2025 Cal State LA Baseball – Season Summary

LOS ANGELES -- Cal State LA hosted the California Collegiate Athletic Association Tournament for the first time since 2007 and a strong finish to the 2025 regular season ensured that the Golden Eagles would be one of the teams participating in the tourney.

The Golden Eagles took the first three games of a four-game regular-season ending series at Cal State Dominguez Hills to climb into fourth place in the conference, its best finish since a second-place finish in 2013.

The fourth-place finish got the Golden Eagles into the conference tournament for the first time since 2018 and marked an impressive achievement for a team picked to finish seventh in the preseason CCAA coaches poll.

Cal State LA finished the season with a 26-25 overall record and rebounded nicely from a disappointing 3-7 start to the season in non-conference games to post a 23-17 mark in conference play. That was the program's best record in CCAA play since a 23-17 mark in 2015. 

The Golden Eagles also enjoyed some major history during the season as Brandon Gutierrez tossed the program's first no-hitter in 18 years in a 4-1 win over Cal Poly Pomona in the seven-inning nightcap of a doubleheader at Scolinos Field on March 22. He worked around three errors and four walks to record the program's first no-hitter since Isaac Morales threw one against San Francisco State in 2007.

The no-hitter is the fifth in program history.

The Golden Eagles showed a huge improvement in their pitching staff in 2025 and were fourth in the conference with a 5.70 earned run average. That was nearly one run per game better than the 6.66 earned run average they had in 2024. Cal State LA was last in the conference in earned run average in 2023.

Gutierrez was probably the best example of that improvement. As a freshman in 2024, he made only four appearances, all in relief, and had a 6.75 earned run average over 5 1/3 innings. As a sophomore in 2025, Gutierrez flourished as a starter and led the Golden Eagles with a 4-7 record and a 4.23 earned run average. He made 13 starts and pitched a total of 72 1/3 innings.

He was part of a starting rotation that was solid throughout the season. Lino Zepeda also made 13 starts and was second in the staff with 66 2/3 innings. AJ Moreno came on and made 10 consecutive starts. Alejandro Huezo was strong for the Golden Eagles as the Friday starter through seven starts, contributing a 1-1 record in 39 2/3 innings. When he was lost for the season due to injury, Anthony Lopez made four solid starts in his place, including a final one against Cal State Dominguez Hills after a three-week absence due to injury.

Cal State LA also got some effective relief pitching, highlighted by a pair of freshmen and a senior who had an outstanding final season with the program.

The freshmen, twins Ismael and Isaac Quintero, combined for an 8-1 record in 24 appearances and two starts. Ismael Quintero was 5-1 with a 1.80 earned run average and five saves. He was named the CCAA Freshman of the Year, the first for Cal State LA since Brian Hernandez won the award in 2007. Quintero led the team in both wins and saves.

Isaac Quintero was 3-0 with a 4.95 earned run average in eight appearances that included a pair of starts. He combined with Lopez to help make up for the loss of Huezo in series-opening starts.

One of the program's veterans, Anthony Diaz, was another key part of the bullpen. He was 4-0 with a 3.82 earned run average and led all relievers with 30 2/3 innings pitched.

Cal State LA also had a strong season offensively with the Golden Eagles finishing fifth in the conference in team batting average and sixth in runs scored.

Malik Clayton led the way in batting average with a .361 average. He missed 11 games due to injury, but returned in time to help the Golden Eagles' charge to the conference tournament.

Cesar Chavez worked his way into the starting lineup iin his sophomore season and hit .339, which was second on the team. He started 16 games and hit .283 in 60 at bats as a freshman and he started 49 games with 180 at bats as a sophomore in 2025. 

The power was provided by a pair of seniors, Alberto Prado and returning All-West Region outfielder Isaiah Marquez, who both led the team with nine home runs. Prado, in his first year with the program, hit .324 with nine home runs and 33 runs batted in, while Marquez had nine home runs and a team-leading 42 RBI. He also led the team with 48 runs scored and 16 stolen bases.

Another key newcomer for the Golden Eagles was junior transfer Ben Lee, who was outstanding behind the plate. He appeared in 48 games with 45 starts and hit .316 with a pair of home runs and 21 RBI. He was one of the best defensive catchers in the CCAA and threw out a conference-best 15 base runners trying to steal.

Cal State LA also featured a much better defensive showing from its infield in 2025 as third baseman Kadyn Victorian, shortstop Ethan Gonzalez, second baseman Javy Espinoza and first baseman Prado were one of the best groups in the conference. Espinoza committed only three errors all season and had a fielding percentage of .987 at second base. He was involved in 34 double plays, which was third in the conference and just one behind the conference co-leaders.

As a result of the better defense and pitching, Cal State LA allowed 323 runs in 51 games after allowing 375 runs in 50 games in 2024.

