ASU Baseball in Curious Position Following Friday Loss

Follow key developments that have come about over the last week from within the baseball program below with ASU on SI.

Arizona State's Tournament Positioning Weakens

The Sun Devils dropped from the No. 17 national seed to 23rd by Baseball America as of April 1. The drop may not seem significant at the surface, but now the team is in serious danger of falling to a three-line in a prospective bracket - and have gone from being on the doorstep of hosting a regional to having to travel to Auburn, Alabama.

There has to be urgency in the air for Willie Bloomquist and the Sun Devils - especially after dropping even a singular game to an Arizona team that entered the series with less than 10 victories.

Part of the concern once again lies in the pitching rotation, as arms such as Alex Overbay have struggled mightily after quality starts to the season. Bloomquist is continuing to tweak the starting rotation in an effort to best position his team moving forward, but games such as Friday point to a bullpen that has a fair amount of ground to gain as well - as the relievers essentially threw away a gem start from ace Cole Carlon.

Bright Spots Remain for Arizona State

Much akin to the 2025 season, the Sun Devils are driven by an elite offense in the 2026 campaign. Landon Hairston has made a jump from quality lineup addition as a freshman in 2025 into one of the very best players in all of college baseball this year.

Hairston isn't where it ends - UNLV transfer Dean Toigo, Nuu Contrades, and Garrett Michel are just a few of the complimentary bats that provide a number of positives to the lineup. Toigo's bat is powerful, while Contrades is a well-rounded hitter, while Michel has hit 11 doubles and has walked almost as often as he has struck out. Slight inconsistencies from the season shouldn't take eyes away from the ultimate prize of making it back to Omaha.