College Baseball: 2026 Big Ten Conference Preview

Preseason Award Winners

Player of the Year: SS Roch Cholowsky – UCLA

Pitcher of the Year: RHP Tate Carey – Michigan

Freshman of the Year: INF Ty Kaunas – Maryland

Transfer of the Year: OF Chase Krewson – Rutgers

Preseason All-Conference Teams

Projected Conference Champion

UCLA Bruins

There’s a reason the UCLA Bruins are our Just Baseball number one team in college baseball. The Bruins bring back a strong list of returners, headlined by the potential 1.1 pick in the 2026 MLB Draft in shortstop Roch Cholowsky.

Head Coach John Savage has done a fantastic job keeping one of the best college baseball recruiting classes intact. The class included the likes of Roch Cholowsky, Dean West, Mulivai Levu, Roman Martin, Cashel Dugger, and so many more who play integral roles in this program.

On the offensive side, the Bruins return the five key bats listed above. It’s a huge combination of star power and depth.

Cholowsky and Levu are the offensive leaders for this team, and both should continue to be massive producers for the Bruins. Levu led the team with 85 RBIs, and as we know, Cholowsky was Mr. Do Everything and a star for UCLA last year. He’s easily the engine that keeps the Bruins running.

That covers shortstop and first base. Roman Martin and Phoenix Call should round out the rest of the infield. Martin was a mainstay at third base, and Call was one of the best defenders at second base before going down with an injury.

The outfield is even more stacked with Dean West and Payton Brennan returning. They also bring in transfer Will Gasparino, who has a ton of pop and had a ton of success in the SEC with Texas. That’s about as deep a lineup as you could ask for.

That type of depth continues on the pitching side as the Bruins return five pitchers in Michael Barnett, Landon Stump, Ian May, Wylan Moss, and CJ Bott, who all received starts last year.

Six relievers, headlined by Cal Randall, Easton Hawk, and Jack O’Connor, also return. This will give the Bruins a ton of experience on the mound. And experience in the playoffs and Omaha.

UCLA also brings in some huge names to the pitching staff with San Diego’s Logan Reddemann and freshman Angel Cervantes. We’ve talked about both at nauseum on our podcasts and other articles, but both should have a huge chance to crack the Bruins rotation.

Needless to say, it’s hard not to see UCLA taking the Big 10 pretty handily this year. This team is absolutely stacked with stars and depth and has a ton of postseason experience.

They’ve shown they can get to Omaha, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they made a national championship run in 2026.

Teams to Watch

Oregon Ducks

The Oregon Ducks stood at the top of the Big Ten standings in 2025, and it was no surprise to see how they ended up there with all the talent they had. Just like UCLA, they finished 22-8 in conference and ended the regular season 42-16, which allowed them to host a regional in Eugene.

Things didn’t go as planned in Eugene, as the #2 seed, Arizona, came out of the Regional and ultimately punched a ticket to Omaha. Oregon will look to improve on 2025 in the 2026 season.

Offense is the name of the game for the Ducks. Like their counterpart in the Big Ten UCLA, the Ducks are also headlined by a star shortstop in Maddox Molony. It often feels Molony doesn’t get the attention he deserves, being overshadowed by Roch Cholowsky.

Molony slashed .309/.403/.564 with a .969 OPS in 2025, building on an already incredible freshman season. He certainly solidified himself as one of the top bats in the entire country.

Joining Molony up the middle is second baseman Ryan Cooney, who is also a preseason Big Ten All-Conference player. Cooney is looking like a top-five round pick in the 2026 MLB Draft, and between him and Molony, the Ducks have a solid 1-2 punch up the middle.

On top of those guys, the Ducks are also getting their big bopper back in 1B/DH Dominic Hellman. He’s built like a linebacker and belted 13 home runs last year while driving in 44.

The Ducks also return Burke Lee Mabeus and Drew Smith. Mabeus genuinely flies under the radar and is one of the best defensive catchers in college baseball. Smith is a solid all-around player and will provide them tons of consistency.

One other bat to keep an eye on is Northern Kentucky transfer Gabe Miranda. The first baseman slashed .338/.471/.610 with 14 doubles, 12 home runs, and 69 RBI. He could help fill some of the power void they lost with Jacob Walsh going to the draft.

On the pitching side of things, the Ducks have much to replace. They lose two weekend starters in Grayson Grinsell andJason Reitz, as well as two big-time relievers who left in the transfer portal in Santiago Garcia (LSU) and Cole Stokes (Florida State).

The big returner to watch is Will Sanford. He was our projection last year for potential Big Ten Freshman of the Year, but he ended up posting a 5.92 ERA in 10 starts. He’s got a chance to take his game to the next level and be a real solid piece for them.

