After losing in the Super Regionals in 2024, the Beavers baseball team has one mindset for the new season: get to Omaha.

“Omaha or bust, that’s where I have kinda been at since the day I have gotten here,” said junior Gavin Turley.

On the team, Turley cemented himself as a leader after a multitude of players got scooped up in the Major League Baseball draft over the summer, including No. 1 overall pick Travis Bazzana.

“(Wilson) Weber has stepped into that role, I think (Dallas) Macias has stepped into somewhat of that role as well,” Turley said. “I’d say I’ve filled somewhat of that role, but I don’t necessarily think it’s a one-role type of thing that someone’s filling like Travis kinda filled, whereas every single kid has something to offer.”

As these players have stepped up into leadership roles, 10 new freshmen and transfers, such as junior shortstop Aiva Arquette, a preseason All-American from the University of Washington, have joined the Beavers. 

This group has been through a lot of change. Going from a minimal future early in the explosion of the Pac-12 to a foreseeable one, with the new Pac-12 only needing to secure one more team. All while Beaver baseball elected to be independent.

“It draws attention to what’s going on at Oregon State,” said head coach Mitch Canham. “If we’re not the best in the country, we’re always gonna criticize it a little bit.”

Even through all this change, the team is ranked No. 7 in the preseason rankings by D1Baseball.com and others, joined by a gallery of teams from the SEC, six in the top 10, and ACC, three in the top 10. Oregon State is the only independent team in the top 25.

The benefits of being independent can result in greater media deals and revenue with more scheduling opportunities, but this comes at a cost.

“I don’t necessarily think anyone’s worried about it, I think the only thing that kinda gets brought up is that we’re on the road a lot, but for me, I don’t think anyone’s showing too much emotion towards that,” Turley said.

Canham remarked on the excitement building up for the team going into a different kind of season as an independent. 

“All of us love playing at Goss because it’s the greatest environment in collegiate baseball, but if we gotta play on the road, you know, have less home games throughout the regular season, so that we have the opportunity to play more home games in the postseason, so be it,” Canham said. 

Scheduling was very different this year compared to years prior with there being a plethora of road games, especially at the beginning of the season. 

The Beavers will start the year off in back-to-back-to-back tournaments in Surprise, Arizona; Round Rock, Texas; and Arlington, Texas. They won’t play their first game at Goss until March 7, when they face off in a three-game series against the University of San Diego.

“It’s not easy to create a schedule when everyone’s bye weekends they wanna play at home, they’re not really wanting to travel, but that was a big focus for us, find great competition, the best competition available, you know, for our guys, and if we have to travel then we have to travel,” Canham said.

However, the schedule has some familiarity in it, with series against some former Pac-12 members like the University of Washington, UCLA and the University of Oregon. Along with these three teams, they face off against another recognizable foe in Washington State University, the other remaining PAC-12 member.

With some familiarity comes randomness. The schedule is much more varied than last year, and four different teams are coming to Goss Stadium in a six-day span in the middle of March.

Even though scheduling didn’t come easy, Turley had his decision on his future early on.

“It was a no-brainer to stay here, no matter the money someone else offered me. The money is here, realistically,” Turley said. “It just goes to show how deep Oregon State kinda runs. For me, I kinda value the relationship side of it more than anything, being here for the last two years has shown me how valuable this network is.” 

Among the new freshmen, one stood out to Turley: the No.1 recruit from Idaho, Dax Whitney. 

“(Whitney’s) personality kinda fits the role of someone that’s gonna play baseball for a long time,” Turley said. “There’s highs and lows in this game, and I think he’s ready for it, that’s what’s impressed me the most.” 

Whitney, a freshman pitcher from Blackfoot, Idaho, mentioned that the whole team has helped him improve, especially redshirt senior Joey Mundt, who he says has been the biggest mentor to him.

“(Mundt has) been here a long time, kinda knows how everything works, and he’s just taken me under his wing. We talk about it all the time, different pitch shapes, like what he sees with me, what I think I need to work on, just like how things are gonna work, so he’s been a huge mentor for me,” Whitney said. 

Despite being eyed by the MLB, Whitney turned down offers after not being drafted on day one. He then chose to play for OSU and try to win a College World Series championship.

“I got here and started loving everything about it,” Whitney said. “I’m super happy I made the decision that I did. Felt like a dream come true for me when I got my offer here.”

Another player excited about Whitney is sophomore Trent Caraway, who is the No. 16 ranked player in the upcoming 2025 MLB draft via D1Baseball.

“Dax, he’s got big league stuff, throws it in the zone, he’s got one of the best fastballs I’ve seen,” Caraway said. “I mean, he does that, he’s gonna be pretty successful. He throws gas, he can bang a slider. Getting to know him, I’m not surprised he’s on campus, he wants to work hard and play baseball.”

Along with Caraway, Arquette, sits at the top of the 2025 draft board as the highest-ranked middle infielder, sitting at No. 6 overall. Oregon State is the only school with multiple players in the top 20 of the list.

Caraway, whose season got cut short last season due to a broken finger on his throwing hand against the University of Utah on March 16, saw the upside to playing on the road more.

“I think it’s going to be fun, especially us on the road, getting to play at all these places,” Caraway said. “It’s gonna help us build into the postseason too, being on the road a lot more.”

Caraway doesn’t seem to be affected by the lack of being in a conference or the Beavers being independent as well.

“I wouldn’t say anything’s changed, I mean, we’ve kept the same work ethic, same team, so, just ready to get out there and play,” Caraway said.

Canham isn’t fazed by the changes to playing and recruiting that come with conference shifts and changing rules. 

“It’s no different than the game of baseball, everything can change real quick,” Canham said.

Despite all the changes the new season brings, the Beavers are ready for it to start, and the preseason poll shows that many believe they have the tools to perform well.

The Beavers face off in their first match against Xavier University in the College Baseball Classic in Surprise, Arizona, on Feb. 14.