Colorado State baseball is back and ready to swing back into action.

CSU’s last season was nothing short of dominant. After finishing with a conference record of 13-2 and an overall record of 24-12, CSU went on to regionals, where they made a splash but ultimately came up short on their hopes to get to the World Series. Colorado State beat Iowa State twice but was eliminated by Iowa. Iowa would win the Mid-America Tournament and go ahead to the World Series.

Head Coach Troy Tolar was delighted with the season, even though they did not make it to the World Series.

“As I reflect on last season, I am so proud of our team and how much everyone grew, each individually and as a team,” Tolar said. “Unfortunately, we did not achieve what we set out to at the beginning of the year, but the reality is only one team goes home happy. … It wasn’t us. At regionals, I think the guys played very well, but the bounces didn’t go our way, and sometimes that happens in baseball.”

After a great season, eight players made the Mid-America All-Region team. Jack Rozecki, Brandon DeLay and Blake Buhrer all made first team. Jared Van Vark, Ryan Schones, Mack Morford and Ryan McDaniel made second team. Brandon Severinsen tops it off by being named to the third team. DeLay was also named to the NCBA All-American second team.

The Rams lost 10 seniors at the end of last season. Most notably, they lost an All-American outfielder in DeLay. He led the Rams’ offense last year, so the question is, who will fill his shoes in the upcoming season?

“It is always tough when you lose a big class of seniors to figure out how to replace those guys that were such a big part of the program,” Tolar said. “DeLay left some big shoes to fill, but we have a really great group of officers [whom] I believe will do a great job in stepping into their leadership roles. Daniel Terao and Adrian Juarez will be taking over as president and vice president.”

Terao was a huge piece in the pitching rotation for the Rams last season. He pitched in 34.1 innings and had an ERA of 5.50. He was the go-to guy when the Rams were in a tight situation and needed someone to come in and produce outs.

As a freshman, Juarez put up fantastic numbers. His batting average was .368, and he racked up 28 hits and 20 RBIs. His OBP was .437, and his OPS finished around .936.

Even with the hefty loss of the seniors, the Rams are in pretty good shape for the upcoming season. They have young talent that will be able to carry the team to success. The CSU Rams baseball team will be a force to reckon with for next year — and many to come.

“We obviously would like to make it back to the World Series,” Tolar said. “If we work hard and continue to get better every day, then those big goals will take care of themselves.”

Tyler Meguire can be reached at sports@collegian.com or on Twitter @TMeguire.