LINCOLN, Calif. – Championship baseball returned to Jessup in the 2024 season, as the Warriors produced one of the best campaigns in program history in their final year with the NAIA. Looking to do what former GSAC rivals Westmont did a year prior, Jessup made it to the national tournament in 2024, a year filled with moments fans will never forget.
 

 
The Warriors were one of three GSAC teams taking the field in 2024 for the final time as an NAIA program, as Jessup, Vanguard, and Menlo had all announced they were joining NCAA Division II next season. With that came the goal to match Westmont's 2023 run, as Westmont ended their NAIA era by winning the NAIA World Series.
 
While the Warriors fell short of this goal in 2024, they made history, winning a record 28 home games, the 2024 GSAC Tournament Championship, and appearing in the NAIA Opening Round for the third time in program history.
 
"This is probably at the top," said head coach Trevor Paine after his team's conference championship-winning moment. "In 2018, I was the assistant coach with Jake (McKinley), and that was a special one because it was our first one. This one just means a little bit more."
 
To get to the championship moment, Jessup first had to rebuild. The building began with the coaching staff, as Paine brought on three new assistants to pair with the returning Brock Ragatz. Paine added Ryan Stevens, Kreighton Tsuruda-Gaspar, and Chris Ceballos to the bench. Stevens jumped to baseball after four seasons with Jessup Softball, and Tsuruda-Gaspar returned to the program he played for after a year with Hawai'i Pacific.
 
On top of the coaching staff changes, the roster also saw significant adjustments, as Jessup made a strong push to build a championship contender through recruiting. Three of the newcomers, Trey Furrey, James Williams III, and Bryce Petrilla, ended their first year with All-GSAC honors.
 
Furrey went a step further as he was named GSAC Player of the Year and Third-Team All-American. His .489 average was the best in program history, and he paired it with 16 home runs, 52 RBI, and 17 stolen bases.
 
"(Trey) is the type of hitter that is super confident," added Paine. "He has a really good approach at the plate, and he's been swinging it really well. One good at-bat always seems to turn into multiple good ones with him."
 
Jessup had six qualifying hitters bat over .300 in 2024, and they blasted 101 home runs to set a new program record. The Warriors also broke records on the base path, stealing 90 bases.
 
The Warriors went 10-1 in their preseason schedule before the GSAC season began, and after a slow start in Glendale, Jessup returned to Lincoln to sweep Menlo to move to 4-2 in conference play. Another series victory against OUAZ followed two weeks later, capped off with Max Moreno's seven shutout innings with only two hits allowed to push Jessup to 6-3.
 
A sweep of Arizona Christian the next weekend kept Jessup's momentum rolling, and with that, the Warriors cracked the top ten, reaching as high as No. 7 in the NAIA Coaches' Poll.
 
The Warriors eventually wrapped up the GSAC season with a 17-7 conference record, sending them into the conference tournament as the second seed. Hope International claimed the top seed as the regular season champions and eventually went on to end their year as national champions in Lewiston.
 
A first-round battle with ACU started the conference tournament in Irvine, and it was all Jessup from the first inning on. The Warriors claimed a 15-6 victory, advancing them to a meeting with Hope. Once again, Jessup's bats came to life, as an 11-8 win put the Warriors in the championship round, where they would again meet up with Hope.
 
In an epic conference championship round meeting, Hope took a 9-8 lead into the bottom of the ninth, but Jessup had one more strike left in them. With one on and one out, Chris Lopez launched the first pitch he saw over the wall in right-center to win the GSAC Championship on a walk-off blast.
 
"We feel great. We've worked hard for this," said Lopez after his championship moment. "Thanks to all of these guys. We've been grinding. This is a different kind of team than you've seen before."
 
The conference championship clinched an automatic berth into the NAIA Opening Round, where Jessup drew a spot in the Waleska Bracket. Jessup's season eventually ended in Georgia, as back-to-back 13-10 losses to Point Park and Keiser capped off a magical season.
 
What the Warriors did in 2024 will not be forgotten by fans of the program. Jessup reached the national tournament for the third time and brought home a conference championship for the first time since 2019. The ending to their NAIA era was one filled with milestone moments.
 
The Warriors are now on to their next chapter, as year one in the PacWest begins in the spring of 2025.
 
Jessup University is a provisional member of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) Division II and the PacWest Conference. For additional information regarding Jessup Athletics, visit www.jessupathletics.com; visit www.jessup.edu for more information on Jessup University. Follow Jessup Athletics on social media: Jessup University Athletics (Facebook) and @JessupAthletics (Instagram & X).