Bethune-Cookman's Dream Team Returns to Championship Form!
Bethune-Cookman returned most of its baseball roster from its 2025 SWAC-winning team. Here's how the Wildcats did it.
DAYTONA BEACH — The part that’s new about Bethune-Cookman’s baseball team is that its roster … isn’t. The paradox the Wildcats have the fortune of representing is becoming increasingly rare in the collegiate landscape, as mid-major programs across all sports have dealt with power-school poaching. But Bethune-Cookman, fresh off a Southwestern Athletic Conference title and an appearance in the 2025 NCAA Tournament, was able to avoid losing the majority of its production.
In fact, it returned a large portion of it. The Wildcats returned seven of their nine players from their tournament-team starting lineup, and manager Jonathan Hernandez estimated approximately 80% of his roster was on the team a year ago. “It’s the first time in a long time where we have continuity on the roster,” Hernandez said.
“We brought back a lot of last year’s team, and the pieces that we brought in, they’ve dealt well with the guys that we have. ” Believe it or not, the ability to keep the players that led Bethune-Cookman to a 37-23 record and a conference title has benefited the Wildcats early into their 2026 campaign. Bethune-Cookman went 11-6 in its nonconference schedule with wins over Yale, South Florida and Florida Gulf Coast among others.
The Wildcats also played Miami (Florida) to a 5-2 loss. B-CU finished 7-10 in the same timeframe a year ago. “It’s definitely not normal,” outfielder Sergio Rivera said.