BYU opens baseball season at Western Kentucky, Feb. 13-16

BYU baseball opens the 2026 season on Friday with a four-game road series versus Western Kentucky, Feb. 13-16 at Nick Denes Field in Bowling Green, Kentucky. 

WKU SERIES. Game one and two of the series are scheduled for Friday, Feb. 13 at Nick Denes Field with the first pitch of the double header at Noon CDT and the second game approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of game one. Game three of the four-game series is slated for Saturday at 1 p.m., with game four at 1 p.m. on Monday. The Cougars and the Hilltoppers have never met in baseball previously.

BROADCAST PLANS. All four games of the BYU-WKU series will be broadcast live on BYUradio.org and on the BYUradio app. Friday's doubleheader and Monday’s game will also be simulcast in Utah County on 107.9 FM. Matt Baiamonte will have the radio play-by-play live from Nick Denes Field. 

COACH PRATT. Head coach Trent Pratt (89-95) begins his fourth full season at the helm of BYU baseball, following 10 seasons as an assistant for the Cougars from 2013-22. In BYU’s second year of Big 12 play last season, BYU won seven more games than the inaugural season, finishing with a 28-27 record. Pratt also led BYU to its first postseason berth since 2022 and first postseason win since 2017, recording a 2-0 upset of 5-seed Arizona State in the first round of the conference tournament before falling to eventual Big 12 Champion Arizona, 4-1.

SCOUTING THE COUGARS. BYU returns 22 players from its 2025 roster, including seven of its eight starting position players and nine pitchers with game experience. In addition, the Cougars added five pitchers in the offseason with collegiate innings. 

On offense, BYU returns the majority of a lineup that averaged 7.4 runs per game and finished top six in the Big 12 in runs (408), triples (16) and doubles (119). Defensively, the Cougars bring back a core group that recorded a school-record fielding percentage of .978 in 2025 and finished the season top 25 nationally and top three in the Big 12 in double plays (49) and fielding percentage. 
 
NEW COACHES. During the offseason Pratt revamped the BYU coaching staff, adding new pitching coach Adrian Dinkel, who joined the Cougars from the New York Yankees organization, as well as pitching development director Bradon Zastrow, who arrived in Provo following three years at Arizona as a player and assistant coach.

AROUND THE HORN. Around the infield and behind the plate, BYU returns four of its five starters, including two Big 12 honorable mention honorees in junior shortstop Ryder Robinson and senior catcher Parker Goff. 

Robinson started all 55 games at shortstop for the Cougars and finished the regular season No. 2 in the league with 158 assists. Offensively, the Cedar Hills, Utah, native co-led BYU in runs scored (52) and finished second on the team in home runs (11) and total bases (114). Robinson was named Big 12 Co-Player of the Week after going 10 of 19 with five doubles and two homers in week-10 outings versus UVU and Arizona.

Goff started 44 of 55 games behind the plate, making his presence felt both offensively and defensively. He finished the regular season ninth in the Big 12 in on-base percentage (.451) and third in runners caught stealing (10). The Herriman, Utah, native enters the 2026 season with 99 starts in 109 games over three years at BYU. 

Second baseman Luke Anderson started all 55 games for BYU and led the team in hits (65) and was top three in RBI (52), runs (39), walks (31) and steals (4). The senior from St. George, Utah, showed his defensive versatility last season with 22 starts at second base, 28 in leftfield, three in right and two at designated hitter. He enters the 2025 season with 141 starts in 148 games as a Cougar. 

Third baseman Easton Jones is healthy following a junior season where he missed 16 games due to nagging injuries. The senior from American Fork, Utah, looks to regain his 2024 form that saw him start 51 of 52 games at third base while leading the Cougars in hits (55), home runs (14) and total bases (109). Jones has appeared in 127 games while making 116 starts over the past three seasons in Provo. 

The Cougars will open the 2026 season with a new face at first base. Lost to graduation was three-year starter and 2025 All-Big 12 honoree Cooper Vest. BYU will look to fill the first base and designated hitter spots with sophomores Matt Hansen and Ezra McNaughton. Hansen from Colorado Springs, Colorado, appeared in 18 games last season as a true freshman, including starts in five of the last six games. McNaughton of Mesa, Arizona, played in 21 games with five starts as true freshman in 2025 after returning from serving a two-year, full-time mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Las Vegas from 2022-24. 

OUTFIELD. Right fielder Bryker Hurdsman, recipient of the 2025 Big 12 Gerald Lage Award for athletic and academic excellence, returns for his senior season with 101 career starts in 114 collegiate games. Hurdsman of St. George, Utah, started 51 of 55 games in 2025, leading the Cougars in batting (.337) and doubles (18), while finishing top three in hits (64), runs (51), slugging (.526) and steals (8). 

Center fielder Crew McChesney started 52 of 55 games last year, primarily in centerfield, while leading the Cougars in walks (36) and stolen bases (11) and finishing second in doubles (17). The junior from Highland, Utah, appeared in 79 games with 67 starts over the past two seasons for the Cougars.

With Anderson moving to second base, BYU looks to junior outfielders Keoni Painter and Ryker Schow or McNaughton to fill the spot in left. Painter, from Kula, Hawaii, appeared in 59 games with 47 starts over the past two seasons in Provo. Last season he led BYU in on-base percentage (.453) while hitting .284 with 23 runs and 13 RBI after coming off a season-ending knee injury in 2024. Schow, from Pleasant Grove, Utah, has 39 starts in 60 appearances over the past two years. He has a career average of .245 with 32 runs and 14 RBI. 

