Men’s baseball is the “winningest” team in the country since 2009. They have more wins under their belt than any other Division II baseball team. Head Coach Chris Hanks said that the team’s culture is what sets them ahead of everyone else. 

The team ended last season overall at 42-14 and number one in the RMAC at 26-4. Regis at number two was 35-16 overall and 24-6 in the RMAC. Except for 2020 and 2011, CMU has claimed that number one spot every year since 2004. Since 2009, they’ve racked up 469 conference wins and 694 regular season wins.

According to RMAC reporting, in mid-January, CMU “was the unanimous pick as 2026 favorite as selected by the league’s head coaches.” On Feb. 24, freshman pitcher Jackson Eisenhauer was selected as RMAC’s pitcher of the week. 

“We have a mantra. We try to do two things. We try to, what we call ‘out-team’ our opponents, and we try to out-compete them,” Hanks said.

Baseball has four key areas for training: pitching, fielding, base running and hitting. Baseball at CMU adds a fifth component–their team. Hanks said the baseball team works daily on team building and that they do it “better than most programs across the country year-in and year-out” and that they win because they “out-team” everybody else.

“We feel it’s the most important thing we do,” Hanks said.

During practice, music bumps out the stands–the players danced a little bit to “…Baby One More Time” by Britney Spears in between batting and diving for rogue balls. They’re focused on the task at hand, but also have fun with each other.

Catcher Rocco DiFrancesco said he’s been playing baseball since he was about six years old. He was in other sports as a kid, but the team aspects of baseball made him stick with it through college. He’s in his fifth year on the team and is graduating with his masters in sports management in May.

“I go to the field and I get to see, like, 50 of just my closest friends every single day. It’s like a hangout and then we get to play a sport that we all love,” DiFrancesco said.

Baseball practice is also a coordinated effort. Very little time is wasted during transitions because the players know exactly what they’re doing and where they need to be–what Hanks would call “synergy.” Players moved pitching screens, tubs full of baseballs and portable batting cages or “batting turtles” with very little direction from Hanks or other coaching staff. 

“Our strength as a team is just, every single person’s bought in. So you know, one through 47, or however many we have on the roster, we want the same thing. We want to win,” DiFrancesco said. 

Even though the team has a successful track record, DiFrancesco said that there is always room for improvement. At the start of the season, he said the team has a tendency to start off a little slow because the players haven’t seen live pitching for a while and it takes time to settle on the “right mix of players in the lineup.”

“I think this year, if we can just keep the momentum from the beginning going forward, we’ll be in a lot better spot,” DiFrancesco said.

The team read the book “Chop Wood, Carry Water” together and DiFrancesco said it helped the team remember to do all the little things correctly during practice because that is what makes a big difference.

“The little things that make a difference is stretching a lot before I catch so I’m not getting hurt. Working on little things like receiving, blocking, footwork for different types of throws that I’m gonna make,” DiFrancesco said. “Those things are the little behind-the-scenes that in a game all have to be put together to make a play happen.”

Hanks said the culture on the field can be felt in the stands, too. Even though baseball is a bit of a slower-paced sport and “an acquired taste,” CMU plays with a lot of energy and Hanks said their cohesiveness is palpable in the dugout and after a few games, new fans will be hooked.

DiFrancesco said the series against Regis University in mid-April is going to be a prime time to come out and support the baseball team. He anticipates that the series will host their fireworks show and that the warm weather and green grass will give it “a really good vibe at the ballpark.”

“It’s fun when we get more people out there. There’s just a buzz around the stadium,” DiFrancesco said.

Baseball’s next series at home is against New Mexico Highlands University. The last time they played in March 2025 was a complete shutout with one game going 31-0 for the Mavericks. All games are free for students.