PROVO, Utah — BYU baseball heads to Salt Lake City to face Utah in a midweek non-conference game on March 24 at the recently opened America First Ballpark. The Cougars will then welcome Oklahoma State to Provo for a Big 12 three-game series, March 26-28.
BROADCAST PLANS. All four games this week will be broadcast live on ESPN+ and will also be available on the BYU Radio app, BYUradio.org and 107.9 FM in Utah County.
WEEKEND RECAP. The Utah game will complete a five-game BYU road trip that included a 18-5 win at Utah Tech in St. George, Utah on March 17, followed by three losses at No. 20 West Virginia, March 19-21.
REIGNING POW. BYU shortstop Ryder Robinson was recognized last week as the Brooks Wallace Award National Player of the Week by the College Baseball Foundation. Presented annually to the nation’s most outstanding shortstop by the College Baseball Hall of Fame, the Brooks Wallace Award also recognizes one shortstop each week as the national player of the week.
Robinson, from American Fork, Utah, was 8 for 16 (.500) with three home runs, a triple, four RBI, four walks and six runs scored the week of March 9-15. On the year, he is hitting .293 with six home runs, 14 RBIs and 19 runs scored in 22 starts and leads the Cougars in stolen bases with five in six attempts.
BAT CATS. In addition to Robinson, BYU is lead offensively by Ezra McNaughton and Crew McChesney. Both have started all 22 games and are either first or second in nearly every offensive category. McNaughton is the team leader in runs (21), hits (38), home runs (8), RBI (29), total bases (68), slugging (.708) and OBP (.463), while McChesney leads in doubles (8), triples (2) and extra bases (16).
ON THE HILL. Seven different Cougars have recorded a win on the mound this season, including Ashton Johnson and Nate Gray who each have two. Johnson has thrown 21.1 innings over nine games with 23 strikeouts and a save, while Gray has pitched 23.1 innings over seven games with 23 strikeouts. BYU will start senior righty Luke Sterner on the mound Tuesday at Utah. Sterner has appeared in eight games with eight innings and eight strikeouts.
PREVIEWING THE MATCHUP. BYU is 10-12 on the year and 2-4 in Big 12 play. Meanwhile Utah enters the rivalry matchup at 13-8 and 3-3 in conference play. Tuesday’s game is a non-conference midweek game and will not factor into the conference standings.
SERIES HISTORY. BYU and Utah meet Tuesday for the 385th time dating back to 1948 when record were first kept. The Cougars hold the all-time series lead at 253-130-1, including a 117-68-1 record when playing in Salt Lake City. BYU and Utah split the series in 2025, with the Utes going 2-1 in their final season at Smith’s Ballpark and BYU wining the fourth game of the year at Miiler Park in Provo.
KNOW THE FOE. Utah is currently tied for sixth in the Big 12 standings, one game ahead of BYU who is tied for ninth. The Utes are led by fifth-year coach Gary Henderson who is 115-118-2 at Utah and 434-375-2 overall.
Offensively Utah is led by Cameron Gurney and Jake Long. Both have started all 21 games and are first or second in nearly every offensive category. Gurney leads the Utes in average (.367), home runs (3), RBI (26), slugging (.570) and OBP (.485), while Long is the team leader in hits (30), runs (21) and is tied for the home run lead.
Four Utah pitchers are tied for the team lead with two wins each, including Colter McCanelly, Payton Riske, Dillon Fine and Ian Lenius. McCanelly has recorded a team leading 34 strikeouts in 32 innings, while Dillion has a team best ERA of 1.38 in 13 innings pitched.