Coming off its third conference title in the last four years, the BYU baseball program is aimed at hitting new heights in 2020.
Starting his eighth year as head coach of the Cougars, 2019 West Coast Conference Coach of the Year Mike Littlewood is coming off a season in which BYU won its first outright WCC regular season title, the Cougars’ third championship in the last four years. BYU was ranked half the season in the Top 25 and posted a 36-17 overall record for a .679 winning percentage – the highest mark by a BYU team since 1993.
Littlewood and his staff welcome 19 newcomers to a group of 17 returners from last year. The Cougars’ incoming class was ranked 16th in the nation by D1Baseball.com and will feature multiple players who are set to make an impact immediately.
On the mound, BYU appears to have as deep a pitching staff as the program has ever had. Last season, the Cougars posted a team ERA of 3.65, the program’s lowest since 1982, and the best strikeout to walk ratio since 1967 at 2.59. BYU will look to build on that success as junior Justin Sterner (8-3, 2.92 ERA) and junior Easton Walker (7-2, 2.20) return from last year’s starting rotation, while Freshman All-American Reid McLaughlin (7-1, 2.61), junior Drew Zimmerman (1-2, 4.17), senior Jarod Lessar (3-2, 4.44) and junior Mitch McIntyre (3-1, 0.00) also are back after coming out of the bullpen in 2019.
The Cougars’ pitching experience will be complemented well by a slew of freshmen hurlers who will contribute this season. Lefty Cy Nielson, a Collegiate Baseball High School All-American and 2019 MLB Draft pick, is looking to crack into the starting rotation. Bryce Robison and Tyson Heaton could also start or come on in relief. Carter Smith, Mikade Johnson, Cutter Clawson and Cooper McKeehan are slated to make significant contributions as well.
On offense and in the field, the Cougars return McIntyre, an All-WCC honoree who totaled 55 hits, including 14 doubles, three triples and seven home runs, along with 30 walks last season. Fellow junior outfielder Danny Gelalich also returns after hitting .328 in 2019. They’ll be joined by junior Hayden Leatham, a transfer from Southern Idaho who was a junior college All-American.
Other outfielders who will see time include a trio of sophomores – Jaren Hall, Hobbs Nyberg and Ryan Sepede – along with freshmen McKay Barney and Hunter Swapp.
The Cougar infield will look largely new since All-Region shortstop Jackson Cluff moved on to play professional ball and others have graduated. After starting 27 games last season, sophomore Austin Deming will play one of the corners. He could be joined by multiple true freshmen, including Clawson, Peyton Cole, Andrew Pintar and/or Brock Watkins. Sophomore returners Bryan Call and Zack Peterson and UNLV transfer Jacob Rogers will also be vying for playing time.
At catcher, senior Abraham Valdez will get the majority of playing time; he played in 21 games with 11 starts in his first year with the Cougars last season. Salt Lake Community College sophomore transfer Joshua Cowden will also see time behind the plate and possibly at designated hitter.
BYU will begin the 2020 campaign at the Sanderson Ford Baseball Classic in Surprise, Arizona, with an opening game against Gonzaga on Friday, Feb. 14, at 5 p.m. MT. The Cougars will also play New Mexico twice on Saturday, Feb. 15, before finishing with Oregon State on Monday, Feb. 17.
The Cougars will take road trips to Cal Poly, New Mexico and Oklahoma State before beginning WCC play at home against LMU on Thursday, Mar. 12. The home opener will be Tuesday, Mar. 3, at 5 p.m. MT against Utah Valley.