Gaston College begins fall baseball workouts led by returning Region 10 honorees

After finishing with a 41-15-1 overall record and Region 10 runner-up finish last spring, Gaston College enters 2025 fall drills in hopes of improvement - and with five returnees who were region honorees.

"It's a really good problem to have and one we haven't had in a while," Rhinos head coach Shohn Doty said. "When you return that many All-Region players, you know you have experience and players who have been through the league and been through fall drills.
"There's a high level of expectation for all of those guys from us as a coaching staff - and they've put a high level of expectation on themselves."

Those top returning players are first team 2025 All-Region 10 outfielder Joey Nicholson and second team All-Region 10 selections David Nicks (infield), Koy Swanson (outfield) and Chris Hendrickson (outfield).

"The expectations haven't changed around here," Doty said. "Most folks would consider it a really good year at 41-15 but we felt last season that we were not the best versions of ourselves. And that starts with me and our coaching staff.
"We just need to stay away from the injury bug that we had some last year. Having returning players back is kind of unusual for a junior college so having so many back that were All-Region 10, I think, is going to bode well for us.
"Our expectations are really high. As always. We expect to have a really good pitching staff. We've got to guys coming back from injuries so we're not going to look this fall like we're going to look three months from now."

Nicholson, an outfielder from Middletown, Md., hit .385 with 15 home runs and 62 RBIs last season.

He enters the season with a simple goal:

"Go to Colorado," Nicholson said of the annual National Junior College World Series in Grand Junction, Col., that Gaston College made in 2023. "I think we've got a really good shot. We've got a lot of older guys to mesh with some really good young players and some transfers. We should be really good."

Nicks, an infielder from Belmont who played at South Point and Gaston Christian in high school, hit .326 with nine home runs and 38 RBIs last season.

While he initially wanted to leave the area for college, he says last year's personal and team success confirmed his decision.

"Every kid going to college wants to get away from home," Nicks said. "Since I've been here, I wouldn't change anything.
"This year, I want to be a team leader and the best player I can. I think we have a great group here this year."

Swanson, an outfielder from Felton Pa., hit .357 with 11 home runs and 55 RBIs last season.

"Being a newcomer, one of the things that drew me here in the first place was the amount of winning they'd had," Swanson said. "And it's not just on the field. We want to win every drill, every set that we do in practice.
"Coming back this season, we think the newcomers have meshed with us well enough for us to take that next step."

And Hendrickson, an outfielder from Ronkonkoma, N.Y., hit 349 with six home runs and 43 RBIs.

"Our goal is to get to the World Series and win the World Series," Hendrickson said. "Coming here, I was big on being developed. I think there's been a lot of development from my freshman year to last year and I feel like I can develop even more this season."

Each of the returnees is receiving recruiting interest from senior colleges and hope to add to the school's extraordinary record of producing four-year schools; Gaston College has had 57 players in its first four years sign or commit to four-year colleges and universities.