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Air Force Returns a Bunch from 2015
Seniors that have finished their baseball careers at Air Force are Noah Pierce, Tyler Saleck, Ben Yokley, David Thomas, and Dominic Vicino. Pierce hit .274 but had a team-leading eight home runs. Saleck hit .276 in full time duty. Thomas was a valuable reserve. Vicino had little time on the mound while Yokley was the closer (four saves) and pretty dominant while doing that. So much so that he was drafted. That list contains two starting players and a closer. Not bad but the closer was a good one.
The Falcons have a fair amount of quality returning in leading hitter Bradley Haslam and close behind him was Adam Groesbeck. In fact, the top three hitters return in Haslam, Groesbeck, and Spencer Draws. That's a healthy place to be. The three starting pitchers also return and I'll leave it at that. Four of the starters had the bulk of the starts on the team so the pitching staff looks pretty good. Trent Monaghan (5-6 and 2.75) will be the ace and, in my book at least, might get some consideration for preseason pitcher of the year in the MWC.
I can't talk much about recruits because the service academies are a special group and the kids coming in have basic training to pass before they can even think about playing ball.
All in all, things look pretty rosy for the Falcons. Pitching staff was fair last year and comes back losing only a closer and the top three hitters also come back. Watch out, Mountain West.