Arizona baseball under Chip Hale had been bounced in regional play all three seasons and really had been close to making a super regional during that time. And despite ending the regular season by losing five out of its last eight games, the Wildcats were able to get hot and make a run to the College World Series with the season coming to a close after going 0-2 against Coastal Carolina and Louisville.
During the run, Arizona’s offense was able to keep the team in games helping them advance to the next round. The Wildcats averaged 6.5 runs throughout 11 postseason games and scored 10-plus runs four times and twice in the Eugene Regional.
Leading the offensive charge for Arizona was shortstop Mason White, who posted a team-high 20 home runs while driving in 73 runs and batting .327 on the season. During the NCAA postseason, White hit four home runs, drove in seven RBIs and racked up eight hits.
With the offense rolling, Arizona had the ability to score runs late in games to either put teams away, or come from behind and steal a victory. Meanwhile the Wildcats’ bullpen was dealing with the 2025 Stopper of the Year in Tony Pluta leading the way.
Pluta was a workhorse out of the pen for Arizona pitching in 5 ⅔ innings of work and even had a game against North Carolina where he tossed 52 pitches against the Tar Heels in game two of the three-game series.
The one thing that became an issue was the starting pitching, which had struggled throughout the start of the postseason and in spots throughout the regular season. However, in the last two games in the CWS, Wildcats starters Smith Bailey and Owen Kramkowski combined to go 11 innings while striking out 11 batters and giving up just five runs.
Even with the high-level starts, Arizona couldn’t put the two games away blowing each game in the eighth inning.
Still, it was a run to Omaha that most people didn’t expect and the Wildcats learned something about their starters in Bailey and Kramkowski, which are two young arms that will be in the rotation next season. Also, outside of losing key players in the lineup like White and outfielder Brendan Summerhill, UA and Hale were able to retain most of the postseason roster for the 2026 season.
The future is bright for Arizona and the program, which is in the perfect position to make another run to the postseason.
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