Long Beach State University Athletics
Photo by: John Fajardo
2025 Dirtbags Preview Part 1
2/11/2025 11:46:00 AM | Baseball
Looking at the Pitchers and Catchers
LONG BEACH, Calif.—The 71st season of Long Beach State baseball begins this weekend as the Dirtbags host Northwestern. In a two-part preview, we start with LBSU's pitchers and catchers.
PITCHERS
Junior Kellan Montgomery is expected to be the Friday night starter for Long Beach State. Ranked 96th on D1Baseball.com's preseason Top 150 Starting Pitchers, Montgomery was named to the Big West's preseason All-Conference.
Contending for starting spots on the weekend are sophomore Josh Donegan, senior transfer Albert Roblez, junior Van Larson, sophomore Owen Geiss, and redshirt freshman Jake Fields. Donegan pitched in seven games as a freshman, starting twice. He did not appear again after a one-inning outing against Cal State Fullerton on Mar. 24 due to injury. Donegan went 2-1 with a 3.63 ERA and 20 strikeouts.
Roblez appeared in 13 games for UNLV in 2024, starting four times. He went 2-2, striking out 27 in 24.1 innings of work. Larson and Geiss ended last season as weekend starters for the Dirtbags. Larson started 10 of the 12 games in which he appeared, going 2-3 with a 4.91 ERA. Geiss was third on the club in innings pitched last season with 50.2. Starting five times in 14 appearances, Geiss went 4-3 with 36 strikeouts. Fields sat out 2024 as a redshirt in the Long Beach State program. He pitched for the Santa Barbara Foresters of the California Collegiate League in the Summer of 2024, where he posted a 2-1 mark and struck out 13.
Sophomore lefty Nick Williams should anchor the bullpen. Williams finished 2024 with 29 appearances, the 29th most in Division I and second most in the conference in the category. Williams went 1-3 and tied for second on the team in saves, with Grant Cherry in saves (2). Opponents batted .216 against him.
Sophomores Cristien Banda and Collin Miskelly saw extensive time as freshmen a year ago. Banda pitched in 13 games, going 1-1 with a 3.38 ERA. Miskelly had his redshirt removed midway through the 2024 campaign and appeared in 10 games. He struck out 21 in 15.2 innings without recording a decisions.
Transfers Tyler Gebb, Joey Iglesias, Austin Puett, and freshman Ka'imi Kahalekai are right handers contending for a prime spot coming out of the pen.
Gebb appeared in 21 games for UC Riverside as a freshman in 2024. He led the Highlanders in victories with four (4-4) and tied for the team lead in saves (3). Gebb threw 57.1 innings, the third-most on the team, striking out 40. Iglesias appeared in 48 games over the 2023 and 2024 seasons at Santa Ana College. He went 7-2 with seven saves in 109 innings of work, striking out. He helped Santa Ana win the 2023 3C2A State Baseball title and an appearance in the 2024. 3C2A State Tournament.
Puett was named second-team All-Conference for Victor Valley College in 2024. He struck out 88 in 72.1 innings after starting 13 times in 14 appearances. At 6-8, Kahalekai is the tallest member of the LBSU squad in 2025. The freshman was ranked No. 3 in Hawai'i (top right-handed pitcher) and No. 225 (No. 67 RHP) nationally by PerfectGame.org.
CATCHERS
With the graduation of the 2024 starter behind the dish, John Newman, Jr., Conner Stewart, Dylan Jackson, and Efren Ortega have emerged as the top contenders to start behind the dish for the Dirtbags.
Stewart started 16 times in 24 appearances at CSUN as a junior in 2024. He totaled 11 hits, eight runs, seven RBI, three homers, and two doubles. He committed two errors in 146 chances for a .986 fielding percentage. Stewart began his collegiate career at San Diego City College, where he was named first-team All-Conference in 2022 and 2023.
A redshirt sophomore, Jackson earned second-team All-Conference honors for Ventura College in 2024 after leading the team in doubles (7) and home runs (5). He started all 37 games for the Pirates, recording 24 RBI and a .983 fielding percentage (208-22-4). Ortega, Taylor, and Pacheco Perez are all freshmen.
