Cowboys Baseball Opens Conference Play

Las Vegas, New Mexico - The Cowboys opened their season at the end of January. They have not played a home game since, and now they open conference play on the road in Grand Junction against the Colorado Mesa Mavericks.

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. Coach Jones captured his first victory in his return on January 30, 2026, in an 11-10 victory over Southern Nazarene.


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.
 
Scouting The Opposition: 

Colorado Mesa:
The Cowboys will face the ninth-ranked Colorado Mesa Mavericks, who are 14-2 overall and coming off a sweep of Augustana, which was ranked 13th in the country last week. Coach Chris Hanks enters his 28th season as the Mavericks Head Coach. In his 27 seasons at the helm of the Colorado Mesa program, Hanks boasts an impressive 1,111-428 (.722) overall record. Under his leadership, the Mavericks have captured 18 RMAC Championships, been selected to the NCAA Division II National Tournament 21 times, and have reached the NCAA Division II College World Series four times (2009, 2014, 2017, 2019). He is a 12-time RMAC Coach of the Year and has been named the American Baseball Coaches Association Regional Coach of the Year five times (2009, 2014, 2017, 2019, 2023). In 2019 and 2021, he was also named the National Coach of the Year by the National College Baseball News Writers Association.


FOLLOW THE COWBOYS:  All RMAC matchups will be featured on the RMAC Network.

GAME DAY AT NMHU:  Tickets for New Mexico Highlands baseball can be purchased at NMHUAthletics.com/Tickets.  

Enter the facility using the north gates.  

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 be at home at Brandt Field for Pink Weekend against Colorado School of Mines.