LINCOLN – The final game of Jessup's inaugural Division II season ended in a dogpile, as baseball capped off the 2025 campaign as national champions of the NCCAA. With a new frontier ahead of them, Jessup put up a good fight in their PacWest debut, setting up for a run at NCAA gold in 2026 when the team is postseason eligible.
 
Head coach Trevor Paine and his Warriors saw their NAIA era come to an end in Georgia one year ago as the Warriors were eliminated in the NAIA Opening Round. The team had big plans ahead of them in 2025 as they transitioned from the NAIA to NCAA Division II.
 
While the Warriors were ineligible for NCAA and PacWest postseason action due to Jessup's provisional NCAA membership, that did not deter Jessup from competing against the best, as the Warriors took on three teams in the regular season that qualified for the NCAA Regional.
 
Those three teams were CSU Monterey Bay, Point Loma, and Westmont.
 
Jessup's DII debut came on February 7 when the Warriors traveled to Rohnert Park to battle Sonoma State. Game one ended in a 6-2 Jessup win, and then the following day the Warriors added two more wins when Sonoma came to McBean Park.
 
The perfect start continued with a four-game sweep of Fresno Pacific, with two wins coming in Lincoln, and the other two on the road. A win to start the series at Biola pushed Jessup to 8-0, but then came the losses as Biola grabbed the next three.
 
Jessup snapped out of their losing skid with three straight wins in Hilo, and followed it up with a four-game sweep of Menlo.
 
The Warriors' longest homestand of the season saw Jessup go 8-4. The homestand began with a split against Hawaii Pacific and was followed up by a series win against Chaminade. Then came Westmont, which was ranked No. 4 in the nation. Jessup played their best baseball of the season against the eventual PacWest champions, winning the first three games of the series.
 
Gabe Harris had the highlight moments of the homestand when he hit back-to-back pinch-hit home runs to tie games two and three. Both ended with a Jessup walk-off in the tenth inning.
 
The Warriors closed out their home schedule with a visit from Azusa Pacific. Jessup continued to dominate at McBean Park as they swept the weekend to finish 18-4 at home.
 
Jessup capped off the regular season with a 28-16 mark in PacWest games. While they could not participate in the PacWest Tournament, the Warriors continued their season as the West Region's selection for the NCCAA World Series.
 
Postseason baseball began with wins against Campbellsville and Oakland City, but then came Mission, which handed Jessup a 6-0 loss. With elimination on the horizon, Jessup continued their season with wins against Concordia Ann Arbor and Fort Lauderdale, setting up a rematch with Mission in the championship game.
 
Round two with Mission went the way of the Warriors as Jessup won 11-5 to clinch a national championship.
 
Right-handers Hailama Swartman and Evan Williams were selected to the NCCAA All-Tournament Team. Swartman was named Most Outstanding Player.
 
Swartman also earned a selection to the PacWest All-Conference team, where he was joined by Nick Poss, Cody Antone, and Nolan Thebiay. Poss later added CSC Academic All-District and NCBWA All-Region honors.
 
Paine also earned hardware as the NCCAA Coach of the Year. Jessup's win against Concordia Ann Arbor was memorable for Paine, as it gave him his 200th win as Jessup's head coach.
 
The 2024-25 season for Jessup Athletics was historic. Now that year one in Division II is in the rearview mirror, sights are now set on 2025-26 as Jessup will be eligible for NCAA and PacWest postseason competition.
   
Jessup University is a 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).