NATCHITOCHES, La. _ The University of Central Arkansas Bears get their 2025 season underway Friday with a three-game series at a familiar venue.

UCA travels to Natchitoches, La., to take on the Northwestern State Demons at Brown-Stroud Field. Game times are 6:30 on Friday and Saturday, and 1 p.m. Sunday.

"Just normal anticipation and excitement," said UCA head coach Nick Harlan, who is entering his fourth season as head coach and 12th overall with the program. "We have a good blend of new and old players, so there are still roles to be earned. One thing about this team is they have a really good balance of competing for those roles, competing against each other, but also competing for each other. 

"So I think all the hard work and all the training they've put in, I think they are just excited to go out and play somebody else."

The last time the Bears and Demons faced off 2021 when both were members of the Southland Conference. UCA swept that series 3-0 at Bear Stadium. Historically, NSU holds a 22-20 lead in the long-time series.

The Bears are now in their fourth season in the Atlantic Sun Conference, where they were picked sixth out of 12 teams in the coaches' preseason poll. The Bears return 21 players from last year's roster, with one, outfielder Kade Seldomridge, out for the season after off-season surgery. UCA has 13 pitchers back from a year ago, including a pair of weekend starters and a closer, along with seven position players.

"Good leadership, very competitive (group)," Harlan said. "Very diligent in the way they go about their business. Kind of a self-governing type of team, which I think are the best teams. The guys show up every day and they work hard. And they know that there is someone right behind them, so it keeps everybody on their toes trying to be their best every day."

Harlan said one aspect that has improved is the size and strength of his team.

"I think we're more physical than we've been in years past," said Harlan. "I think we'll still run well and play that brand of baseball, but we're also physical so we'll be able to drive the ball. And that's something that we've been working toward, continue to get more physical. That's the way the game's played, especially in our league."

UCA's expected rotation for the opening weekend features junior righthander Charlie Christensen on Friday, redshirt freshman righthander Lucas Greer on Saturday and junior righthander Coleman MacRae in Sunday's finale. Christensen, a 6-foot-4, 190-pounder from Olathe, Kan., was a preseason All-ASUN selection after going 5-4 with one save and a 5.98 earned-run average last season. His save came in UCA's upset of Top 25 Mississippi State in Starkville, Miss.

MacRae was 5-5 with a 6.09 over 57.2 innings, with 53 strikeouts. Greer is seeing the mound for the first time since the 2023 season when he made five appearances before undergoing Tommy John surgery. He then missed the 2024 season after a preseason Achilles injury. 

In all, UCA returns a pitching staff with a combined 30 starts, 20 wins and 244 strikeouts.

"I feel really good about that group," Harlan said of his opening weekend starters. "They are all a little bit different, and it gives a little different look from each one of them. But they will all throw strikes, they're competitive, they have some experience. So I feel really good about it."

Greer is the intriguing starter after recording 21 strikeouts in 13 innings in his brief debut as a true freshman in 2023.

"He has dynamic stuff and he's very competitive," said Harlan. "He throws the ball with a lot of intent and conviction. He just goes right after people, very aggressive in the strike zone. And he's champing at the bit because he's been sitting out two years. He's just a guy who loves UCA, loves his teammates, love the program. He's been working really hard to try to get back because he wants to contribute on the field.

"The last two years he's contributed to the program in a lot of different ways, being a great teammate, serving in different roles. But he's ready to get on the field and compete."

UCA also returns its closer in junior Hunter Alexander from Bigelow, Ark. He had a 5-3 record with 8 saves and 74 strikeouts in 55.1 innings a year ago.

"You can't forget Hunter Alexander, who I think is one of the top closers in the league," said Harlan. "He was just ranked by DI-Baseball.com as one of the top releivers in the country, and No. 2 at the mid-major level. He had a really good year last year and we're expecting  a lot from him again this year."

The Bears return several key position players, including fifth-year senior Tanner Leonard, who will move from second base to shortstop this season. Leonard, from Searcy, Ark., hit .263 a year ago in 51 games. Also on the left side of the infield is another returnee in junior Bryce Cermenelli from Norco, Calif., who hit .306 with four home runs and 48 runs batted in a year ago.

Behind the plate will be senior Casey Shipley of Farmington, Ark., who hit .255 and tied for the team lead with eight home runs in his first season at UCA. 

A member of the ASUN All-Freshman team and a third-team All-ASUN pick, outfielder Zeb Allen is back after leading the UCA offense a year ago with a .315 average, which included a .442 slugging percentage and a .432 on-base percentage. He was even better in ASUN games, hitting .340 with eight stolen bases. 

Defensively, UCA returns a combined 324 games played and 281 games started from a group that led the ASUN in fielding percentage last season at .975. Leonard is leader with 132 starts in 143 career games.

UCA's 2025 schedule features an annual matchup with the Arkansas Razorbacks at Baum-Walker Stadium in Fayetteville on Tuesday, March 11. The Bears will also have seven other in-state games, including three with the Little Rock Trojans as part of the "I-40 Showdown," and home-and-home series with both Arkansas State and UAPB.

UCA will also host Eastern Michigan, Central Connecticut, UL Monroe and Evansville, and will play a home-and-home with Memphis. The home opener, weather permitting, is scheduled for Tuesday against Missouri State at 3 p.m. at Bear Stadium.

The ASUN will play in divisions this season, with UCA part of the Gold Division, which includes Austin Peay, Bellarmine, North Alabama, Eastern Kentucky and Lipscomb. The Bears will play home-and-home series with each divisional team, which means six games against each, with no crossover matchups with the Graphite Division (Florida Gulf Coast, North Florida, Stetson, Jacksonville, Queens, West Georgia) until the postseason tournament.

Harlan said he wants a good, clean weekend of baseball to get things started.

"I just want the guys to play hard, play smart, play good fundamental baseball, play together," he said. "When it's all said and done, I want to play the game the right way, which they will. There's no doubt in my mind that they'll do that."

Friday's and Sunday's game can be seen on ESPN+. Live stats are available all weekend at https://nsudemons.com/sidearmstats/baseball/summary