BYU’s baseball team is looking ahead towards the 2026 season with high anticipation for this revamped team after some major adjustments and hires that took place during the offseason.
With an experienced lineup and some great additions that will help boost this team more than ever, the squad looks to have a successful bounce-back season and compete in the NCAA tournament.
2025 Season Recap
Last season was a bit of an underwhelming season from the Bat Cats, as the explosive offense was the bright spot in a very tough Big 12 conference, where they finished 12th in the regular season with a 10-20 record in conference play and a 28-27 record overall.
They led the conference in least GIDP (double plays grounded into) and also had the 3rd least errors, but also posted the worst Earned Run Average in the Big 12, which led to some tough close losses for the squad.
Cooper Vest, a now-graduated senior, shined for the Cougars while finishing 7th in the Big 12 in HRs with 16 and 6th in RBIs with 58.
The Cougars went on the participate in the Big 12 tournament as the 12th seed, taking down No. 5 seed Arizona State in the first round and then going on to lose to No. 4 seed Arizona in the second round. The Wildcats ended up winning the tournament.
“I think our staff is just looking a lot better this year than last year, and I think we're gonna win a lot more games," said sophomore catcher Ridge Erickson. "It was tough because I mean, we lost quite a bit last year, but I think we're gonna be a lot better this time around."
Key Returners
RHP Payton Gubler
RHP Garrison Sumner
INF Ryder Robinson
UTL Luke Anderson
INF Easton Jones
Key Newcomers
Pitching Coach / Assistant Coach Adrian Dinkel
Pitching Development Director Bradon Zastrow
RHP Blade Paragas
RHP Tyler Ball
INF Cooper Jones
New pitching coach Adrian Dinkel, who was formerly with the New York Yankees organization and was the head baseball coach at Southeastern University, joins this BYU team and has a lot of confidence for this new and improved pitching staff and strategy heading into 2026.
“I’m really excited about the opportunity to coach in a power 4 conference," Dinkel said. "Everyone here brings different pieces to this team. They're all gonna bring different value in different parts of the game and into this program."
Coach Bradon Zastrow is also a new addition for this squad, as he will be in charge of Pitching Development on the team and help the team to strategize and work on mechanics as they look to take that step up and bounce back from last season.
“Just having a young guy like Zastrow on the staff, I think it's super easy to create a good relationship with him, 'cause he has played college ball very recently. He knows what the grind is like and what to expect in leagues like this,” said senior Luke Anderson. “Adrian and Bradon have done an awesome job and we've seen a lot of growth on the mound, so we're super excited about seeing the improvements there.”
Head coach Trent Pratt is very pleased with his new signings and is excited for what he has seen out of his new coaches so far, having a ton of confidence getting closer to the start of the season with the potential that he sees from everyone.
“Adrian and Braden have done an awesome job and we've seen a lot of growth on the mound, so we're excited about seeing the improvements there,” said Pratt.
Facility Upgrades
The Cougars have also added multiple underground high-level facilities to the northeast corner Miller Park, complete with elite pitching and hitting trackers that help the athletes to focus on their mechanics and work on specific aspects of their game.
“It helps us out a ton, seeing all the training we do inside now with how cold it is outside most of the time," said junior Crew McChesney. "We’re able to train even more now with no difficulty, those indoor facilities have been pretty good for us."
“The new facility is a major commitment to the future success of our baseball and softball programs,” said BYU athletic director Brian Santiago. "It’s one of many ways we are investing resources to further develop our student-athletes and compete for Big 12 championships.”
2026 Season Preview
The Cougars will be able to build up chemistry and work to prepare for this upcoming season from now until Feb. 13, when they will face off against Western Kentucky in Bowling Green for a 4-game set against the Hilltoppers.
They have already played their Blue and White practice game in Miller Park, and this was a fun scrimmage experience for the Cougars a couple months ago on Oct. 17.
Continuing with the non-conference schedule for the Cougars after playing in Bowling Green, the Cougars will play in the Tony Gwynn Legacy tournament in San Diego from Feb. 19-21 and then play both Washington State and Long Beach State in Long Beach (Feb. 25-28) to cap off their trip to California.
Then the Bat Cats will round off their non-conference schedule with 4 home games in a row against Cal Baptist (March 5-7) and Utah Tech (March 8) before the Cincinnati Bearcats come to town to kick of Big 12 play.
“We're currently in our priming mode for this season. Our goal is to continue to build our athletes day by day. We ramped up. We built, we drove during the fall. We are all-in on our progression,” Dinkel said.
Some key matchups include a 3-game series in Morgantown against the Big 12 regular season champions West Virginia Mountaineers in March, a three-game set facing the Arizona State Sun Devils in a rematch from the Big 12 tournament at Miller Park in April, and a rivalry series in Provo against the Utah Utes in May.
“Obviously, they're a really competitive team, have some good arms, and they can hit the heck out of the ball too," McChesney said of Arizona State. "So it's gonna be a fun time facing them. I think it's gonna be a completely different series than it was this last year, so I'm looking forward to it."
This progression has been seen with the veterans of the team stepping up and coaching the newer recruits on the meaning of this team and how their strengths can really impact the game in their favor.
“I think we are super experienced offensively. That’s a big thing. We got a lot of guys back that have played a lot. The veteran leadership on this team has been awesome,” Pratt said. “They really play for each other and enjoy being around each other. And hopefully that's our secret ingredient.”
Goals for the 2026 season
The Cougars have lofty expectations for the 2026 season, as they want to have a bounce-back year and show the rest of the Big 12 that they are here to compete and be frontrunners for the Big 12 Tournament after the season.
“Our goal is to make the NCAA tournament. To accomplish that, we need to win a ton of series’ in conference play and be real consistent” said Pratt.
The Cougars missed out on the automatic bid into the NCAA tournament last year when they lost to Arizona in the Big 12 tournament, and did not receive an at-large bid from the voters.
“It's a big goal for all of us, but as a team, our team goal is we want to make a regional,” said McChesney.
A regional is a spot in the NCAA tournament, and if the Cougars can pull it off this season, it would be the first NCAA appearance since 2017, where the Cougars were eliminated in the second round of tournament play.
The Bat Cats are also shooting to be contenders in the Big 12 Tournament in May, as the top 12 seeds of the regular season will play in Surprise Stadium in Surprise, Arizona from May 20-23.
Located 25 miles northwest of Phoenix, Surprise Stadium is the spring training home to the Texas Rangers and the Kansas City Royals.
“I think our chemistry is great on this team. I feel like the development side of this fall has been unbelievable, so I'm super excited to see all of our hard work and our development this fall," Anderson said. "It's only been a short period of time, but I feel like all of us got so much better, and I’m excited to see where this season takes us."
