RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. — While the Arkansas Tech baseball team has had plenty of success over its 100-plus year history, 2014 took that standard to a whole new level.

After recording three 30-win seasons and four straight winning records in conference play in four seasons under coach Dave Dawson, the Wonder Boys broke onto the national stage last season with 44 victories, a 22-game winning streak and the highest national and regional rankings in program history. The squad's 44-12 finish led them to their first outright conference title since winning the AIC in 1992, and a program-first trip to the NCAA tournament.

With all that success is bound to come high expectations for the next season, and that's exactly what the Wonder Boys have on their shoulders in 2015. They were picked to finish second to Southern Arkansas in the GAC, fourth in the preseason Central Region rankings, and Collegiate Baseball tagged them as the No. 17 team in the country in their preseason poll.

Tech returns 18 players from last year's roster, eight of whom played a significant role as a starter or out of the bullpen for the Great American Conference champion. In the field, seniors Kris Ayers, Patrick Castleberry and John Lassiter all started at least 48 games, while senior Keenan Jumper appeared in 46 games, garnering 24 starts. On the mound, senior Aaron Johnson picked up 14 starts and junior Zach Skelton 10. Sophomore Trent Armstrong started five games and got the call out of the bullpen 13 times. Closer Randy Vallejo, a senior, is also back after making 28 relief appearances in 2014.

The Wonder Boys lost their top two hitters from a year ago, but should bring back plenty of pop. A first baseman, Ayers returns the team's top batting average after hitting .331 with 20 runs, 12 doubles and a team-high 43 RBIs, good enough for second-team All-GAC honors. Castleberry, who saw time at catcher, first base and designated hitter and was named first-team All-GAC, batted .303 with 41 runs, a team-high 17 doubles and six home runs, and 37 RBIs. Lassiter was the team's second baseman, and hit .265 with 27 runs and 20 RBIs, and was 10-for-11 on stolen bases. Jumper was often a late-game replacement at catcher for Castleberry before earning the starting nod at backstop over the final portion of the season, batting .267 with 13 runs and 15 RBIs in just 90 at-bats.

Outfielders Rafiel Johnson, a senior, and Marcus Wilson, a sophomore, as well as sophomore utility player Daniel Steinbrenner also got some hacks at the plate, combining for 41 appearances, netting 10 hits, seven runs and six RBIs — plus seven stolen bases in seven attempts — in just 38 at-bats.

A huge strength of the 2014 team was a bullpen that never allowed the Wonder Boys to lose a lead they held after five innings of play. Three big pieces of that bullpen are gone, but Vallejo, who was named first-team All-GAC and second-team All-Central Region after sealing a Division II-best 18 saves, is back after recording a 2.43 ERA in 29 2/3 innings and striking out 16. Armstrong made 13 appearances out of the bullpen, tossing 28 innings with a 2.25 ERA. Adding in three spot starts during the regular season and one each in the GAC and Central Region tournaments, he finished with a 7-1 record and 2.54 ERA over 56 2/3 innings, striking out 37 while walking only 11.

Bryson Morris appeared in nine games, sporting a 2.45 ERA with 11 innings pitched, while Rafiel Johnson, Nate Rutherford and Brandon Surdam combined for 16 more relief appearances.

Aaron Johnson picked up 14 starts for the Wonder Boys, going 6-3 with a 4.30 ERA over 73 1/3 innings while striking out 64 and earning a complete-game shutout over Southern Arkansas at the Central Region tournament. Skelton started 10 games in addition to seven spots out of the bullpen, posting a 6-3 record in 52 innings and collecting 49 strikeouts.

Tech currently has 49 games scheduled, including 10 three-game sets against GAC opponents. The Wonder Boys will host 25 games at Tech Field, starting with a four-game series against Central Region foe Missouri Western, with doubleheaders starting at 1 p.m. both Friday and Saturday.