BEAVER TOWNSHIP — The Youngstown State baseball team is preparing for the home stretch of the 2026 season.

The Penguins are preparing for a key series against Northern Kentucky, but head coach Trevor Charpie took time to meet with the Curbstone Coaches during their luncheon on Monday. Graduate assistant coach Jacob Gehring and Ursuline graduate and outfielder Brady Shannon joined Charpie for the meeting.

Charpie gave a season recap for the audience. The Penguins are 9-34 and 6-9 in the Horizon League after being swept by UIC on the road this weekend.

“I think this year we have 14 one-run losses. We’ve been walked off six times this season, seven times this season,” Charpie said. “In the flip of a coin, we could have 25 wins on the season and it’d be pretty sweet. To deal with that adversity is something these guys have done an amazing, amazing job of, because it hasn’t been an easy season.”

The second-year head coach outlined the challenges the program has faced so far this year, including the injury bug.

The group included sophomore infielder Jay Wrona, fifth-year center fielder Kendal Spencer, Spencer’s replacement Brayden Kuriger, redshirt freshman utility infielder Nick Miscavage and sophomore catcher and JFK product Caleb Hadley.

“We’ve definitely dealt with some injuries, especially on the offensive side,” Charpie said. “It’s kinda something that we’ve been dealing with. But through all that, it’s awesome to see how these guys have battled and the faith they have in this team.”

There was also some good news that Charpie announced.

Charpie said there will be three Penguins in the MLB Draft League this year. Redshirt junior outfielder Brady Shannon (Ursuline) and senior starting pitchers Braden Gebhardt (Howland) and Jack Messmore will play for the Mahoning Valley Scrappers this upcoming summer.

Shannon leads the HL with 12 home runs and is 17th in the league with 23 RBIs. Gebhardt has a 3-3 record, a 2.77 ERA, 77 strikeouts and 53 hits allowed in 65 innings so far.

“We’ll have a minimum of three players representing the Scrappers this year, which is pretty cool,” Charpie said.

The Penguins will host NKU for a three-game series starting Friday. The Norse (20-22, 9-9 HL), sit directly ahead of the Penguins in the Horizon League standings.

The opener is scheduled for 6 p.m. at 7 17 Credit Union Field.

“We do believe this team can really do great things,” Charpie said. “We have a pitching staff that is pretty incredible. So as the guys continue to get healthy – you saw it, not this week but the week before – guys got healthy and we went on a nice four-game win streak.”

Curbstone Coaches will not meet next Monday due to the organization’s Hall of Fame banquet on Sunday.