PROVO, Utah — BYU took another step forward in its progression towards the upper echelon of Big 12 baseball in 2026, finishing the regular season tied for eighth place with a league record of 14-16, while finishing 28-28 overall.
The Cougars were picked to finish 13th in the preseason conference poll, but finished five spots higher and advanced to the Big 12 Championship Tournament for the second consecutive year. In game one of the conference tournament, BYU walked off Texas Tech, 18-8, in the 7th inning on a three-run home run by senior Easton Jones.
In the win over the Red Raiders, BYU set a new Big 12 Tournament single-game batting average record of .526 (20-38) while tying the tournament single-game home run record of five.
In year three of Big 12 play, BYU won four more regular-season conference games in 2026 than the previous season, and seven more than the Cougars’ inaugural Big 12 season in 2024. BYU also won or swept four Big 12 weekend series in 2026, twice as many as the two previous seasons. Two of the conference series wins came against Oklahoma State and Cincinnati, who represented the Big 12 in the 2026 NCAA Tournament.
“We have improved our win total in confernce each of the past two seasons,” said BYU head coach Trent Pratt. “We have also inproved our overall conference finish since joining the Big 12 from last to 12th to eighth. There are a lot of great baseball programs in the Big 12 and we are proving we can compete with the best teams."
Over the course of the year, BYU faced seven teams that eventually qualified for NCAA Regionals, including ASU (1-2), Cincinnati (2-1), Kansas (1-2), Lamar (1-0), Oklahoma State (2-1), Washington State (2-0) and West Virginia (0-3). The Cougars posted a combined 9-9 record in those games, while winning four of the series.
COUGAR RECAP. Baseball opened the 2026 season with 11-straight road games. After picking up two wins at Western Kentucky, Feb. 13-16, BYU won four of the next seven games on a west coast swing from Feb. 19-28, highlighted by a two-game sweep of Washington State.
The Cougars then kicked off Big 12 play at Miller Park, March 12-14, with a 2-1 series win over Cincinnati. Over the next nine weeks BYU posted a 12-15 record in conference play while picking up additional weekend-series wins over Oklahoma State (2-1), Houston (3-0) and Arizona (2-1). The Cougars also captured season-series wins over Utah Tech (2-1) and Utah Valley (2-0), while going 2-2 with rival Utah to finish two games ahead of the Utes in the conference standings.
“I like the fact that we are competing against the best teams in the country,” said BYU director of athletics Brian Santiago. “We’re winning series in the Big 12, which I think is one of the toughest conferences in the country, and I like the direction the program is going. It takes a minute to climb the mountain, especially in a sport like baseball, in a conference where you have to have depth and have to have arms. If you look at the progress, I’m excited for the future of our baseball program.”
Hear more from Santiago and Pratt on Monday’s BYU Sports Nation at 10 a.m. MDT on BYUtv.
So nice we did it twice 😏 pic.twitter.com/2O8FArTH4y
— BYU Baseball (@BYUBaseball) March 28, 2026
TEAM DEFENSE. Under the guidance of second-year assistant coach Adam Law, the Cougar defense recorded the second-best fielding percentage in program history at .977 in 2026, just .001 percent behind the 2025 squad who set the school record at .978. The Cougar defense finished second in the Big 12 in field percentage behind West Virgina (.981) and was third in the league in double plays (48).
DYNAMIC DUO. BYU catchers Parker Goff and Ridge Erickson split time behind the dish but posted some of the best catching stats in the Big 12. Goff who appeared in 32 games with 26 starts, finished fourth in the Big 12 in throwing out runners with 13. The senior, who was named All-Big 12 honorable mention last season, hit .212 with an OBP of .313, with 16 runs and 8 doubles in 2026. Erickson finished the regular season second in the Big 12 in throwing out runners with 17. He played in 37 games with 30 starts, hitting .206 with 15 RBI and 19 runs scored. The Cougar catching combo threw out 30 base runners combined in 2026.
TEAM OFFENSE. Pratt and second-year assistant coach Brycen Campbell helped the BYU offense improve in seven statistical categories in back-to-back seasons, including batting average (.287), hits (655), doubles (122), triples (17), total bases (965), slugging percentage (.490) and stolen bases (47). The Cougar offense also totaled 81 home runs in 2026, 14 more than in 2025.
OFFENSIVE LEADERS. BYU’s offense was led by second-team All-Big 12 first baseman Ezra McNaughton. The sophomore hit .346 and led the Cougar offense in hits (80), doubles (16), home runs (16), RBI (55) and slugging (.623). He also finished the regular season ranked in the top 10 in the Big 12 in hits, doubles, total bases and home runs.
BYU shortstop Ryder Robinson was a semifinalist for the Brooks Wallace Award, presented annually to the nation’s most outstanding shortstop. The junior hit .333 and led the Cougars in runs (55), triples (3), walks (34), stolen bases (11) and assists (128). He was also top three on the team in hits (55), home runs (11), RBI (39) and slugging (.556) and OPB (.434). In week five of the season, Robinson was recognized as the Brooks Wallace Award National Player of the Week by the College Baseball Foundation. He finished sixth in the Big 12 in assists (126) and was 11th in fielding double plays (29).
Despite missing 14 games with a hamstring injury, junior centerfielder Crew McChesney hit .307 while leading the Cougars in doubles (16) and triples (3). He also finished the year top three on the team in extra bases (27) and slugging (.584).
