After an up-and-down 55-game season this spring, Northern Colorado baseball coach Mike Anderson and the Bears program have switched into offseason mode.
That means recruiting, planning and preparing for next year, a process that began before the end of 2024. After starting the season winless in its nonconference season, UNC finished the year playing in the Summit League championship series over Memorial Day weekend.
“Recruiting is 24/7, and it’s the most important we do and we want to have a strong emphasis on Colorado kids,” said Anderson, a former UNC player who finished his second as head coach. “We’re still one of the youngest teams in the conference. And we refuse to go away from the old-school model of recruiting freshmen.”
The early off-season recruiting efforts included a prospect camp Tuesday at the Bears’ Jackson Field. A hitting camp is scheduled for next week.
In Anderson’s opinion, UNC is a good place and the right place for a lot of Colorado athletes. Though the program won’t solely rely on the portal, it is a tool for the program. The baseball transfer portal opened this week.
Anderson wants more depth in the pitching staff for future teams. He added the Bears should soon have more speed and athleticism with incoming players.
Given the story of the UNC season in 2024, wherever Anderson finds athletes for future teams, the young men must want to compete and work to compete on the field.
In a sense, Anderson is looking for fighters or guys who will go all out on the field. Bulldogs.
“A little moxie,” the coach said.
UNC (13-16-1 Summit League, 16-38-1 overall) had two seasons in one spring this year. The Bears started the year 0-21 in a nonconference schedule that ranked 23rd toughest in the country.
Among those nonconference opponents are:
- Tarleton State, which won the Western Athletic Conference tournament championship, but was ineligible for the NCAA Tournament because of its transition to Division I from Division II
- University of Georgia, the No. 7 seed nationally, will host games up to the College World Series
- Louisiana Tech, which won the Conference USA regular-season title, lost in the tournament championship and played in the NCAA Tournament. The Bulldogs were eliminated over the weekend.
UNC was one of four teams in the Summit League postseason tournament. The Bears got in for the first time as the fourth seed. They beat No. 1 Omaha and No. 2 North Dakota State to get to the final day in the double-elimination tournament.
All year, though, UNC couldn’t beat Summit League power Oral Roberts. The Golden Eagles beat UNC in five of six games in the regular season — the other game was a tie — and then twice in the league tournament.
ORU beat the Bears 11-4 in the tournament championship game May 25 to secure its 22nd Summit League Tournament title.
“They are a better team and better program than us,” Anderson said. “We have to recognize that and see that. If we want to get better, we have to go through them.”
Anderson said the Bears’ turnaround came down to better pitching late in the year, a group that didn’t give up with the winless nonconference schedule and some lineup changes which included playing guys with moxie.
“Velocity didn’t matter,” Anderson said of making changes in the pitching staff. “I wanted guys to compete. They weren’t going to play unless they fought.”