Cal State LA had a tough start to the season and it was made even more challenging by renovations to Reeder Field that forced the Golden Eagles to play their first three scheduled home series away from Reeder Field. The Golden Eagles played a four-game non-conference series against Regis at Cal State Fullerton and hosted Cal State San Marcos and San Francisco State in CCAA series at East Los Angeles College. Cal State LA also shifted home games in split-series against Biola and Vanguard to La Mirada and Costa Mesa to open the season.

After recording a 3-7 record in their first 10 games, the Golden Eagles opened conference play with a thrilling 8-7 win in 13 innings over Cal State San Marcos on a game-winning single by Clayton. Cal State LA split the opening series thanks to a one-hit shutout by Gutierrez in a 6-0 win in the seven-inning nightcap of the Saturday doubleheader. Gutierrez allowed only an infield single in what turned out to be his first win as a Golden Eagle.

The Golden Eagles earned another split in their second series, at Stanislaus State, winning the final two games of the series after dropping the first two, to stay at the .500 mark in conference play.

Cal State LA then took three of four from San Francisco State in a series that seemed to indicate the Golden Eagles would be title contenders in 2025. The highlight of the series was a 9-7 win in 10 innings on a game-winning home run from Javy Espinoza on a Sunday that gave the Golden Eagles the series win. Clayton had a home run and four RBI, while Ismael Quintero tossed 2 2/3 scoreless innings for his first career win at Cal State LA.

The Golden Eagles followed that dramatic win with their first four-game sweep over Cal Poly Pomona since 2018 in a series that featured a wild 13-12 win in the opener and a marathon 11-9, 14-inning win in a Saturday doubleheader that preceded the Gutierrez no-hitter in the nightcap.

After taking the first two games of a home series against Sonoma State, the Golden Eagles pushed their winning streak to a season-best eight games in a row. After dropping the nightcap of Saturday's doubleheader to end the streak, Cal State LA picked up one of its most dramatic wins of the season when Marquez belted a game-winning two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth for an 8-6 victory and a series win.

The Golden Eagles then took three of four at Cal State East Bay the following week to take over first place in the conference with a 17-7 mark.

The Golden Eagles then dropped a hard-fought four-game series against Cal State Monterey Bay, losing the first three games by a combined four runs. The Golden Eagles bounced back nicely with a four-game split at Chico State that included an incredible 11-9 win in 11 innings in the opener that saw Cal State LA score three runs in the 10th and five more in the 11th and a much-needed 3-2 win in 11 innings in the finale courtesy of a game-tying two-run home run in the seventh inning by Brayan Nunez and a go-ahead single by Ben Lee in the 11th.

After taking a tight 4-3 decision in the opener of a four-game home series against Cal State San Bernardino, the Golden Eagles dropped the final three games of the series and entered the final series at first-place Cal State Dominguez Hills needed at least a split to reach the conference tournament.

They did even better, taking the first three games by scores of 11-5, 10-9, and 6-1 at Toro Field to clinch a tournament spot.

Cal State LA saw its season come to an end in the opening round of the CCAA Tournament at Reeder Field, dropping a well-played 5-3 decision to Chico State.

The Golden Eagles also excelled academically and Atticus Gonzalez earned the CCAA Elite 13 Award, presented to the player with the highest grade point average at the championship site.

Cal State LA Baseball
2025 Overall Record: 26-25. CCAA Record: 23-17 (4^th place)
All-CCAA: Malik Clayton (1st team), Isaiah Marquez (2nd team), Brandon Gutierrez (2nd team), Ben Lee (honorable mention), Alberto Prado (honorable mention), Ismael Quintero (honorable mention)
CCAA Freshman of the Year: Ismael Quintero
CCAA Player of the Week: Alberto Prado (Week of March 10-16), Isaiah Marquez (Week of April 28-May 4)
CCAA Pitcher of the Week: Brandon Gutierrez (Week of Feb. 24-March 2). Brandon Gutierrez (Week of March 17-23), AJ Moreno (Week of April 28-May 4)
NCBWA West Region Player of the Week: Isaiah Marquez (Week of April 28-May 4), Alberto Prado (Week of March 10-16)
CCAA Elite 13 Award: Atticus Gonzalez
CCAA Spring Academic Honor Roll: Drew Emmons, Javy Espinoza, Patrick Garcia, Atticus Gonzalez, Ben Lee, Isaiah Marquez, Joel Martinez, AJ Moreno, Jace Paderez, Carson Panarisi, Alberto Prado, Lino Zepeda
CCAA 2024-25 All-Academic Team: Drew Emmons, Atticus Gonzalez, Isaiah Marquez, Joel Martinez, AJ Moreno, Jace Paderez, Carson Panarisi, Lino Zepeda
2024-25 D2 ADA Academic Achievement Award: Patrick Garcia, Atticus Gonzalez, Isaiah Marquez, Joel Martinez, Jace Paderez, Lino Zepeda