:

 

By Class :          

Freshman 5  

Sophomore 8

Junior 16           

Senior 8    

         

By State/Country:

New Mexico 13     

California 9   

Texas 7

Washington 2

Nevada 1

Arizona 1 

New York 1

Iowa 1

Japan 1

Puerto Rico: 1

 

Weekend Schedule:

 

Friday

Southern Nazarene 

Game 1: 11:00 AM

*Game 2: 2:00 PM

 

Saturday

Southern Nazarene

Game 1: 11:00 AM

*Game 2: 2:00 PM

 

*Game Two Times are approximately 

All Game times at Mountain Times

Scouting The Opposition: 

The Cowboys will face Southern Nazarene, an Oklahoma team from the Great American Conference. Last season, Southern Nazarene was 9-41, including two wins over the Cowboys. Chris Moddelmog is in his first season at the helm of the Storm. He brings 21 years of coaching experience across multiple levels and a proven track record of success. As a head coach, he has amassed a career record of 368-311 and has helped develop 20 players who went on to play professionally.

Follow the Cowboys: All home games will be on the RMAC Network, with Scott Galleti and Jace Hinton on the call.

Game Day At NMHU:  Tickets for New Mexico Highlands baseball can be purchased at NMHUAthletics.com/Tickets.  

No outside food or drinks will be allowed.

No pets allowed.
 
NMHU has implemented a Clear Bag Policy for all on-campus events.

Up Next: The Cowboys will travel to Alva, Oklahoma, to take on Northwestern Oklahoma State next weekend in their first road test of the season.