Ortega was ranked No. 18 among California high school catchers by PerfectGame.org at Birmingham High School.
Thursday's preview will feature Long Beach State's infielders and outfielders.
PITCHERS
Junior Kellan Montgomery is expected to be the Friday night starter for Long Beach State. Ranked 96th on D1Baseball.com's preseason Top 150 Starting Pitchers, Montgomery was named to the Big West's preseason All-Conference.
Contending for starting spots on the weekend are sophomore Josh Donegan, senior transfer Albert Roblez, junior Van Larson, sophomore Owen Geiss, and redshirt freshman Jake Fields. Donegan pitched in seven games as a freshman, starting twice. He did not appear again after a one-inning outing against Cal State Fullerton on Mar. 24 due to injury. Donegan went 2-1 with a 3.63 ERA and 20 strikeouts.
Roblez appeared in 13 games for UNLV in 2024, starting four times. He went 2-2, striking out 27 in 24.1 innings of work. Larson and Geiss ended last season as weekend starters for the Dirtbags. Larson started 10 of the 12 games in which he appeared, going 2-3 with a 4.91 ERA. Geiss was third on the club in innings pitched last season with 50.2. Starting five times in 14 appearances, Geiss went 4-3 with 36 strikeouts. Fields sat out 2024 as a redshirt in the Long Beach State program. He pitched for the Santa Barbara Foresters of the California Collegiate League in the Summer of 2024, where he posted a 2-1 mark and struck out 13.
Sophomore lefty Nick Williams should anchor the bullpen. Williams finished 2024 with 29 appearances, the 29th most in Division I and second most in the conference in the category. Williams went 1-3 and tied for second on the team in saves, with Grant Cherry in saves (2). Opponents batted .216 against him.
Sophomores Cristien Banda and Collin Miskelly saw extensive time as freshmen a year ago. Banda pitched in 13 games, going 1-1 with a 3.38 ERA. Miskelly had his redshirt removed midway through the 2024 campaign and appeared in 10 games. He struck out 21 in 15.2 innings without recording a decisions.
Transfers Tyler Gebb, Joey Iglesias, Austin Puett, and freshman Ka'imi Kahalekai are right handers contending for a prime spot coming out of the pen.
Gebb appeared in 21 games for UC Riverside as a freshman in 2024. He led the Highlanders in victories with four (4-4) and tied for the team lead in saves (3). Gebb threw 57.1 innings, the third-most on the team, striking out 40. Iglesias appeared in 48 games over the 2023 and 2024 seasons at Santa Ana College. He went 7-2 with seven saves in 109 innings of work, striking out. He helped Santa Ana win the 2023 3C2A State Baseball title and an appearance in the 2024. 3C2A State Tournament.
Puett was named second-team All-Conference for Victor Valley College in 2024. He struck out 88 in 72.1 innings after starting 13 times in 14 appearances. At 6-8, Kahalekai is the tallest member of the LBSU squad in 2025. The freshman was ranked No. 3 in Hawai'i (top right-handed pitcher) and No. 225 (No. 67 RHP) nationally by PerfectGame.org.
CATCHERS
With the graduation of the 2024 starter behind the dish, John Newman, Jr., Conner Stewart, Dylan Jackson, and Efren Ortega have emerged as the top contenders to start behind the dish for the Dirtbags.
Stewart started 16 times in 24 appearances at CSUN as a junior in 2024. He totaled 11 hits, eight runs, seven RBI, three homers, and two doubles. He committed two errors in 146 chances for a .986 fielding percentage. Stewart began his collegiate career at San Diego City College, where he was named first-team All-Conference in 2022 and 2023.
A redshirt sophomore, Jackson earned second-team All-Conference honors for Ventura College in 2024 after leading the team in doubles (7) and home runs (5). He started all 37 games for the Pirates, recording 24 RBI and a .983 fielding percentage (208-22-4). Ortega, Taylor, and Pacheco Perez are all freshmen.
Ortega was ranked No. 18 among California high school catchers by PerfectGame.org at Birmingham High School.
Thursday's preview will feature Long Beach State's infielders and outfielders.
~#LongBeachBuilt~
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