SENIOR SLUGGERS. Two of BYU’s all-time leaders in career games and career starts wrapped up their oustanding careers with solid senior seasons in 2026.
Jones started 171 games at BYU from 2023-26, good for 17th all-time. The third baseman played in 183 career games tying him for 23rd in program history. He also finished his Cougar career with 33 home runs, tying for 26th all-time. Jones is just the 35th player in BYU history to hit 30-plus home runs in a career. During his senior campaign, he hit .300 and finished top three on the team in runs (43), hits (64), triples (2), home runs (14), RBI (46), slugging (.554), walks (28) and assists (103). He also had walk-off, game-winning home runs versus Oklahoma State and Texas Tech.
Jones put an exclamation point on his BYU career at the conference tournament, going 3-for-6 (.500) with two home runs and a triple, while drawing four walks. He was named to the Big 12 All-Tournament Team after collecting five RBI and scoring four runs with an on-base percentage of .700, while slugging 1.833 over two games.
Luke Anderson started 191 games as a Cougar from 2023-26, finishing 9th all-time. He also played in 199 games, good for 13th. As a senior, the Cougar second baseman hit .291 and was top three on the team in runs (48), doubles (15), triples (2), walks (28) and OBP (.391). Anderson tied for sixth in the Big 12 this season in fielding double plays (32) and was 15th in assist (94).
Right fielder Bryker Hurdsman led BYU baseball with a cumulative GPA of 3.93 and graduated in April with a degree in public health. In June he was named CSC Academic All-District for a second-straight year. The senior outfielder appeared in 50 games with 49 starts in 2026. He hit .282 with six home runs, 11 doubles, 31 RBI and scored 28 runs. He also stole nine bases and was hit by a pitch 10 times, bringing his career total to 34, the second most all-time at BYU.
The most scenic ballpark in the country may just belong to @BYUBaseball 🏔️😍 pic.twitter.com/ay6sWXyBos
— MLB (@MLB) May 14, 2026
ON THE HILL. Despite losing two of its top weekend starters in Payton Gubler and Blade Paragas just weeks prior to the 2026 season opener, BYU’s young pitching staff stepped up, making improvements as the year progressed while helping the Cougars to keys wins in conference play down the stretch.
Weekend starers Sumner, Gray and Crane won a combined 13 games for the Cougars and led the staff in several statistical categories. Sumner was selected by the Boston Red Sox in the 20th round of the 2025 MLB Draft but chose to return to BYU for his senior season in 2026. The righthander finished the year with a 4-3 record and led the Cougars in innings pitched (66 1/3) and strikeouts (85), while holding opposing hitters to a .284 average. Sumner also finished seventh in the conference in strikeouts.
Gray, a junior righthander, led the Cougars in wins with seven and was second in innings pitched (58 1/3) and strikeouts (56). His seven wins were second-best in the Big 12. Crane, a senior lefty, made 15 starts with two wins. He threw 58 innings and collected 49 strikeouts. Park appeared in 18 games with a 2-0 record while holding opposing batters to an average of .255. Over 29 1/3 innings the true freshman struck out 39 batters. Bell appeared in 14 games with eight starts and posted a 1-1 record while holding opposing batters to an average of .267. Over 36 1/3 innings the sophomore struck out 21.
BIG 12 SCHOLAR-ATHLETE. Johnson capped off his two-year BYU career by being named Second-Team All-Big 12. The senior lefthander was also honored as the Big 12 Baseball Scholar-Athlete of the Year, an award that recognizes the league's top student-athlete for their combined performance on the field and in the classroom.
Johnson appeared in 47 games with a 6-6 record to go along with seven saves in two seasons at BYU. Over 98 1/3rd innings, he posted a career ERA of 3.75 with 80 strikeouts. He appeared in 23 games during his senior season, finishing the regular season tied for third in the Big 12 in games finished with 14 and was eighth in saves with five.
In early May, Johnson was named to the Starting Nine of the 2026 Tony Gwynn Community Service Trophy and is a finalist for the national award. The Gwynn Trophy honors collegiate baseball student-athletes who are active in their community and represent their programs with integrity, while excelling in the classroom and on the field.
Johnson also excels in the classroom where he is neuroscience major with a 3.80 cumulative GPA. In June he was named CSC Academic All-District for a second-straight year and is currently a candidate for CSC Academic All-America honors. Johnson will graduate from BYU in Spring 2027 having completed all the prerequisites for medical school.
ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT. Joining Johnson on the 2026 CSC Academic All-District Team were teammates Hurdsman, Bell and Matt Hansen. Hansen, a sophomore, has a 3.83 GPA in pre-business. In his first full season as a starter, he appeared in 48 games with 39 starts at first base and designated hitter. He hit .255 with 21 RBI, nine doubles, four home runs and scored 23 runs.
INDOOR PITCHING–HITTING FACILITY. In January, BYU opened its new 6,000-square foot pitching and hitting facility at Miller Park, located down the third base line between the home dugout and the bullpen. The state-of-the-art facility includes four cages, providing six total indoor cages for the BYU baseball and softball programs. The new facility also includes a VIP hosting and hospitality area with 200 field level seats.
In April, BYU baseball hosted MLB.com for a facilty tour of Miller Park, including the new indoor pitching and hitting facility. Check out the behind the scenes MLB tour.