Campbell Baseball Schedule 2024: What To Know

Campbell baseball is expanding their reach after dominating the Big South. They will face early challenges from Santa Barbara, UNC, and East Carolina.

Feb 12, 2024 by Briar Napier

Campbell Baseball Schedule 2024: What To Know

Having dominated its old league, Big South, over much of the past decade, Campbell baseball has sought a new frontier.

The Camels have found it, but in the Coastal Athletic Association, Campbell will find yearly competitive chaos, with three different champions the last three seasons.

One of the strongest mid-major baseball programs in the country last season, Campbell—ranked in the top 25 for much of the year—will play its first season of CAA ball in 2024.

Before conference play begins, Campbell will have a bevy of early-season tests, including UC Santa Barbara, East Carolina and North Carolina. All ranked in the Top 25 Coaches Poll and all broadcast on FloBaseball.

Here’s all you need to know about the Camels ahead of the 2024 season.

How Did Campbell Baseball Do In 2023?

Last season was a banner year for Campbell baseball as the Camels won the Big South Conference regular-season title for the fifth consecutive (completed) season and got back to the NCAA Tournament once again, also for their fifth consecutive time.

Ranked as high as No. 9 in the country, Campbell’s 46 wins were the second-most in program history and sixth nationally last year, as the roster was stacked, featuring eight names on the All-Big South first team at season’s end.

The ending to the season was soured by the fact that the Camels still were not able to capture their first regional championship in school history.

Sent to the Columbia Regional after pulling off the Big South regular-season and tournament double for the second straight year, an opening-round loss to NC State put Campbell’s back against the wall the rest of the way.

The Camels kept fighting, as a win against Central Connecticut State and a revenge triumph over the Wolfpack earned the Camels a spot in the final with host South Carolina. There, Campbell finally was eliminated from the postseason with a 16-7 loss.

Still, Campbell had little to be ashamed of and was able to be filled with pride later, as four players—Cade Kuehler, Ty Cummings, Ernie Day and Daniel Brown—were selected in last year’s MLB Draft.

Who Coaches Campbell Baseball?

Justin Hair is the coach of Campbell baseball. Haire is a four-time Big South Coach of the Year, and if he were to be picked as the CAA Coach of the Year in Campbell’s opening season in the league, he would pull off the rare feat of earning a league’s top coaching honor in two different conferences with the same school.

It definitely wouldn’t be out of the question, considering how good the Camels have been since the Ohio native took over for the 2015 season.

Haire has helped make Campbell, which had only qualified for the NCAA Tournament twice, pull off routinely what once were rare accomplishments for the program, and he almost certainly should win his 300th game at the helm sometime during the 2024 season.

Nine players under his watch have been named All-Americans, while 13 have been selected in the MLB Draft.

Has Campbell Baseball Ever Won The College World Series?

No, Campbell has never won the Men’s College World Series. The Camels are still seeking their first trip to Omaha.

Much of the Camels’ postseason success has come after the turn of the century, as they’ve made the NCAA Tournament multiple times, yet a CWS run—or even just a regional title—has evaded them.

Notable Returning Players

Lawson Harrill, OF

Last season’s Big South Player of the Year is ready to tear it up in his first season in the CAA, and the All-American should immediately enter as one of the league’s top hitters—especially for power—after an excellent college season, plus a stint this past summer in the esteemed Cape Cod League.

Harrill’s 22 home runs in 2023 were the most by a single player in Campbell history since 1985 and the most by a Big South player since 2005, with him slashing a monster .371/.475/.761 (with the latter number ranking 14th nationally). He also had a conference-leading 69 RBIs.

Jackson Roberts, RHP

The 2023 Big South Freshman of the Year is poised to make a big breakout in Campbell’s rotation.

From 17 appearances and 33 1/3 innings pitched in 2023, Roberts made his moments on the mound count, securing a 2-0 record with a 2.16 ERA and 35 strikeouts, plus a minuscule .108 batting average and 12 hits allowed.

The most impressive part of his strong rookie season, however, probably was how he managed to stay so even-keeled in pressure situations, despite his relative inexperience in the college game.

That included having inherited nine total baserunners in relief situations in 2023—including two occasions with the bases loaded—and not allowing a run in any case, as well as throwing a scoreless ninth inning to pick up the pitching win over No. 15 East Carolina in a bonkers 14-13 game last May.

Notable Newcomers

Cole Peschl, RHP

A transfer in from Charleston (the Division II one in West Virginia, not the Camels’ new conference rival), Peschl was a standout on the mound for the Golden Eagles for two seasons but was especially effective last season, earning a first-team all-conference selection after being one of his league’s top pitchers.

He went 9-2 last year across five starts and 18 appearances, posting a 2.35 ERA and .198 opposing batting average. Peschl also established a reputation for fantastic control, recording 78 strikeouts to just 14 walks in 53 2/3 innings.

Braeden O’Shaughnessy, INF

Holding 100 career RBIs, O’Shaughnessy will be asked to do a lot for the Camels this season, as he transfers in from Youngstown State, where he was a career .313 hitter across four seasons, mainly playing second and third base for the Penguins.

His best year to date in college was his junior season in 2022, when O’Shaughnessy was a first-team All-Horizon League selection after leading the team in pretty much every statistical category, including batting average (.357), home runs (seven) and RBIs (41). He followed that with a second-team All-Horizon season in 2023 with career highs in both homers (nine) and RBIs (43).

The latter two numbers, in particular, should help make him a valued part of a lineup that lost four double-digit home run hitters, especially when Campbell is bound to be in a dogfight most nights in the ruthless CAA.