SENATOBIA - It's never over until it's over.

To the Northwest baseball team, that expression was on full display last season. After stumbling out of the gate to start the season, the Rangers hit their stride over the last couple weeks of the regular season, finishing 5-1 to close out conference play and squeeze into the final NJCAA Region 23 playoff spot.

Northwest saw its hard work pay off, as the Rangers stunned No. 6 Meridian in the best-of-three playoff series. The Eagles were the second seeded team in the conference and saw their season come to an end at the hands of the Rangers, sending Northwest into the Region 23 Tournament at Pearl River.

While last season might have been one of the most challenging ones for head coach Mark Carson, it was how the Rangers performed when it mattered most that has stuck with him entering the 2023 season.

"There were a lot of ups and downs, but we got hot at the end," Carson reflected. "We improved on some fundamental things and started swinging the bats better at the end, hitting a ton of home runs and really producing. Overall, we just want to build off of how we finished last season. We came in and had a great fall, finishing 7-1 and playing well against some good teams, and being able to do so with a lot of young guys. We're hoping that will all carry over into this spring."

Now entering his 18th season, Carson is used to the annual roster turnover that comes with NJCAA baseball. Gone are power hitters Ryan Lee and Wesley Lester, speedy outfielder Caleb Hobson and pitchers Zach Willingham, Colton Presley, Connor Spencer and John Luke Marlin, some of whom carried the Rangers to victory in the Meridian postseason series.

This year brings back few veterans and roughly 17 newcomers, many of whom are true freshmen. Transfers Eli Selby (Niagara) and James Smith (Ole Miss) make up the two transfers on the active roster.

As he mentioned, Carson is largely optimistic in his young roster after a successful fall. With a lot of new faces, some questions remain to be answered about certain positions. However, in some cases, that can be a nice problem to have. 

This year's pitching staff is one example. Returning pitchers C.J. Lofton, Logan Eldridge, Brooks Rice and Judah Buckner will contend for the starting rotation, along with freshman Connor McCaslin. Recent Memphis signee and returning sophomore Brayden Sanders is expected to contribute from the back of the bullpen, along with Smith and Collierville, Tenn. native Mason Shropshire, while Zach Beasley and Blake Loper are expected to add depth from the middle of the bullpen.

"It's a little strange because we are undecided on our rotation," Carson said, of his pitching staff. "Right now, we're going with those five possible guys to start and with them, we're trying to see who are the four that will take the reins and get us four or five innings per game. Our bullpen is as deep as it has ever been and those three [Sanders, Smith, Shropshire] are power arms with upper 80s to lower 90s stuff. That's going to really play well in the back end of the bullpen, especially in our doubleheaders. I thought we were good on the mound last year, but I think we will be improved this year."

Young is the first word that comes up in describing the Rangers' infield. Dawson Griffin is the Rangers' only returner from the infield. From there, it will be all newcomers in the infield, though Selby and Blake Loper will certainly make some impacts.

"He will play somewhere in the middle of the infield," Carson said, on Griffin. "Other than that, you're looking at a couple of freshmen around third, a freshman at shortstop and another freshman or two at first."

Although the abundance of newcomers would usually bring some uncertainty, Carson is excited about what this group will have to offer defensively and at the plate as well.

"We're young, but very talented," Carson said. "Our defense was our Achilles heel at times last year, but I like our depth in the infield this year. We have three guys contending for second base that could easily slide over to third and be just fine there. So I like having these options in our lineup and I believe that will play well for us."

Northwest also loses a ton of valuable experience in the outfield. Along with Hobson, the Rangers also lost Peeko Townsend, Landon Rogers and the option of Cameron Lancaster. Thomas Cheatham is the only returning outfielder on the Rangers' roster, signaling another unit populated with newcomers.

"He was a role player and didn't see a lot of time last year," Carson said, on Cheatham. "(But) he had a great fall and he will be back out there battling for playing time against five other freshmen. We may not have as much speed as we had in the past out there, but I think we will overcome that with our abilities. I like how we look out there and I think we will be just fine."

While Northwest will have to go through the same gauntlet during conference play, the non-conference schedule provides some unique opportunities to get a leg up. Aside from facing usual Tennessee foes in Jackson State (Tenn.), Columbia State and Motlow State, the rest of the non-conference slate actually features games against conference foes.

Northwest will make a visit to Decatur on February 22 to take on East Central and Jones College in a round-robin style format, repeating the same format on March 1 in Fulton against Itawamba and Northeast. The Rangers will also host East Mississippi and Copiah-Lincoln on Tuesday, March 7 and also face Southwest Mississippi in Summit on Friday, February 24.

"Those games will get us prepared for what we face in conference play," Carson said. "We picked some really tough ones. Both Itawamba and Northeast will be really solid, then we go to East Central and play Jones as well, and both of those programs will be talented as always. When you include the rest of them, they're non-conference games against conference opponents and we really wanted to beef up our schedule that way. Those can be tricky sometimes and we may lose some games along the way that might hurt us in the polls, but I would rather be prepared for a grueling 28-game conference schedule rather than stack up 15 or 16 easy wins."

As usual, the MACCC will be stacked once again from the top to the bottom. Defending national champion Pearl River comes in with the nation's No. 1 overall ranking, while Meridian and Hinds check in at ninth and 15th, respectively. Several other teams in the conference will undoubtedly make their push at the polls as well throughout the season.

While looking at the rest of the conference though, Carson is quick to point out that Northwest will be right there in the mix too.

"You have the usual teams that will be good, but I think we will be right in the hunt as well," Carson said. "I like our chances. Pearl River is No. 1 and LSU-Eunice is right there behind them. Meridian and East Central will be talented and so will Jones College, Mississippi Gulf Coast, and so on. I like the parity of the conference this year and I say that based on what I saw in the fall. Four-year coaches will telling us at showcases in the fall that they couldn't pick out an overwhelming favorite among the conference, and that tells you just how balanced this league will be."

Despite the Rangers' youth, Carson isn't settling for anything less than a title. Northwest has always been a mainstay in the postseason, but it has been a while since another trophy was raised in baseball. The Rangers last Region 23 title came in 2007, the same year as the program's last NJCAA World Series appearance. 

"It's been a long time," Carson said. "In baseball, that's something that is hard to win...but that's our ultimate goal. To do that, you have to play well and play sound in every phase of the game. I think our guys will be able to do that. I would love to be in Enid, Oklahoma in late May playing for a national title, but that doesn't happen without winning the region. That's our goal and that's not going to change."

Northwest will begin its 2023 campaign on Sunday afternoon against Bevill State from Jim Miles Field. The doubleheader is scheduled for 1/4 P.M. with both games carried live on Ranger TV (nwccrangers.com/watch)