As the baseball team begins its season during its annual Florida trip this week, Coach Carl Tebon is eager to see how a group of new faces perform at the collegiate level.

Several players who helped lead Loras to an Iowa Conference title last spring have graduated, so there are several position players who are competing for playing time.

“We have so many new faces, it will be interesting to see where we are at,” Tebon said. “This is why we go to Florida to see how people perform in games and playing outdoors. After the trip, we will have a better idea of what we have to work with this season.”

In the infield, senior Ben Kuebel, who was a first-team All-Conference performer a year ago, and sophomore BJ Juergens are the top returning players.

Sophomore Travis Olsen and transfer Spencer Radabaugh are expected to battle for the second-base job. Tebon also is looking for contributions from first-year Mike Canevello and transfer Kyle Barton.

The returning outfielders include sophomore Alex Mallonee and juniors Austin Brown and Kyle Soeder. They are joined by three new faces, including Danny Lee, Kevin Harlander and transfer Calvin Rea.

Tebon said the team will find out real quick how good it is, saying that this year’s schedule in Florida is the toughest the Duhawks have played “in years.” He said each of the first three games are against teams that won nearly 30 games last season.

Later this season the team plans to make a trip into Chicago to compete against the University of Chicago, which Tebon said offers a great chance for potential recruits to see the team play and for alumni to come out and support the team.

“It is always nice to play a school with a good program as it makes us prepared for conference,” he said. “It will be a great challenge for us.”

When the Duhawks begin their bid for another Iowa Conference championship, Tebon expects challenges to come from Buena Vista and Coe. He said Buena Vista was a “top-20 program in the nation” last year, and Coe “is always a solid program.”