Dallas Baptist Joins Pac-12 For Baseball in 2027 Season

First reported by ESPN's Pete Thamel, and then confirmed by other outlets, the Pac-12 will add Dallas Baptist as a baseball-playing affiliate in 2027.

Since moving up to NCAA Division I in 2004, the Patriots have become one of college baseball's most consistent contenders, with a daunting 791-414-1 record (.656 win percentage). They have qualified for 14 NCAA Regionals in that span, and won 2 regionals (2011, 2021).

Notably, Dallas Baptist has had several memorable matchups with Oregon State: in 2015 they eliminated Pat Casey's Beavers at the Dallas Regional with a 7-1 win, and then eliminated the orange & black again with a pair of wins at 2021's Fort Worth Regional.

Not only do Dallas Baptist boost the profile of the Pac-12's baseball slate, they also are a natural travel partner for the league's eighth full member, Texas State. Compared to faraway opponents in Corvallis, Pullman, and Boise, the 3 hour trek from Texas State's San Marcos campus to Dallas Baptist's campus is practically across the street.

Perhaps the greatest benefit to adding Dallas Baptist as a baseball program is a simple number: 8. The Pac-12 Conference would like to feature 8 baseball-playing member schools, but several of its 9 members do not field a varsity baseball program. The Covid-19 pandemic wiped out Boise State's team, while Colorado State dissolved its squad in 1992, and Utah State only competes at the zero-scholarship club baseball level in the National Club Baseball Association (NCBA).

According to multiple reports, a formal announcement of Dallas Baptist's addition to the conference baseball slate could come as soon as Thursday.