Chad Robinson, shown working out last spring during his senior season at Silverado High School, is among a promising batch of freshmen pitchers who will play for CCSN this season. Photo by K.M. Cannon.

The Community College of Southern Nevada baseball team will be bolstered this year by several returning missionaries.

Coyotes coach Tim Chambers will be on a mission of his own -- to restore pride and respect to his highly successful program after last year's lost season.

CCSN, which won the junior college national championship in 2003, forfeited 27 wins when it was discovered that two players -- Craig Heyer and Cameron Johnson -- were enrolled in classes that didn't start until after CCSN began play.

The Coyotes fell from 27-10 to 0-37 and finished the season with a 13-45 record.

Chambers said it was his first losing season in more than 20 years as a coach, but he was more upset about the smear on the school's reputation.

"I was crushed because we pride ourselves on doing things the right way," he said. "We try to graduate kids and follow the book. We consider ourselves first class, and we need to come out and prove that this year.

"We want to put ourselves back on the map as one of the elite programs in the country. I still think we are, and I think we were last year."

Chambers, who guided CCSN to a 281-80-1 mark before last season and is now 294-125-1 in seven years at the school, said pitching should be the squad's strength this season, which opens at 3 p.m. today at Morse Stadium in Henderson.

Redshirt freshman Andy Jangard will start the opener against Yavapai (Ariz.) College. The left-hander from Utah, who has completed a Mormon mission, went 3-0 with a 0.00 ERA in 17 1/3 innings last year before a season-ending injury.

Sophomores Jon Berger (Bishop Gorman), Ryan Iodence (Faith Lutheran) and Kris Cichoski (Durango) will follow him in the rotation. Cichoski has been drafted twice by the Atlanta Braves.

"My sophomores will get the first shot, and we'll go from there," Chambers said. "We'll have some very good guys coming out of the bullpen this weekend who I expect to start some games this year."

Other promising pitchers include freshmen Chad Robinson (Silverado), Colby Shreve (Bonanza), Drew Leary (Sierra Vista) and Brenton Van (Silverado).

Robinson, a 6-foot-5-inch right-hander, initially signed with UNLV and was drafted in the 12th round by the Milwaukee Brewers last summer.

"He turned down a bunch of money to come here," Chambers said.

Shreve, a 6-4 righty who throws in the 90s, also signed with UNLV, and Leary was drafted by the Boston Red Sox.

"I really, really like our freshmen class," Chambers said. "If they continue to progress, they might be our best freshmen class yet."

Among the 18 freshmen are shortstop Easton Gust, who was drafted by the Cleveland Indians; Kyle Bostick (Silverado), who will bat second and play second base or catcher; Braeden Schlehuber, who Chambers said might have the best arm of any catcher in school history; Tylien Manumaleuna, a 230-pound slugger who was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies; and Tyson Mehlhoff, who returned from a mission and will play right field and bat cleanup.

Chase Leavitt and Bryce Massanari (Centennial) give the Coyotes a pair of experienced sophomores.

Leavitt helped Dixie State win the national title in 2004, then went on a mission. He'll play second base and in the outfield, and bat leadoff.

Massanari hit .360 as a freshman at CCSN but broke his foot twice last season. He signed with Georgia, then decided to return to play for the Coyotes this year. He'll bat third.

"He wants to play professional baseball and felt his best chance was to come here and swing the wood bat," Chambers said.