Chaffey Baseball: Fresh Season, Fresh Bruises
By Andre Manzo
The turn of the New Year has signaled the return of baseball at Chaffey College. Bats cracking and gloves snapping, the old ball game feels fresh yet again.
However, Chaffey baseball has yet to find their footing against opponents. The club is 2-10 over their first 12 games - struggling to convince audiences that it is the same team as last year’s powerhouse.
Just a season ago, Chaffey finished with only 11 losses, getting knocked out of the 3C2A Regionals Second Round in a toss-up game 5. The team batted an astounding .344 (BA) and consumed the bases with a .444 on base percentage (OBP) across 46 games.
The Panthers this season - though a small sample size - are batting .246, lighting the path for their rough start that included a nine game losing streak. They broke it last Friday with a 4-0 win at Oxnard.
Against Oxnard, the team had their first shutout of the season - an early milestone for this club.
Chaffey baseball is simply being outplayed by opponents this year. The team has conceded 131 runs to the 74 they have produced. Opponents are batting .301 and have an OBP of .432.
Pitching is also struggling with a 9.75 earned run average (ERA). There is a lack of easy outs as the defense routinely struggles to put out double plays and has allowed 45 stolen bases, subjecting the pitching staff to more difficult situations that narrow their pitch selections.
Convinced or not, this stark contrast from last year’s success is extremely reasonable. Chaffey baseball has committed to a new system led by new Head Coach Grant Mayeaux. The roster has been uprooted, as are most great rosters with their great players looking to excel at higher levels of competition. That is the reality of baseball at the junior college level.
On their active 30 man roster, the Panthers have 27 freshmen players. The remaining three are sophomores. This situation has created a lack of veteran leadership on the field, which is often necessary for success in any sport.
The team does have promising talent. Sophomore Jack Terry and freshmen Andrew Cuellar and Hayden Hull are all batting over .300, looking like the early headliners of the offense.
Freshman Trevor Young has a 3.00 ERA over 24 innings in four starts. In his last start, he pitched a full nine innings against Oxnard, allowing only three hits and punching down Chaffey’s nine game losing streak. Despite the 1-2 record, Young is taking a work horse role on the pitching staff and shining through it.
Chaffey, with their fresh roster, has a mountain ahead of them in order to reach success. A roster that is rough around the edges still has the utmost potential. Baseball is a game of repetition after all - these players have had limited time to mesh and most are experiencing play at the college level for the first time.
Despite an amateur lineup, Chaffey baseball undoubtedly has the tools to become a great team. The grace of having a down year is crucial to rebuilding, especially when there is confidence that the correct person is manning the ship.
Coach Mayeaux has the experience of proven player development on his resume. Last year, he was an assistant coach at El Camino College. He is credited for his coaching with hitters and outfielders on a team that broke school records. In 2025, El Camino raked with 40 home runs and a .304 team batting average.
Prior to this, Mayeaux was an assistant coach at Cyprus College from 2023 to 2024, coaching with high output offenses and assisting in the development of 29 players that went on to compete at higher levels, 15 of them going to NCAA Division 1.
When assessing the current team, there exists the bones for a successful team. However, the development that derives from the mundane, day to day practices has yet to take shape. For now, a struggling ball club is playing their way through new systems, players and leaders.
Luckily, the Panthers have yet to start conference play. Thus, their quest for winning the Inland Empire Athletic Conference for a fourth year in a row is still alive.
Chaffey baseball will start their conference play on Thursday at San Jacinto and will continue the series at home with a double header on Saturday on Chaffey’s Lowder Field.