Murray State shocked the world over the weekend, upsetting Duke in the Super Regionals to make the College World Series for the first time ever.
The Racers are in the midst of their best season in program history, surpassing the 40-win mark for the first time. They’ve already surpassed most analysts’ expectations, going 5-2 in the postseason despite playing six true road games.
Next up, Murray State faces UCLA as its Cinderella season continues. The Racers will be the biggest underdogs of the eight teams in the College World Series, but that’s nothing new to them in this postseason.
With Murray State introducing themselves to the national stage, here’s a breakdown of their roster and how they got to this point.
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Murray State baseball roster 2025NumberNamePositionYearBatsThrows1Nico BermeoINFGrad SeniorRightRight2Nic SchuttePJuniorRightRight3Jackson McCoyOFRedshirt JuniorRightRight4Gunnar BinghamOFJuniorLeftRight5Harper McLendonPRedshirt JuniorRightRight6Isaac HuettlCRedshirt SophomoreLeftRight8Carson GarnerINFSeniorRightRight10Dustin MercerOFRedshirt SeniorLeftLeft11Jaxon DiamondUTILJuniorRightRight12Dom DeckerINFRedshirt SophomoreLeftRight13Kane ElmyPSeniorRightRight14Conner CunninghamINFFreshmanLeftRight15Jonathan HogartOFRedshirt SophomoreRightRight16Derek LebronPJuniorRightRight17Will VierlingCJuniorLeftRight18Jacob HusteddePSophomoreRightRight20Ethan LykePJuniorLeftLeft21Reese OakleyPFreshmanRightRight22Brayden BakerUTILFreshmanRightRight23Chase ClaturPFreshmanRightRight24Kingsley GuthrieCFreshmanSwitchRight25Luke MistoneINFJuniorRightRight27Danny RollinsCSophomoreRightRight28Brady GrabowskiOFSophomoreRightRight29Dylan ZentkoPJuniorLeftLeft30Preston ChaudoinPJuniorRightRight31Parker PattersonCJuniorRightRight32Isaac SilvaPSeniorRightRight33Jack WajdaPRedshirt SophomoreRightRight34Matt ParenteauPGrad SeniorRightRight35Brevin ScottPFreshmanRightRight37Dan TaukenOFRedshirt SeniorLeftLeft38Reed BraundmeierPSeniorRightRight40Jackson UgoPFreshmanLeftLeft41Graham KelhamPJuniorRightRight42Charlie JuryOFJuniorLeftLeft43David StokelyCSeniorRightRightMORE: Who will win the College World Series in 2025?
Murray State baseball coachesDan Skirka is in his seventh season as the Murray State head coach, and he has been the team’s most successful coach in program history. Skirka has led the Racers to five straight seasons with at least 30 wins, the longest such streak in program history, and the team’s first season with over 40 wins.
Where is Murray State located?Murray State University is located in Murray, Kentucky, which is just north of the Kentucky-Tennessee border.
MORE: Who is in the College World Series?
How did Murray State make the College World Series?Murray State went 39-13 in the regular season, including 17-8 in the Missouri Valley Conference, while winning the MVC tournament. The Racers were able to earn one of the 64 bids to the NCAA regionals round, marking just the fourth time in program history that Murray State made the NCAA Tournament.
In the regionals round, Murray State traveled to Oxford in a group that was hosted by Ole Miss and included Western Kentucky and Georgia Tech. The Racers upset the Rebels in the first game of the regional, then did the same to the Yellow Jackets, putting them one win away from advancing. In a rematch, Ole Miss handed the Racers their first loss to set up a win-or-go-home game the next day, but Murray State pulled out a 12-11 win on the road to head to the Super Regionals.
The next weekend, Murray State went to Durham for a three-game series against Duke. The Racers lost Game 1 but came back with a huge 19-9 win in Game 2 to set up a deciding Game 3. In that game, Murray State scored two runs in the eighth inning and hung on to a 5-4 win, advancing to the College World Series.
Who does Murray State play next?Murray State will play UCLA in the first game of double-elimination College World Series tournament. Depending on if they win or lose, their next game would be against the winner or loser of Arkansas vs. LSU.