San Diego transfer Cal Scolari was the big pick-up for the Ducks in the transfer portal. He started 16 games last year, posting a 4.22 ERA while striking out 77 batters in 77.1 innings pitched. He is likely a lock for the rotation.

The Ducks have a plethora of arms that could play a huge role for them in 2026, including Gonzaga transfer Miles Gosztola, Western Oregon transfer Devin Bell, and a few others.

It feels like this Oregon Ducks team is mightily talented, but may lack the depth they had last year. The rotation question marks also give me some pause, but regardless this team has all the makings of a top 25 team and should be atop the Big Ten.

USC Trojans

It was great to see USC back to its winning ways in 2025. The Trojans went 37-23 overall and 18-12 in the Big Ten Conference, punching a ticket to the Corvallis Regional. While they were eliminated, it was still a great sign of things to come for USC.

The Trojans have some big pieces to replace after losing their ace, Caden Aoki, to Georgia in the transfer portal, and one of their top bats, Brayden Dowd, to Florida State.

Coming into 2026, the Trojans feel strongest up the middle, where experience, athleticism, and versatility give the coaching staff real options. Abbrie Covarrubias remains the heartbeat of the infield after a steady 2025 campaign that blended contact ability with speed, and his presence alone brings stability to a group that spent much of the fall rotating pieces.

Maddox Riske is a name to watch after a strong summer, and Maximo Martinez offers the ability to move between the dirt and the outfield.

They also bring back Adrian Lopez, who was one of the biggest offensive producers for the Trojans last year. He slashed .329/.400/.550 while hitting 21 doubles, eight home runs, and driving in 52. He should be a key piece for them.

As we mentioned earlier, on the mound, they lost Caden Aoki to Georgia, who was such a massive piece to their rotation. They also lost Caden Hunter, who was a massive part of this rotation as well.

They do bring back Andrew Johnson, who had six starts for them. The righty posted a 5.08 ERA while striking out 56 batters over 67.1 innings. He lives in the strikezone and should be an ultra-competitive pitcher for them on the mound.

The big name to watch is lefty Mason Edwards. He got five starts last year and posted a 3.86 ERA in 32.2 innings. Edwards has the highest ceiling of all the arms and could be the type of guy who makes some noise for the best pitcher on the team.

The USC Trojans look very competitive in the Big Ten again in 2026. While there are some question marks on the mound and some key pieces lost overall, it’s likely that they’ll have the firepower to be a team to watch in the Big Ten.

Maryland Terrapins 

I know I wrote about them last year as a potential contender in the Big Ten, and they didn’t live up to expectations, but I’m willing to jump on the Terrapins bandwagon one more year.

The Terps finished 27-29 overall last year and 12-18 in the Big Ten. It was their first losing season in a long time, but it feels like Coach Swope has this program heading in the right direction after some of the freshmen arrived on campus and the names they brought in through the transfer portal.

Let’s start on the offensive side. The Terps have some big shoes to fill as their star shortstop, Chris Hacopian, transferred to Texas A&M, their home run-hitting first baseman, Hollis Porter, transferred to Texas Tech, and their captain, Eddie Hacopian, graduated.

The one key returner they do have is last year’s third baseman Brayden Martin, who slashed .319/.478/.371 and posted an .849 OPS in 56 games started.

The Terps targeted depth in the transfer portal and brought some key names in from LSU, Vanderbilt, Virginia, UNC-Wilmington, and elsewhere.

The big transfer name was first baseman Ryan Costello, a highly touted prep prospect who committed to LSU. After not receiving much playing time his freshman year, he made his way to Maryland. He should likely start at first base for them.

David Mendez comes over from Vanderbilt after having some struggles there. He started his collegiate career at Dayton, where he slashed .342/.442/.505 as a freshman. He’s got experience at second base and the outfield. He’ll look to see if he can get back to his old ways.

Jackson Sirois comes over from Virginia, where he saw limited playing time. He’ll also look to carve out a significant role in the infield for the Terps as well. Antonio Morales is another intriguing transfer from Wake Forest who should compete for a starting role in the outfield with returner Aden Hill.

Rylen Stockton rounds out some of the big transfer names, and he should be a stalwart behind the dish for Maryland after a huge year for UNC-Wilmington.

The freshman is where to keep your focus on for Maryland. Ty Kaunas might be one of the most impressive freshmen I saw this fall. He was hitting leadoff for the Terps in a scrimmage against Georgetown and looked every bit the part of the next star for the Terps. As D1Baseball has noted, he hit .400 with 6 home runs this fall.

