How CSUN’s Incoming Transfer Class Can Impact 2025 Season

In 2024, Cal State Northridge got off to a hot start, going 9-2 in the early season before getting swept by Oregon State in early March to start a seven-game winless streak. They ended their season by going 2-10 in May, reaching double-digit runs just once.

It’s not that the Matadors’ offense was bad – after all, they ranked fourth in the Big West in both runs scored and slugging percentage and fifth in average – but they were clearly a step or so behind the conference’s top teams. To make matters worse, almost their entire 2024 offense is not returning in 2025:

Player	Yr.	2024 OPS	2025 Team
Kevin Fitzer	RS-Jr.	1.060	Colorado Rockies (MLB)
Kamau Neighbors	Sr.	0.856	Louisville
Shunsuke Sakaino	Jr.	0.821	Hawai’i
Jakob Simons	Grad.	1.109	N/A
Andrew Sojka	Sr.	0.851	Schaumburg Boomers (Frontier)

In fact, outfielder Jarren Sanderson is the lone returning hitter who posted an OPS over .750 last year, which means head coach Eddie Cornejo and his staff needed to rebuild their offense and fast.

And rebuild their offense they have. In addition to a talented freshman class, they have added plenty of transfer talent, including two-time Mexican College national champion Jesus Liera from the Sonora Institute of Technology in Sinaloa.

Joining Liera and Sanderson are a talented trio of hitters who look poised to make immediate contributions to the CSUN offense: LA Valley JC’s Royce Clayton, Jr., Skyline JC’s Elijah Fairchild, and Cal State Bakersfield’s Matthew Kurata. And these are the three players I’d like to take a look at in this article.

These will not be full scouting reports, though there’s a good chance I’ll profile at least one of these players later this season, but rather simply an overview of their college careers to this point, and what impact they may bring to the Matadors.

We’ll start with center fielder Royce Clayton, Jr., a transfer from Juco LA Valley College. Yes, Clayton is the son of British Olympic sprinter Samantha Davies and, yes, that Royce Clayton. He has been a spark plug at the top of LA Valley College’s lineup for the last two seasons, slashing .318/.421/.536 and stealing 53 bases in 67 attempts. He improved meaningfully in every category in 2024, but most notably in his power profile, moving from 13 extra-base hits as a freshman to 29 in his sophomore campaign. This helped him lead Valley to the Western State Conference title and earned him LAVC’s Athlete of the Year, as well as All-Region and All-Conference honors, before a short stint with the MLB Draft League’s Frederick Keys.

Clayton has a fairly complete game, combining outstanding center field defense with a speedy top-of-the-lineup profile, but also leveraging his entire 5’10”, 170-pound frame. All that remains to be seen as he transitions from Valley to Valley State is how he will hold up against Division I pitching, and over a full 54-game season. But the tools are there to be a premium player in the conference.

Elijah Fairchild was the starting shortstop for the Skyline Trojans as a true freshman, slashing .366/.451/.555 and stealing 11 of 17 bases over 42 games. It should be noted that the gaudy slugging percentage was very doubles-heavy – something that’s likely to be tempered against Divison I defenders. From March 26th until his final game on May 10, just one ball cleared the fence off of Fairchild’s bat.

After the conclusion of Skyline’s season, Fairchild headed to Duluth of the Northwoods League, where he managed just one extra-base hit. It’d be foolish to draw any conclusions from an eleven-game sample, but there were some encouraging plate appearances along the way during his first exposure to wooden bats. Either way, as a solid defensive shortstop, he’s likely to get plenty of opportunities this season.

Cal State Bakersfield had just three hitters with an OPS over .750 in 2024: 1B/DH Max Bernal, now at Pepperdine; 2B Nick Salas, now graduated; and C Matthew Kurata, now with the Matadors. Over 24 games in 2024, Kurata slashed .320/.364/.423 while serving as the Roadrunners’ primary backstop, before going down with an injury.

Over three seasons, he hit .344 for CSUB, and was even flashing nascent power in 2024 before his injury, connecting for his first two collegiate home runs. Don’t count on those numbers to skyrocket this season, but if he can get deeper into the warm weather months, it’s reasonable to expect him to be able to contribute some sharp line drives. Where Kurata has struggled in the past is his discernment at the plate. His best season, 2023, was also the one where he showed the most patience.

I like Kurata to stick behind the plate, where he is really effective, but he does have some flexibility, playing all around the infield (except shortstop) and even some corner outfield, giving him a really good opportunity to stick in the lineup.

All told, the Matadors are going to need these three guys (and Liera) to play to potential, as well as solid contributions from incumbents like Sanderson, Will Linberg, and Andrew Gauna, even to match their 2024 output. A leap doesn’t look likely this season, but if the newcomers can gel quickly and the returning players take a step forward, the foundation could be in place for the Matadors to build a more competitive offense in 2025 and beyond.