Florida A&M’s prelude for continued success on the baseball diamond has officially begun.

The defending Southwestern Athletic Conference champions reported to Moore-Kittles Field for Friday afternoon’s first preseason practice.

The Rattlers return from a 29-30 overall record, 18-12 in the SWAC, culminated by representing the league in the NCAA Gainesville Regional last June.

“I’m excited as I’ve always been,” said FAMU head coach Jamey Shouppe, entering his 11th year and 10th season with the Rattlers. “It’s good to be on the baseball field. The plan to get to the postseason starts today.

"The talent is there.”

The Rattlers open their regular season against Eastern Illinois in a three-game series from Feb. 16 to Feb. 17.

Other non-SWAC teams featured on FAMU’s schedule are Troy, Indiana State, and Florida, which the Rattlers narrowly fell to 3-0 in the double-elimination NCAA Regional.

The Rattlers had the third-toughest non-conference schedule in the country last season, Shouppe said. The challenging slate helps FAMU during SWAC games, which begin at Alabama A&M on March 15.

“I think this year’s [schedule] is tougher,” Shouppe said. “I don’t care anything about my record as a head coach. The only thing I care about is getting ready to play conference games.

"You play to get to the NCAA postseason, the road to Omaha.”

FAMU baseball navigating key losses, still possess veteran squad

The Rattlers lost a lot of production.

Departures include All-SWAC performers who both landed Major League Baseball developmental contracts Hunter Viets (pitcher) and Ty Hanchey (catcher).

But the Rattlers also return a lot, such as Ty Jackson, who led the team in hits and runs last season as a junior college transfer.

With a year at FAMU under his belt, the senior outfielder has played a role in helping the team adapt to each other.

“We gelled and became a brotherhood and family quickly,” Jackson reflected. “These next 21 days are going to make us even closer.”

FAMU’s single-season homerun leader, Sebastian Greico, is also back. Last season, Greico slammed 17 homers to surpass Bo Gilliam’s and Keith Maxwell’s 15.

Additionally, FAMU shortstop Jalen Niles is back after participating in the HBCU Swingman Classic all-star game last season.

Despite having a seasoned team, Shouppe still expects youth to contribute to the Rattlers.

Freshmen he’s excited to develop are switch hitter Josue Figeroa and pitchers Carson Kelly and Blake Pacheco.

“It’s a very good freshman class,” Shouppe assessed the newcomers. “We’ll redshirt a few guys, but get some guys some experience because we’ll lose a lot after this year offensively.

“Not only do we see a chance to win now, but also a chance to win in the future with the young, talented kids we have.”

Defending SWAC champions, FAMU baseball aiming to add to program's success

The Rattlers don’t want to match their success from last season.

They hope to exceed it.

FAMU won its third conference title in the Shouppe era. The FAMU coach is on the shortlist of coaches to win conference titles in multiple conferences, capturing the SWAC in 2023 and the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference in 2015 and 2019.

What eludes FAMU baseball is a NCAA Tournament victory after falling a combined three runs apiece to Florida and UConn in last season’s regional.

Shouppe will have some FAMU title-winners helping him with the NCAA Tournament win pursuit. Members of the Rattlers' 2019 MEAC championship team Jeremiah McCollum and Tucker Rayburn have joined Brett Richardson as assistant coaches.

“The players change, and the lineup looks different, but the plan to be successful and win conference championships doesn’t change,” Shouppe said. “If those guys work together within our plan, we’ll be successful.”

The word of FAMU's first practice on Friday was "connection."

Connection can fuel the Rattlers to repeat as SWAC champions then be on the winning side of an NCAA Tournament game come June.

“We’re trying to bring together better camaraderie and trusting the process,” Jackson said.

"It’s going to be a fun year.”

Florida A&M Baseball Roster Outlook

Key Losses: Ty Hanchey (catcher), Zach Morea (relief pitcher) Hunter Viets (starting pitcher), Jared Weber (third baseman)

Key Returners: Janmikell Bastardo (outfielder), Ty Jackson (outfielder), Jalen Niles (shortstop), Joseph Pierini (second baseman)

Key Newcomers: Josue Figueroa (switch hitter), Carson Kelly (pitcher), Blake Pacheco (pitcher)

Gerald Thomas, III covers Florida A&M University Athletics for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at gdthomas@tallahassee.com or on the app formerly known as Twitter @3peatgee.

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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FAMU Baseball: Defending SWAC champs Rattlers hope to exceed standard