Bud Coombs and Nate Hawton-Henley could also make some noise for Maryland this year. Coombs plays both football and baseball at Maryland. He’s a running back for the Terps.

On the mound, Maryland is going to have to replace their Friday night ace, Kyle McCoy, who was taken in the 2025 MLB Draft. He was Mr. Reliable, posting a 3.32 ERA last year in 84 innings.

The big name to watch is ECU transfer Lance Williams. The right-hander is an intriguing prospect for the 2026 MLB Draft, and he was upper-90s this fall when I saw him against Georgetown. Evan Smith is the second name likely to be a lock for the rotation. He was slated for the rotation last year and went down with an unfortunate injury.

Transfer Alistair Morin from Siena, sophomore Jake Yeager, and freshman Austin Weiss could all compete for starting roles in the rotation as well. Weiss was another highly touted prep prospect out of the state of Maryland.

The Terps seem to have the pieces to get back to their winning ways. It’s a matter of if they all pan out and stay healthy, but it wouldn’t surprise me to see the Terps back in the running in the Big Ten.

Indiana Hoosiers

A team ranked in the Just Baseball Media’s preseason top 25, Indiana struggled to live up to expectations, even with two of the best in college baseball. The Hoosiers finished 32-24 overall and 16-14 in the Big Ten. Despite their struggles, they finished with a winning season and will look to do the same in 2026, but hopefully improve.

Surprisingly, the Hoosiers look extremely strong despite losing both outfielders, Devin Taylor and Korbyn Dickerson, to the MLB Draft, and Andrew Wiggins and Tyler Cerny to the transfer portal.

They’ve got a star part of the program in first baseman Jake Hanley. Hanley posted a 1.004 OPS while hitting 14 home runs and driving in 54. He expects to sit squarely in the heart of the order for the Hoosiers and will look to improve on his incredible freshman season.

Cooper Malamazian also returns after slashing .320/.394/.512 with 17 doubles, four home runs, and 40 RBI. He and Will Moore should solidify the left side of the infield for the Hoosiers. Moore posted a .903 OPS in 41 games started.

Hogan Denny also returns and slashed .292/.420/.504 in 39 gams started as a freshman. He should start most of his games behind the dish. It’s also worth keeping an eye on some newcomers like Aiden Stewart and Mateo Noto.

Question marks arise on the mound for the Hoosiers who have to replace three arms who logged most of their innings in Ryan Kraft, Ben Grable, and Cole Gilley. All three threw over 50 innings and posted under 4.50 ERAs.

They got quite a few arms in the portal that could help them fill that void, including Reagan Rivera out of Coppin State, Kaden Jacobi out of Missouri, Jackson Bergman out of Toledo, and Ian White, Jr. out of East Carolina.

Rivera started 14 games at Coppin State and posted a 5.13 ERA in over 80 innings pitched. Bergman also has a lot of starting experience and started 16 games for Toledo, accumulating a 5.65 ERA in 65.1 innings.

A returner that should be a name to watch is sophomore Brayton Thomas. The highly-touted freshman struggled in his first season, posting a 6.75 ERA in 16 innings. Despite those struggles, he’s been known for solid stuff and could take some big leaps in his game in 2026.

While there are some question marks on the mound, the Hoosiers have the depth to try to make the pieces work there. And with the firepower they have in their lineup, there is a good chance we can see Indiana improve on their 2025 and be a solid contender in the Big Ten.

Penn State Nittany Lions

The Nittany Lions program doesn’t have much of a winning history. They haven’t been to an NCAA tournament since 2000, and haven’t won a regular-season conference championship since 1996. Head Coach Mike Gambino is looking to flip that script.

A 33-23 overall start and 15-15 in conference, Gambino took the Nittany Lions to a winning record in his second season with the program, and that is a fantastic start.

Penn State lost two huge pieces on the offensive side of the ball in outfielder Paxton Kling and shortstop Ryan Weingartner. But some of the best news for the Nittany Lions is that third baseman Bryce Molinaro returned despite being drafted in the 17th round of the MLB Draft.

Molinaro slashed .267/.363/.502 with eight doubles, 13 home runs, and 61 RBI. It was a bit of a down year compared to his freshman year in 2024. Getting back to his 2024 levels won’t just help his draft stock, but will pay dividends for Penn State as well.

The other big returners for the Nittany Lions are outfielder Jesse Jaconski and designated hitter Jack Porter. Both were huge pieces of the Penn State lineup.

