Francis Marion Fall Report: Building a Sustainable Powerhouse in Florence

Francis Marion Patriots

2025 record: 40-13, 22-8 Conference Carolinas

Staff: HC Jeff Jefferson, AHC Matt McCarty, PC/RC Tyler Bender, AC Chris Ford, AC Danny Leo

Head coach Jeff Jefferson heads into year two with Francis Marion coming off a 40-win season last year, good for a 22-win improvement and the largest in all of D2; even more impressive when you consider the program hadn’t won 30+ games since winning 40 in 2012. Jefferson was deservedly named Conference Carolinas Coach of the Year after leading the Pats to a share of the regular-season championship in 2025, and will look to continue that momentum this season on the back of a strong transfer class and a few notable returners.

The Offense

Francis Marion returns 45% of its offensive production from a year ago, most notably in the form of Charlie Bussey III. Bussey, a D2 Baseball second-team All-American as a sophomore last year, finished the season slashing .437/.545/.721 with 19 doubles, 11 home runs, and 65 RBI, and should once again be one of the most productive hitters in the country. Joining him will be Will Dorrell, who is making the move to third base after spending last year in the outfield and hitting .282 with 19 doubles, four homers, and 44 RBI. 

The duo is a good place to start as the Pats look to replace some key losses from a year ago. Gone are All-Conference shortstop Rayth Petersen (.340, 47 RBI), Caleb Oakley (.310, 38 RBI), Owen Taylor (.318, 55 RBI), Austin Bunn (.264, 11 HR), and Noah Stout (.283, 9 HR).

On the transfer side, Jefferson is excited about the addition of infielder Riley Orr, who comes over from Auburn Montgomery after hitting .353 with 13 doubles and eight home runs in 2025. Another impact transfer should be 1B Ethan McAnally, who joins the club from Coastal Alabama-North CC and hit .311 with nine extra-base hits last year. Joining them are a pair of transfers from South Florida State College in OF Zach Doorlag and INF Brandon Vargas. The two leading hitters for SFSC a year ago, Doorlag posted a .381 average with 20 doubles and 10 jacks, while Vargas hit .324 with 12 doubles and two homers to go along with 18 stolen bases. Behind the plate, the squad brought in Zander Buchan from Jacksonville State, after also spending a year each at South Carolina and Chipola College. Another transfer that should help the Pats is OF Matthew Manuel, who comes over from Georgia Southwestern after hitting .290 with 23 extra-base hits a year ago. From the high school ranks, the Pats are excited to have INF Logan Davis in the Red & Blue, as Jefferson mentioned he has a chance to start at shortstop on Opening Day. Davis played his high school ball at Gaston Christian in North Carolina and was a top-500 player in the country and rated the sixth-best shortstop in the state by Perfect Game.

The Pitching Staff

FMU will also look to fill some big shoes on the mound, as they return just 26% of its pitching production from a year ago. The Pats biggest loss is workhorse LHP Rijnaldo Euson, who was tabbed NCBWA Region Pitcher of the Year after going 11-3 with a 3.20 ERA across 98.1 innings. Also gone is RHP Daniel Barcena, who made 11 starts a year ago with a 5.23 ERA and 49 strikeouts in 53.1 innings. Although he didn’t go far (more on him later), another key departure is RHP bullpen stalwart Danny Leo, who logged a 5-0 record with two saves and a 3.45 ERA with 54 punchouts in 47 innings.

The Patriots do bring back one weekend starter in RHP Robbie Jordan, who posted a 7-1 record last year across 13 starts with a 4.92 ERA in 67.2 innings and is tied for the most wins (21) amongst active pitchers going into 2026. Joining him is LHP Jackson Madden, who got some key experience as a freshman a year ago and turned in a 2-0 record with two saves and a 5.64 ERA over 17 appearances. 

The club will look to some new faces to potentially help fill some holes left by the Euson-Barcena-Leo trio, including LHP Aydin Palmer and RHP Jafet Martinez. Palmer comes over from South Carolina after logging 8.2 innings for the Gamecocks. The southpaw struggled a bit with command, but did punch out 11 in his time on the mound. Martinez joins the squad after spending two seasons at Alabama State and logging a 9-7 record across 111.1 innings, to go along with 99 strikeouts and a 5.25 ERA. Another potential impact arm is RHP Eze Rojas, who comes over from Gulf Coast State after posting a 3.70 ERA and striking out 34 in 24.1 innings. From the high school class, Jefferson mentioned LHP Garrett Long as a guy that could find himself in the weekend rotation. Long attended Porter Ridge HS in North Carolina and was rated as the No. 5 LHP in the state, as well as a top-200 LHP in the country by Perfect Game. 

The Patriots did make one staff addition in former pitcher Danny Leo, who Jefferson is really excited about keeping in the program. “Bringing Danny Leo on was a no-brainer when he expressed his interest in coaching college baseball,” said Jefferson. “He’s an extremely loyal alum and fits in well with the demeanor of our program.”

2026 Schedule

Francis Marion will open the season with a three-game home series against Concord (Jan. 30 & 31) before getting into a difficult non-conference slate. The Patriots will be tested with home-and-homes against Lander (Feb. 17 & Apr. 7), Newberry (Feb. 24 & Mar. 31), Catawba (Mar. 10 & Mar. 24), and Wingate (Mar. 17 & Apr. 14). FMU’s Conference Carolinas schedule sets up nicely, as they will get to host North Greenville (Feb. 27-28), Young Harris (Mar. 13-14), Mount Olive (Mar. 27-28), and UNC Pembroke (Apr. 3-4).

Coaches Corner 

“We are excited about the growth of our program entering year two.  Returning players have a year more experience under their belt with how our operation runs, and the new additions we brought in fit very well.  We should be deeper in areas that we were short in last year and we look forward to competing against the best of the Southeast Region.” -Jeff Jefferson If you value this in-depth, non-paywalled coverage of D2 Baseball, please consider supporting our independent reporting efforts. Your contribution helps us continue providing free access to all our articles without relying on restrictive paywalls. To support our work, please visit our Patreon page: patreon.com/diviibaseball