Follow @PrepBaseballCA Follow @LesLukach Follow @PBRmonkFollow @hardy03bsblFollow @HankLoForte

At The Yard Podcast: New Episode LIVE now!

The 2025 California high school baseball season is quickly approaching and, as usual, excitement is abound throughout the state. Players and coaches have been working in preparation for the upcoming season and, as is the case each year, there are some very talented players and teams across California.

Teams across the state have goals and aspirations to finish their seasons in their respective CIF Section Championship Game, but there is plenty of work to be done before that becomes reality. We hope to familiarize our readers with many of the teams across the state as we preview these individual programs across California. We will take you right up to first pitch this season with these team previews, eventually releasing our Preseason Power 25 rankings.

Please keep checking back throughout the season as we will be your one-stop shop for everything related to high school baseball across California. Each week we will be releasing our Power 25, Players of the Week, Diamond Notes, podcasts, and much more.

Our 2025 preseason coverage continues today with a preview of the Newbury Park Panthers.

2025 TEAM OUTLOOK

High School: Newbury Park Panthers
Head Coach: Curtis Scott
CIF Section: Southern Section
Division: 3 (2024)
2024 Record (Playoff Finish):  17-13
Key Players Lost: Cade Falksen, Tyler Field, Paul Lizzul, Drew Paez, Grayson Paul, Justin Frohn

+ No. Returning Positional Players: 10
+ No. Returning Pitchers: 9
+ Team Strengths: Starting pitching, top of the lineup production, depth of varsity experience

ROSTER PREVIEW

+ Key Players:

Seniors:

+ '25 RHP/INF Cameron Fausset - USC Commit

+ '25 OF/LHP Luke Medhurst - USD Commit

+ '25 OF Owen Meli - Cal Poly SLO Commit

+ '25 OF Andrew Vega

+ '25 OF Davis Klinger

Juniors:

+ '26 INF Alan Espinal

+ '26 C Nathaniel Nunez

+ Projected Starters: Cameron Fausset, Luke Medhurst, 3rd spot still TBD
+ Projected Relievers: Still being sorted out

IMPACT UNDERCLASSMEN

+ '27 SS/RHP Cole Munyon

+ '27 INF/RHP Owen Gaida

+ '27 OF/RHP Carson Richter

BOTTOM LINE

The key to this team will be how the bullpen and 3rd starter spot sorts itself out with the 1st and 2nd starters both being D1 commits if the arms behind them can pitch to their abilities it should be a strong staff. With some really good bats who will hit towards the top of the lineup that will make their offense go, but the development of some bats and their production towards the back end of the lineup will be important to the success of the 2025 team. Overall the talent is here for a strong year, but it's going to require players stepping in and replacing talented players who graduated.

PREP BASEBALL CA STAFF’S TAKE

The Panthers were very talented in 2024 with plenty of pieces that made their finish outside the top of the Marmonte League a little surprising for me personally, but that talent showed up in a pair of playoff wins to reach the quarterfinals of CIF-SS D3 playoffs before falling to the eventual champions Beckman. Replacing some vital innings on the mound will be important, but the duo of Fausset and Medhurst gives them a pair of talented arms with loads of varsity experience to make them tough to beat in at least two games of the Marmonte League 3 game week, but someone will have to fill the 3rd starter role and who steps up in the bullpen is going to be vital to the level of success Newbury Park experiences in 2025. I'm a fan of the lineup from the Sr. bats of Meli, Medhurst, Fausset, Vega that older experience with plenty of success makes up a strong core, but keep your eyes on the rising Jrs. Nunez and Espinal who are very talented pieces and then the Soph. trio of Munyon, Richter and Gaida got valuable varsity experience as Fr. with Munyon seeing a prominent role on the INF. They may not be as loaded as they were in 2024, but this 2025 group can definitely make some noise in the difficult Marmonte League and if they can earn a CIF-SS playoff berth in the month of May. - Steven Hardesty Assistant Scouting Director

Learn more about California’s 2025 spring season below:

+ Follow Newbury Park on X: @NpBase
+ Find more team previews on the Prep Baseball California Season Previews homepage

FOLLOW US THROUGHOUT THE SPRING

+ Prep Baseball California on X
+ Prep Baseball California on Instagram
+ Prep Baseball California on Facebook
+ Prep Baseball California on YouTube

MORE 2025 TEAM PREVIEWS

Upcoming Events

Showcase	State	Date	Location
North Bay Preseason ID	CA	01/25/25	Novato High School
Inland Empire Preseason ID	CA	01/26/25	Ganesha High School
East Bay Preseason ID	CA	02/01/25	Pittsburg High School
Sacramento Preseason ID	CA	02/09/25	McBean Park
Orange County Rising Stars ID	CA	03/02/25	Mater Dei High School
Inland Empire Rising Stars ID	CA	03/30/25	Corona High School
Los Angeles Rising Stars ID	CA	04/27/25	O'Malley Field

MORE PREP BASEBALL NEWS