OFF THE BENCH. Others who will likely see time early in the season include sophomore catcher Ridge Erickson, who appeared in 15 games with 11 starts as a freshman last season, and sophomore Tu’a Wolfgramm, who appeared in 13 games as a true freshman as a pinch hitter and runner. Incomers Patrick Graham, a senior infielder who transferred from Penn State, freshmen Cooper Jones of American Fork, Utah, and Austin Park from Mona, Utah, have also been impressive during fall camp and could see early-season playing time. 

ON THE HILL. The BYU pitching staff is led by several key returners including Ashton Johnson, Garrison Sumner, Justis Reiser, Cayson Bell and Luke Sterner. 

Johnson joined the Cougars in 2025 after transferring from College of Southern Idaho and made the most of his opportunity with a 5-1 record and two saves in 24 appearances. The senior righthander from Holliday, Utah, led BYU in appearances and ERA (3.14). 

Reiser returned from injury in 2025 and went 3-0 with two saves and a 4.45 ERA. The lefthander from South Jordan, Utah, made 21 appearances with five starts. He is expected to be healthy and ready to contribute by mid-February.   

Johnson and Reiser combined to scatter just six hits over nine scoreless innings as 12-seed BYU upset 5-seed Arizona State in the first round of the Big 12 Championship. Both Reiser and Johnson recorded season-long outings as BYU recorded its first shutout since 2023 and held ASU scoreless for the only time in 2025.

Sumner, a senior righthander, is expected to start game one of the WKU series. Last year, in his first season after transferring from Salt Lake Community College, Sumner posted a 3-3 record with 11 starts in 14 appearances as a junior. The righty from Eagle Mountain, Utah, led the Cougars in innings pitched (61.2) and strikeouts (60) and is projected to be a weekend starter again in 2026.

Sterner enters his senior season having appeared in 36 games over three seasons at BYU. The righty from Laguna Niguel, California, has a 1-2 career record with three saves and 49 strikeouts in 50 innings of work. 

Bell made nine appearances with four starts, going 1-1 as a redshirt freshman in 2025. The righthander from St. George, Utah, had 11 strikeouts in 19 innings. Other returning pitchers who are expected to play an important role in the bullpen include junior righthander Brayden Marx and redshirt junior Bryant Ball.

NEW FACES. Transfers who are expected to contribute early on the mound include Nate Gray, a junior righthander from Pina Community College; Wayland Crane, a lefty by way of Utah Valley; Dan Brousseau, a junior righty out of SLCC; and Brock Snow, a lefty redshirt sophomore from CSI. Righthanded true freshmen Tyler Ball, Ethan Zufall and Nate Wochner will likely see action out of the bullpen, as will redshirt freshman Blade Paragas of Makaha, Hawaii. 

KNOW THE FOE. The Hilltoppers are led by head coach Marc Rardin, who enters his fourth season after being named the WKU baseball skipper in June 2022. Rardin holds a 115-62 overall record in his first three years, the second-best record of Division I teams that made head coaching hires prior to the 2023 season. 

WKU was recently picked to finish fifth in the 2026 CUSA Baseball Preseason Poll, following a 2025 campaign where the Hilltoppers finished second 46-14 (18-9) in regular season play, before winning the CUSA Baseball Championship and advancing to the NCAA Oxford Regional. 

Hilltopper infielder Kyle Hayes was recently named to the 2026 CUSA Baseball Preseason All-Conference Team after being an All-Conference USA Second Team section in 2025. Hayes, a fifth-year senior from West Chicago, Illinois, appeared in 51 games with 47 starts at first base in 2025. He hit .363 with 10 home runs, 16 doubles, three triples, 56 RBI and scored 40 runs. 

Righthander pitcher Gavin Perry is expected to start game one in the BYU series. The graduate student from Oceanside, California, appeared in 17 games with 10 starts on the hill, posting a 2.80 ERA with a 4-1 record.

2026 SCHEDULE AND OPPONENTS. BYU’s 55-game 2026 schedule includes 22 home games at Miller Park as well as 33 road contests across eight states. The schedule also features 30 Big 12 games versus 10 of the other 13 teams that sponsor baseball. League opponents Kansas State, TCU and UCF are not on the Cougars’ regular-season conference schedule in 2026.

In addition to 15 Big 12 games, the home schedule includes a three-game series with Cal Baptist and in-state midweek games with Utah Valley and Utah Tech.

BYU will face eight teams during the 2026 season who competed in the 2025 NCAA DI Baseball Championship, including conference foes Arizona, Arizona State, Cincinnati, Kansas, Oklahoma State and West Virginia, as well as UVU and Westen Kentucky. Two of the Cougars' 2026 opponents—Arizona and West Virginia—were ranked in the top 25 of the final 2025 USA Today Coaches Poll.

BYU was ranked No. 13 in the Big 12 Preseason Coaches’ Poll. At the conclusion of the 2026 regular season, the league’s top 12 teams will advance to the Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Championship, May 19-23. The tournament is presented by Allstate will be played at Surprise Stadium in Surprise, Arizona, the spring training home of the Kansas City Royals and Texas Rangers.