BYU baseball opens 2025 season at Fresno State, UCLA

PROVO, Utah — BYU baseball opens its 2025 season with an eight-game Southern California road trip beginning with five games Feb. 14-15, 17-18 at Fresno State and UCLA.

BYU at Fresno State | Bob Bennett Stadium | Fresno, California
Date & Time (MST)	Watch	Listen	Live Stats
Friday, Feb. 14 at 7 p.m.	Mountain West Network	BYU Radio 107.9/BYU Radio App	Follow Here
Saturday, Feb. 15 at 3 p.m.	Mountain West Network	BYU Radio App	Follow Here
Saturday, Feb. 15 at TBA (doubleheader)	Mountain West Network	BYU Radio 107.9/BYU Radio App	Follow Here
Monday, Feb. 17	Mountain West Network	BYU Radio 107.9/BYU Radio App	Follow Here

 

BYU at UCLA | Jackie Robinson Stadium | Los Angeles, California
Date & Time (MST)	Watch	Listen	Live Stats
Tuesday, Feb. 18 at 6 p.m.	Big Ten+	BYU Radio 107.9/BYU Radio App	Follow Here

KNOW THE FOE

FRESNO STATE: Friday’s season-opener in Fresno marks the 34th meeting between the Cougars and Bulldogs. Fresno State leads the all-time series 21-12-1 with the last meeting coming in a 2-1 Bulldog win in 2014 in Fresno. BYU last beat the Bulldogs in a 5-3 decision on the road in 2004. The first meeting between the two resulted in a Fresno State win in 1981.

The Bulldogs are led by Ryan Overland in his second full season and are picked to win the Mountain West in 2025 after finishing 2024 at 33-29 (16-14) with a Mountain West Tournament title. Fresno State went on to the 2024 NCAA Santa Barbara Regional where it was eliminated with losses to UCSB and San Diego.

Four Bulldogs earned a spot on the All-Mountain West Preseason Team with infielders Murf Gray and Eddie Saldivar, along with pitchers Jack Anker and Victor Arreola.

UCLA: The Cougars and Bruins will meet for the eighth time on Feb. 18 with UCLA leading the all-time series 5-1-1. BYU and UCLA played five times at the Riverside Baseball Invitational with the last Cougar win coming there in 1969.

 John Savage enters his 21st season as the Bruins’ skipper, a career which includes three College World Series appearances and the 2013 National Championship. UCLA finished 11th in the Pac-12 (19-33, 9-21) in 2024 and is picked seventh in the Big Ten in 2025 by D1Baseball.com.

REVIEWING 2024

The Cougars enter 2025 picked to finish last among 14 Big 12 teams after clsoing the 2024 season at 21-31 (7-23) and 13^th in the Big 12. BYU's 2024 52-game gauntlet featured six eventual NCAA Tournament teams, including two regional hosts, four opponents that finished ranked in the D1Baseball.com Top 25 and a combined winning percentage of .534.

BYU’s five wins over NCAA Tournament teams came with two at Texas, one each at West Virginia and Kansas State and a home defeat of Grand Canyon. West Virginia and Kansas State each advanced to Super Regionals, while GCU went on to topple No. 1-seed Arizona in the opening round of the Tucson Regional. The Cougars also earned the distinction of the only Big 12 team to beat Texas two out of three times in 2024.

While BYU’s 2024 campaign had its share of growing pains, these were accompanied by breakout performances from promising young talent, much of which returns in 2025 accompanied by the steadying hand of veterans.

RETURNING IN 2025: Offense

Senior Cooper Vest and juniors Easton Jones and Luke Anderson return in 2025 after giving the Cougars consistent leadership a season ago.

The versatile Vest led BYU with a fielding percentage of .994 while playing both first base and rightfield in 2024. Offensively, the junior led the Cougars with 38 runs scored while finishing second on the team in home runs (11) and total bases (99). Vest became the only Big 12 player in 2024 to record multiple triples in a single game with two versus Baylor on April 13.

Jones started 51 of 52 games at third base last year while leading the team in hits (55), home runs (14) and total bases (109). Anderson, an outfielder who started 50 of 52 games last year, led BYU in doubles (12), walks (32) and stolen bases (9-10) while finishing second on the team with 36 runs scored.

Outfielders Crew McChesney and Ryker Schow are back as sophomores, while Bryker Hurdsman is a junior. Parker Goff, also a junior, returns for BYU at catcher. Of the 14 Cougars who had plate appearances in the final month of the 2024 season, 11 were either freshmen or sophomores. 

McChesney came on strong to close his freshman season with a team-leading average (.340), slugging percentage (.547) and on-base percentage (.478) during starts in 14 of BYU’s last 18 games. Schow made 17-straight starts to end the 2024 season and finished top five on the roster in on-base percentage (.368) and fielding percentage (.982). Hurdsman hit .272 in 38 appearances with four home runs and 13 RBI. Goff was behind the plate in 13 of the Cougars’ final 16 games and made his presence felt as the team’s second leader in both average (.293) and on-base percentage (.403). He also recorded 184 putouts and a .990 fielding percentage. 

Big 12 Total Returning Production in 2025 (AB, IP)
Rank	Team	Production %
1.	Cincinnati	62
	Baylor	62
3.	BYU	57
4.	Arizona	54
	West Virginia	54
6.	UCF	46
7.	TCU	45
8.	Utah	43
9.	Texas Tech	40
	Kansas	40
	Arizona State	40
12.	Oklahoma State	35
13.	Kansas State	30
	Houston	30

RETURNING IN 2025: Pitching

Stone Cushing joined BYU’s pitching staff in 2024 following two years at the College of Southern Idaho. Cushing wasted no time making his presence felt on the mound during his debut Division I season. The Salem, Utah native garnered Honorable Mention All-Big 12 honors after finishing the regular season as the league-leader with 10 saves.

Cushing was named 2025 NCBWA Preseason All-America First Team and Preseason All-Big 12, while ranked fifth all-time at BYU in career saves and eighth nationally in active career saves.

Following the graduation of Bryce Robison and draft selection of Ben Hansen, BYU will look to veteran arms in Payton Gubler, Jake Porter and Carter Foss. Gubler started 14 games for the Cougars over the final month of 2024 and recorded 32 strikeouts in 29.1 innings pitched. Porter and Foss, both seniors, have a combined 105 career appearances with 89 strikeouts in over 123 innings.  

INCOMING IN 2025 

Newcomers Ryder Robinson, Easton Bryant, Ridge Erickson, Matt Hansen and Tu’alau Wolfgramm equip BYU’s bats with a bevy of talented additions in 2025.

Robinson played 43 games as a freshman infielder at TCU last season and recorded 24 runs on 32 hits with 20 RBI. The Cedar Hills, Utah native was the Utah Gatorade Player of the Year in 2023.

Bryant comes to the Cougars from Arizona’s Chandler-Gilbert Community College where he earned 2024 JUCO All-American honors. Erickson (St. George, Utah), Hansen (Colorado Springs, Colorado) and Wolfgramm (Pleasant Grove, Utah) each join BYU after enjoying all-state high school careers.

The Cougars’ pitching staff is further bolstered this season by a trio of transfers in Jaden Harris, Garrison Sumner and Brayden Marx.

Harris, a transfer from Utah, has 24 collegiate starts under his belt with 97 strikeouts in 130 innings pitched. Sumner earned Honorable Mention All-America at Salt Lake Community College in 2024 while finishing the season fourth nationally with an ERA of 1.82. Marx, a Pleasant Grove native, comes home in 2025 after a freshman season at Hawaii where he earned a win or save in five of his last nine appearances.