Prep Baseball Report

2025 High School Previews: San Marcos Royals


Steven Hardesty
Assistant Scouting Director

 

  

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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 San Marcos Royals.


2025 TEAM OUTLOOK

High School: San Marcos Royals
Head Coach: Wes Ghan-Gibson
CIF Section: Southern Section
Division: Division 2 (2024)
2024 Record (Playoff Finish): 14-13-1 Overall 9-4-1 Channel League (CIF-SS D2 Playoffs)
Key Players Lost: Erick Perez, Dayne Dreste, Steven Bradley, Logan Stevenson 

+ No. Returning Positional Players: 10
+ No. Returning Pitchers: 6
+ Team Strengths: We are a competitive group who loves to get after it from the mound to the dish and all over the field we compete.

ROSTER PREVIEW

+ Key Players:

Seniors:

+ '25 RHP Alexi Stegner

+ '25 LHP Ethan Stokhaug

+ '25 C Kieran Babai

+ '25 OF Nate Jones

Juniors:

+ '26 INF/RHP Mason Crang


'26 1B/LHP Landon Johnson

+ '26 INF Miles Herbert

+ '26 SS/2B Grant Hoover

+ Projected Starters: Alexi Stegner, Ethan Stokhaug
+ Projected Relievers: Mason Crang, Landon Johnson, David Burkholder and still to be determined

IMPACT UNDERCLASSMEN 

+ '27 OF Patrick Foster

+ '27 LHP David Burkholder

BOTTOM LINE

We have to replace the quality innings the Perez gave us on the mound in 2024, but the mixture of our staff is very solid especially if Stegner can repeat or improve his 2024 and Stokhaug can build on a strong 2024 campaign. Our offense will be paced by Crang again with 3-sport athlete Nate Jones bring athleticism while Babai, Foster, Hoover, and Herbert looking to take steps forward in 2025. Our goal is play one game at a time and try to go 1-0 each time we take the field and put ourselves in the best position we can to reclaim the Channel League crown after finishing second in 2024. If we can do that we like our chances to make some noise in the playoffs. - Coach Ghan-Gibson

PREP BASEBALL CA STAFF’S TAKE

San Marcos has been the class of the Channel League since CIF-SS baseball restarted with regularityh post covid. That includes talent that went on to play at the college level producing a 4th rounder in 2023, multiple D1 arms, a D1 bat, and several other talented players currenlty playing at the JUCO/D2/D3 or NAIA levels. As well, Head Coach Wes Ghan-Gibson took over the program in 2021 and immediately started a 3-peat of Channel League titles from 2021-2023 including a run to the 2023 CIF-SS D3 title game before falling to Aliso Niguel. The 2024 squad featured a large contigent of new faces who did not play key roles on the 2023 runner up squad, but after getting acclimated to full time varsity roles this group competed there way up the rankings of the Channel League to finish in second place and set the stage for a 2025 season where they have their eyes on trying to reclaim their spot atop the league. To get there the Royals are going to need strong season on the mound from Stegner and Stokhaug leading the way while top offensive piece Mason Crang will be expected to front the offense again in 2025 while adding his talented RHP profile to the staffs depth. If some of the younger pieces who got their first varsity experience in 2025 can take the steps forward with their development/performance I would not be suprised at all to see San Marcos right in the mix for a 4th Channel League title in 5 years come May. - Assistant Scouting Director Steven Hardesty

Learn more about California’s 2025 spring season below:

+ Follow San Marcos on Instagram: @smroyalsbaseball
+ Find more team previews on the Prep Baseball California Season Previews homepage

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+ Prep Baseball California on X
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+ 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