PROVO, Utah — After opening the 2025 baseball seasons with 11 road games over 16 days in California and Washington, BYU (7-4) returns to Provo this week for its home-opening series with Stetson (7-5), March 5-8.
Game one of the series is scheduled for Wednesday, March 5 at Miller Park with the first pitch at 3 p.m. MST. Games two and three of the four-game series are slated for Thursday and Friday also at 3 p.m., with game four at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
| Stetson (7-5) at BYU (7-4) | Miller Park | Provo, UT | |||
| Date & Time (MST) | Watch | Listen | Live Stats |
| Wednesday, March 5 at 3 p.m. | ESPN+ | BYU Radio 107.9/BYU Radio App | Follow Here |
| Thursday, March 6 at 3 p.m. | ESPN+ | BYU Radio 107.9/BYU Radio App | Follow Here |
| Friday, March 7 at 3 p.m. | ESPN+ | BYU Radio 107.9/BYU Radio App | Follow Here |
| Saturday, March 8 at 1 p.m. | ESPN+ | BYU Radio 107.9/BYU Radio App | Follow Here |
BROADCAST PLANS. All four games of the BYU-Stetson series will be broadcast live on ESPN+ and will also be available on the BYU Radio app and simulcast in the Utah County market on 107.9 FM. Greg Wrubell, will have the radio play-by-play, while Dave McCann will have the television call.
CLEAN SWEEP. The Cougars are coming off a three-game sweep of Gonzaga, the first for BYU in Spokane since 2015. The Cougars scored 40 runs in three-games, the second most runs ever scored in a three-game series with the Zags. The highest total was 47 in 1983, a season that saw BYU rise to No. 1 in the nation.
OFFENSIVE ONSLAGHT. BYU first baseman Cooper Vest continued his torrid offensive pace, with seven hits in 14 at bats (.500) including three doubles, a triple and a home run. The reigning Big 12 Co-Player of the Week scored six runs and had a team-leading eight RBI. Vest also led the Cougars in total bases (15), hits (7), average (.500) and triples (1).
BYU leadoff hitter Crew McChesney also led the Cougars in several offensive categories including average (.500), doubles (4), walks (4), OBP (.625), slugging (1.083) and stolen bases (1). The center fielder was perfect in the outfield as well with eight putouts in as many chances.
Shortstop Ryder Robinson also led BYU in several offensive stats including runs (7), home runs (3) and total bases (15). The TCU transfer also had six RBI and a double with a 1.000 slugging percentage.
Two other upperclassmen also had big weeks at Gonzaga. Second baseman Brock Watkins hit .471, with two home runs, five RBI and four runs, while left fielder Luke Anderson hit .462 with a home run, two RBI and scored four runs.
ON THE HILL. BYU’s weekend starters are 5-1 on the year and have combined for 43.0 innings in nine starts. Game two starter Payton Gubler is 2-1, while holding opposing hits to a .212 average. He leads the BYU staff in innings pitched (18) and strike outs (11). The righty threw a career-high seven complete innings in game one at Gonzaga, scattering just three hits and two runs while striking out four for his second win. Over seven innings, Gubler faced just 26 batters and threw 89 pitches.
Game-three starter Jaden Harris is 1-0 with 10.2 innings and five strikeouts over three starts. With a win at Gonzaga, game-four starter Garrison Sumner improved to 2-0 on the year with six strikeouts over 14.1 innings, while holding opposing batters to an average of .208. Redshirt freshman Cayson Bell will get the start in game one of the series. The right hander has appeared in two games this season, completing four innings with four strikeouts, while surrendering one earned run.
OUT OF THE PEN. The Cougars top four relievers have combined for 21.1 innings and have surrendered just five earned runs. Hayden Coon has appeared in three games, going 6.0 innings with seven strikeouts, one earned run and one save. He is holding opposing batters to an .190 average. Left-hander Justis Reiser has pitched 8.1 innings in relief and is holding opponents to a .040 average, while striking out eight and picking up a win. Jake Porter has logged 2.2 innings over three games holding hitters to a .125 average. Nolan Ficklin has appeared in five games with 4.1 innings of work. He has four strikeout and is holding opponents a .188 average.
CLOSE THE DOOR. BYU preseason First-Team All-American closer Stone Cushing has one save in four appearances with two strikeouts in 3.2 innings. He currently has 11 career saves and is tied for fourth all-time at BYU with Jordan Muir (2006-09).
SERIES HISTORY. Stetson and BYU will meet for just the second time when the series begins March 5. The only previous meeting came in a 9-4 Cougar win over the Hatters on March 17, 1986 at the Best in the West Classic in Fresno, California.
Stetson, out of DeLand, Florida and the Atlantic Sun Conference, becomes the first Floridian team to play a game at Miller Park and just the third Sunshine State foe the Cougars have ever faced. BYU took one of three games (2-3, 4-6, 8-2) in a series at Miami May 2-4, 2024, and was eliminated from the 1994 NCAA Tallahassee Regional by Florida State in a 1-7 decision.
KNOW THE FOE. The Hatters are led by head coach Steve Trimper in his ninth season and are picked to repeat as ASUN champions in 2025, following conference regular season and tournament titles in 2024. Stetson finished last season at 41-22 (20-10) with a 1-2 record at the Tallahassee Regional, beating Alabama 4-0 before suffering a season-ending 5-2 defeat to UCF.
Thus far in 2025, the Hatters are 7-5 after a rigorous opening 12-game stretch featuring nine games versus power conference opponents. Stetson started the season with three straight victories over UConn (10-6), Penn State (8-4) and Missouri (9-7) but has since dropped games to Michigan (1-6), Iowa (0-7), Notre Dame (2-8), Indiana (1-8) and top-10 ranked Florida (1-6).
Over the weekend, March 1-2, the Hatters won both games in a series versus Mount St. Mary’s (6-1, 5-4).
Preseason All-ASUN selections Isaiah Barkett and Lorenzo Meola led Stetson in hitting (.306) and RBI (8), respectively. Meola is one of four Hatter batters to play in and start each of their 12 games and is hitting .250 with 10 runs on 11 hits, two doubles, three home runs and 22 total bases.
Lefty Jonathan Gonzalez has two wins in three appearances for Stetson with an ERA of 3.71 and 16 strikeouts. Hatter reliever Ethan Salak boasts an ERA of 1.08 with eight strikeouts in five appearances.