The562’s coverage of Dirtbags Baseball for the 2025 season is sponsored by P2S, Inc. Visit p2sinc.com to learn more.
With the full support of the Long Beach State administration, alumni and fans, new Dirtbags coach TJ Bruce is ready to put his mark on the historic program where he started his career as an assistant.
All of that starts Leadoff Dinner on February, 7th at Old Ranch Country Club where former coaches Dave Snow and Mike Weathers will be the keynote speakers. CLICK HERE for tickets and more info.
In terms of the upcoming 2025 season, most of the schedule was already set when Bruce took the job over the summer. However, Bruce did get the Dirtbags into the inaugural Tony Gwynn Legacy Tournament in San Diego on Feb. 14-16. LBSU will play two games at San Diego State against California Baptist (Feb. 21) and Utah (Feb. 24) and two games at UC San Diego versus Pepperdine (Feb. 22) and Seattle University (Feb. 23).
“The tournament is a great representation of a great competitor and man that Tony was,” Bruce said of the late Long Beach Poly and MLB legend. “And we get a chance to play premier schools and it’s a tournament atmosphere. If you’re trying to prepare for the postseason you better have that preparation in the season.”
That tournament preparation will come in handy at the end of the season when the Big West Conference hosts its first ever tournament hosted by Cal State Fullerton.
The 2025 schedule also includes 26 home games on Bohl Diamond at Blair Field, and Bruce wants that to be a hallmark of his schedules going forward.
“You’ve got to get teams playing at Blair,” Bruce said. “You have to be able to show the community who you are. But also, I’m indifferent on the RPI. I think the NCAA makes whatever they deem is important for that year important for that year. Last year was the KPI, and we found that out the hard way at TCU (where I coached and made the schedule). Our RPI was 38 and we didn’t make the postseason. You just have to win enough games and be top 3 in your conference and you have a good chance to make the postseason.”
The season starts at home as the Dirtbags host Northwestern Feb. 14-16. They will also host non-conference games against Michigan (Feb. 28-March 2) and travel to Arizona State for a pair of games in late April.
Bruce has also bolstered the Dirtbags roster with the early signing of Isacc Castanon, Tristan Dalzell, Trevor Goldenetz, Julian Herrera, Luke Howe, Mateo Rickman and Jaeden Toki.
Castanon is an infielder out of Summit High School where he hit .302 with a .430 slugging, 430 on-base percentage and a .860 OPS as a junior. The left-handed hitter was also named to the 2024 Perfect Game California Preseason Honorable Mention Underclass All-American Team.
Southpaw Dalzell is from Long Beach and helped Los Alamitos High School reach the CIF Southern Section Division 3 semifinals last year. The 6’3” 200-pound pitcher has also been on multiple USA Baseball National Team program teams.
“He has a big presence on the mound and plenty of upside to develop into a weekend starter,” Bruce said of Dalzell.
Outfielder Trevor Goldenetz is an All-CIF outfielder from Huntington Beach where he led the Oilers to the CIF-SS Division 1 semifinals as a junior. He hit .394 with a .521 slugging and a .487 on-base percentage last year.
Pitcher Julian Herrera comes from Shadow Hills High School and Riverside City College and comes to Long Beach with three years of eligibility. Herrera struck out 125 in 107 innings during his high school career, including 51 as a junior.
Luke Howe is also a right-handed pitcher who was an All-State nominee at El Camino Real Charter High School where he hit .391 as a junior.
Mateo Rickman comes from Torrance High School where he was a two-time Daily Breeze Player of the Year. The infielder hit .420 with five home runs and 31 RBI as a junior.
“Mateo is one of the better power hitters in Southern California,” Bruce said. “He is a proven hitter, and we are excited about him joining our offense.”
Jaeden Toki is also an infielder who hit .354 with a .544 slugging and a .485 on-base percentage as a junior at Etiwanda High School.
