2025 Fall College Baseball Reset: UC Santa Barbara

The right-hander is one of several notable pitchers on the Gauchos’ tentative 2026 roster. UC Santa Barbara’s roster also includes junior reliever AJ Krodel, who struck out 37 over 27.2 IP last season out of the bullpen. Calvin Proskey, the team’s #3 starter behind Bremner and Flora, struck out 71 over 66.2 IP as a sophomore.

There’s also left-hander Cole Tryba, who had a fantastic season in the Cape out of the Orleans bullpen. Tryba struck out 46 over 31 innings as a sophomore last season, then followed it up with a 1.07 ERA with 28 strikeouts and no home runs allowed over 25.1 IP.

Sophomores Van Froling and Raymond Olivas, who got a lot of work last season out of the bullpen, are also back for 2026.

As for the offense, many of the team’s regulars from 2025 are back, as well

Sophomore outfielder Rowan Kelly batted .344 with four home runs in 30 games up in the Northwoods League this past summer. Kelly followed up on what was a very good freshman season, one where he batted .355.

Redshirt junior Xavier Esquer, a former transfer from Arizona, finished fourth on the team in hits last season. Esquer also finished fourth in home runs (8).

Additionally, Jonathan Mendez and Nate Vargas, the only two 2025 Gauchos to have a double-digit home run season, are back for 2026.

The Newcomers

As noted before, Bremner — the staff ace from last season — is gone. So are LeTrey McCollum and Isaac Kim, two of the Gauchos’ leading hitters from 2025. Kim batted .352 last season, while McCollum finished with a team-high 79 hits.

The Gauchos also saw Hudson Barnett, who had a fantastic freshman season in 2023 but missed most of the 2024 and 2025 seasons, transfer to Oklahoma State.

There are, however, quite a few new, fresh faces.

One is pitcher Kellan Montgomery, who transferred from Big West rival Long Beach State to join the Gauchos. Montgomery, who spent the last two seasons in the Dirtbags’ rotation, struck out 60 over 76 innings last season

Outfielder Mitch Namie, a three-year starter with New Mexico State, slashed .340/.436/.530 with seven home runs and 25 extra-base hits last season.

Junior catcher Nico Libed slashed .244/.382/.301 with San Diego. Libed did not hit a home run but walked (24) almost as much as he struck out (28).

Senior infielder Will Vasseur played 39 games for Memphis last season. He finished the year with a .259 batting average.

UC Santa Barbara’s freshmen class includes 13 true freshmen, seven of whom are pitchers.

Summary

UC Santa Barbara is always one of the most interesting collegiate programs to follow. The Gauchos don’t play in one of the big, name-brand conferences, even though the Big West is quality competition.

Plus, the Gauchos rarely play outside the West Coast — their only non-California games this season are scheduled for the first weekend of the season against Sun Belt power Southern Miss.

Nonetheless, the Gauchos should remain a very strong contender for the NCAA Tournament. UC Santa Barbara’s pitching staff is deep, and a similar-looking offense scored enough to support many of the same pitchers who are on the roster for 2026.