‘Play good baseball and just keep it simple,’ that’s the motto that has been enforced by head coach Scott Malone going into his 13th season at Texas A&M Corpus Christi. 

The Islanders are not planning on doing anything fancy. This team will go out, play hard, and hope that translates to the scoreboard. Malone finished the 2019 season 31-26 overall and 14-16 in conference. 

Watch Texas A&M - Corpus Christi at the Kleberg Bank Baseball Classic LIVE on FloBaseball

Although they were voted to finish sixth in the Southland preseason poll, the Islanders might repeat what they did in the conference tournament last year and upset top-ranked Sam Houston State. Stranger things have happened. Other highlights from last season include wins over Ohio State, Central Arkansas and Prairie View A&M.

Despite losing some good seniors last year, the Islanders still have plenty of solid players in the clubhouse. 

Transfer Tristan Welch is expected to fill Nick Anderson’s shoes this season and should provide the team with a strong arm down the middle. Welch is coming from LSU-Eunice where he finished batting .318.

Happy @KlebergBank College Classic Eve! We get a preview of it tonight as we host Kansas State then it's on to Whataburger Field for three full days of games! See you at the park! #ShakasUp?⚾️ #tamucc?️https://t.co/FWUto9wema

— Islanders Baseball (@IslandersBSB) February 20, 2020

Other big hitters include seniors Itchy Burt, Mike Williams and Luke Marbach. Burt has been a force on this team since he got there and was named a First Team All-Southland utility player and First Team Southland All-Academic in 2019. 

Both Williams and Marbach are also returning starters that will help fill out the lineup.  

Junior John Gaddis will be the Islanders’ go-to-guy on the hill this year after finishing 2019 with a 3.08 ERA. Joining Gaddis in the weekend rotation will be sophomore Hayden Thomas and junior Leo Perez. 

Things are happening! ?

Baseball starts this weekend here with the @KlebergBank College Classic: https://t.co/KB5yNY11FE @IslandersBSB pic.twitter.com/TvQ9MOipju

— Corpus Christi Hooks (@cchooks) February 19, 2020

This past summer, Thomas played in two different collegiate leagues: the Coastal Plain League and Cape Cod League. Malone believes that experience has given this underclassman the kind of confidence to really become a difference maker this year. 

The pitching staff will miss ace Dustin Lacaze, who was drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks after his junior year. 

With a total 11 seniors and an expected six of them in the every day lineup, what this team will bring to their competition is their valued experience. 

For the fourth time, the Islanders will host the Kleberg Bank Baseball Classic at Whataburger Field on Feb. 21-23. Kansas State, Utah and Missouri will join the party and all games will stream live on FloBaseball and the FloSports app.