Jaconski slashed .298/.368/.551 with 14 doubles, 12 home runs, and 54 RBI, and Porter slashed .310/.408/.549 with 14 doubles, 10 home runs, and 38 RBI. They will likely hit in the middle to the top of the order.

Penn State was able to lock in some interesting bats through the transfer portal to help supplement their losses, including Jayden Davis out of Vanderbilt, Spencer Barrett out of West Virginia, Kevin Karstetter out of Tampa, Michael Anderson out of Arkansas, and Maddox McDonald out of Trinity.

Davis is an absolute athlete who faced some struggles in 2025 at Vandy following an incredible 2024 campaign where he slashed .315/.394/.435 with an .828 OPS. Barrett slashed .278/.336/.443 with five doubles, four home runs, and 26 RBI in 45 games.

Anderson is a guy who saw limited playing time at Arkansas but previosuly was at Rhode Island where he produced a .252/.411/.574 slash line with 13 home runs and 41 RBI. He could provide Penn State with some thump.

The pitching staff is where Penn State struggled the most. It wasn’t just in the rotation, but the bullpen as well. Many of the younger arms struggled to adjust to college ball. Going into 2026, they also lose Ryan DeSanto, who was basically their ace last year.

They got one key arm in the transfer portal who could really be that Friday night ace type in Colin Fitzgerald out of Maine. He’s seen an uptick in velocity, has tons of starter experience, and is a college baseball veteran.

They also brought in Kyle Emmons out of Towson, Benjamin Hudson out of West Virginia, and Kyle Lazer out of West Chester, who could all compete for prominent roles on the mound.

Will Penn State have enough firepower on the mound? It’s too soon to tell, but the offense will be there to carry them again as they look to build on their 2025 winning season.

Washington Huskies

If you haven’t been paying attention to the Washington Huskies since Head Coach Eddie Smith took over, now is the time. The Huskies have been on the rebuild and pulled off a winning record at 17-13 in conference for their first year in the Big Ten.

Coach Smith has a reputation for winning and has been known for a long time as one of the more up-and-coming coaches in college baseball. During his time at Utah Valley, he led them to a 34-24 overall record in 2023 and a solid 18-12 conference record in 2024.

In his first year with the Huskies, they finished 29-28 overall and 17-13 in conference play. He’s looking to build on that success from 2025 and put the Huskies right back in the conversation as an NCAA tournament team in 2026.

The pitching side of things is where the strength of the Huskies lies right now. They return quite a few arms who are ready to roll, including Jackson Thomas, Tommy Bradenburg, and Justin Tims.

Thomas logged the second-most innings for the Huskies in 2025, throwing 71.2 innings in 13 starts while posting a 4.27 ERA. He’s battled injuries over his career so it was fantastic to see him out on the mound healthy.

Bradenburg started 10 games for the Huskies and pitched to the tune of a 4.66 ERA while striking out 31 batters in 46.1 innings. Tims ERA doesn’t pop off the board, but he has the makings of being a very solid starter for Washington and could take some significant steps in 2026.

The Huskies also landed some intriguing arms in the transfer portal, including Jay Miller out of UNC Greensboro, Hayden Lewis out of New Mexico State, and Luke LeMond out of Holy Cross.

Miller is battling back from a significant injury, so who knows what they will get out of him, but he was still ranked the 120th overall transfer portal prospect and threw 59.2 innings last year to the tune of a 4.98 ERA.

On the offensive side of things, like many teams in the Big Ten, the Huskies have a star to build around in first baseman Casen Taggart. He slashed .326/.469/.494 with a .963 OPS last year. He should sit firmly in the heart of this order.

They also return Sam DeCarlo and Braeden Terry. DeCarlo slashed .285/.395/.430 with five doubles, eight home runs, 24 RBI, and 10 stolen bases last year. Terry posted an .839 OPS and hit 11 doubles, four home runs, and drove in 33 RBI.

The Huskies also cleaned up in the transfer portal on the offensive side of things, bringing in the likes of Ethan Swidler from Lafayette, Matthew Gonzalez from New Orleans, Tyler Cowan from UIW, Landon Young from TCU, and Aidan Dougherty from UConn.

Swidler intrigues me the most as he slashed .331/.462/.494 with 14 doubles, five home runs, and 33 RBI at Lafayette. He gives the Huskies a serious option behind the dish. Gonzalez is a DH-type bat who hit 10 doubles, five home runs, and 28 RBI for New Orleans and could provide this lineup some more depth.

Overall, this Huskies team looks healthy and has much improved from the 2025 season. The West Coast teams continue to make noise in the Big Ten, and there is no reason to leave Washington out of that category. Expect Coach Smith’s team to give people fits all season long.

2026 MLB Draft Prospects