TAYLORSVILLE, Utah (January 23, 2023) – The 2022 version of the Salt Lake Community College Baseball program was outstanding in almost every way,
 
SLCC had everything in 2022 – pitching, hitting, fielding; all of it. The Bruins had considerable success also, going 47-10 on the way to winning the Region 18 title. However, in the NJCAA Western District playoffs, a few outs separated the Bruins from qualifying for the NJCAA World Series.
 
Looking ahead to the opening of the 2023 season, which will take place this week in a four-game series against South Mountain Community College in St. George, Salt Lake coach D.G. Nelson said his team is looking forward to seeing the results of preseason practices take form on the field, with the program ranked at No. 11 in the NJCAA preseason polls.
 
"Being such a young group, we have a lot of development to do," he said. "This group is as hard a working group as we've had here. It will be fun to watch their progress with some very high expectations."
 
Nelson said the team has considerable optimism entering the 2023 season, not from rankings or talent. Instead, the optimism stems from the hard work the team put in throughout the offseason.
 
"This team has really bonded through their hard work in the weight room," he said. "This group has bought in to the importance of their bodies. It has been fun to watch."
 
SLCC will play a pair of preseason series spread throughout January and February, along with a tournament next week in Arizona. Salt Lake will open Scenic West play on March 3 at Southern Nevada. 
 
Looking ahead at the weeks to come, Nelson said his team will continue to focus on day-to-day development as the season continues.
 
"With the season starting so quick following the holidays, our focus is always to get their bodies ready to compete,"  he said. "We are really young so a lot of baseball IQ situations are important to drive home."