MIDWAY, Ky. - There are questions surrounding a new-look Midway baseball team entering the 2026 season, and head coach Luther Bramblett, understandably, doesn't have all the answers yet.

Last year's Eagles, who made a late-season rally all the way to the championship round of the River States Conference Tournament, were led by 24 seniors, who departed holding a combined 13 program records.

And while Bramblett is high on the talent of his team this season, saying it is far "more energetic and athletic" than previous groups, he admits he still needs to see his squad in game action to know how players will deal with the many rigors of a college season.

"I've had a lot of people ask 'What do you think about your team?' I honestly don't know," Bramblett said. "I don't know how they're going to handle adversity, I don't know how they're going to handle the highs and lows of college baseball."

He'll get his first chance to see the new Eagles in action when they travel to Henderson, Tenn. for four combined games against Saint Francis (Ind.) and Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) this weekend. Midway will face Saint Francis at noon on Saturday and Sunday and Freed-Hardeman at 4 p.m on both days.

Just two players that closed the 2025 season in the starting lineup are back. That group will be led by one of last year's top bats in senior outfielder Grant Stone, whose .338 batting average and eight home runs were second on the team.

Stone caught fire late in the season with seven home runs and 20 RBIs in a 13-game stretch, highlighted by two-homer performance in a 5-2 RSC Quarterfinal win over Indiana Kokomo.

Senior infielder Mahrlon Torres (.282 average, three home runs) is also slated to return, though Bramblett says he's still working his way back from an injury he sustained in the fall.

Perhaps the biggest unknown will come on the mound. Of 375 combined innings thrown by Eagle pitchers a season ago, just nineteen-and-two-thirds were accounted for by returners with Tyler Pyles (10) the only one to throw double digits.

Who fills what roll will likely be in flux well into the season, with players saying they are trying to keep the competition intense but friendly.

"(First games are) always interesting," said Pyles, one of 12 seniors on the roster. "A lot of moving parts, a lot of people getting opportunities. (But) if you don't get the the starting opportunity, you've got to be happy for your guys. It's all about the team at the end of the day."

But even with such uncertainty, expectations are still high for an Eagle team that was predicted to finish fourth in what is expected to be a competitive River States Conference.

"Our goal every year is to win the conference," said Bramblett. "Our goal every year is to play in an opening round and give ourselves an opportunity to get to the World Series. That's been our goal since day one.

"This year, across the board, most everybody (in the RSC) has had large roster changes. I think it's going to be extremely competitive but there's been so much change in the conference landscape that it is wide open."

The confidence of their coach has trickled down to the dugout, with players expressing confidence they'll "be at an opening round somewhere" in May.

"I think we'll have a great look in the River States Conference," Stone said. "I don't have a doubt at all. It might take a couple weeks just being new out on the field with everybody, but I think we're in a great position."