College Baseball: 2026 Sun Belt Conference Preview

Team	Conference	Winning %	Overall	Winning %
Coastal Carolina	26-4	0.867	56-13	0.812
Southern Miss	24-6	0.800	47-16	0.746
Troy	18-12	0.600	39.21	0.650
Marshall	16-14	0.533	33-26	0.559
Louisiana	16-14	0.533	27-31	0.466
Old Dominion	15-15	0.500	27-31	0.415
Arkansas State	14-16	0.467	26-28	0.481
Texas State	14-16	0.467	27-31	0.466
Georgia Southern	13-17	0.433	28-31	0.475
App State	13-17	0.433	23-31	0.426
South Alabama	12-18	0.400	23-28	0.451
Georgia State	11-19	0.367	26-30	0.464
James Madison	10-20	0.333	17-38	0.309
ULM	8-22	0.267	22-33	0.400

Preseason Award Winners

Player of the Year: OF Steven Meier – Troy

Pitcher of the Year: RHP Cam Flukey – Coastal Carolina

Freshman of the Year: INF/RHP Brady Richardson – Troy

Transfer of the Year: RHP Ross Norman – Coastal Carolina

Preseason All-Conference Teams

Position	Name	School	2025 Notable Stats
SP	Cam Flukey	Coastal Carolina	8-2, 3.19 ERA, 101.2 IP, 118 SO
SP	Hayden Johnson	Coastal Carolina	5-0, 2.82 ERA, 38.1 IP, 55 SO
SP	Griffin Miller	Marshall	7-4, 3.46 ERA, 83.1 IP, 71 SO
RP	Ryan Lynch	Coastal Carolina	2-1, 0.56 ERA, 32 IP, 36 SO, 9 SV
C	Tucker Stockman	Southern Miss	.332/.414/.474, 2 2B, 6 HR, 33 RBI
1B	Blake Cavill	Troy	.320/.516/.562, 12 2B, 11 HR, 50 RBI
2B	Joseph Zamora	App State	.307/.397/.395. 8 2B, 3 3B, 2 HR, 34 RBI
3B	Kyle Morrison	Southern Miss	.294/.399/.521, 13 2B, 9 HR, 44 RBI (South Alabama)
SS	Patrick Engskov	Arkansas State	.296/.366/.493, 13 2B, 9 HR, 35 RBI
OF	Steven Meier	Troy	.300/.447/.507, 16 2B, 8 HR, 42 RBI, 24 SB
OF	Jordan Taylor	Coastal Carolina	.322/.359/.504, 16 2B, 8 HR, 43 RBI, 22 SB (Stetson)
OF	Caleb Stelly	Southern Miss	.302/.414/.490, 10 2B, 10 HR, 33 RBI (Louisiana)
DH	Matthew Russo	Southern Miss	.290/.407/.563, 11 2B 18, HR, 57 RBI
UTL	Kameron Miller	App State	.305/.461/.567, 7 2B, 12 HR, 50 RBI

Projected Conference Champion

Coastal Carolina Chanticleers

If a team makes a College World Series run to the CWS Final, it’s hard to pick that team to win the conference again. Especially a Coastal Carolina team that returns so many like Cam Flukey, Hayden Johnson, and Dominick Carbone. 

Head Coach Kevin Schnall and his entire staff have helped keep Coastal Carolina among the premier programs in college baseball. That earned Coach Schnal a much-deserved extension through 2030, and the rest of his coaching staff received extensions as well.

Their 2025 season was absolutely incredible. They went 56-13 overall and 26-4 in conference. That included a 26-game winning streak that brought them to a College World Series final against LSU. 

While the ultimate end goal of winning a national championship wasn’t achieved, Coastal Carolina should only be proud of the season they put together. 

Now they enter 2026 with some unfinished business. While they lose the likes of catcher Caden Bodine and two-thirds of their rotation in Jacob Morrison and Riley Eikhoff, Coastal still looks as good as they do for 2026. 

The main reason for that is the starting rotation, which right-hander Cam Flukey headlines. Flukey is the easy choice as the Friday night guy, as he posted a 3.19 ERA with 118 strikeouts in 101 innings pitched. 

Flukey just keeps getting better each year. It feels like even with how good he is, there is even more untapped potential there. He’s one of the best, if not the best, arms in college baseball and likely to be a top 5 pick in the 2026 MLB Draft. 

In addition to Flukey, left-hander Hayden Johnson is expected to make his way into the rotation. He posted a 2.82 ERA and struck out 55 batters in 38.1 innings out of the bullpen in 2025. 

Georgia State transfer Ross Norman should round out the rotation on Sunday. The numbers weren’t great last year as he has a lot of work to do to hone in the stuff, but what better place to do that than at Coastal and with Pitching Coach Matt Williams. Norman has some elite upside given his stuff. 

Along with the rotation, Coastal Carolina brings back one of the most elite bullpens in college baseball, headlined by Dominick Carbone, Ryan Lynch, and Darin Horn, who all return. 

Lynch was the team’s saves leader with nine and posted an absurd 0.56 ERA while striking out 36 batters in 32 innings. Carbone was absolutely dominant out of the pen, posting a 2.36 ERA with 52 strikeouts in 42 innings. He was an electric factory. 

The offense is where Coastal really lacked last year. The pitching staff was so good that Coastal was able to win so many games despite the lack of offense. They only had two hitters who achieved double-digit home runs in Caden Bodine and Blake Barthol.

With Bodine gone, Barthol will become the senior leader of that lineup. He was considered a decent draft prospect before last year and will look to turn things around in 2026 to become more productive at the plate. 

The Chants also return Colby Thorndyke at first base. He slashed .303/.395/.445 with 18 doubles, four home runs, and 48 RBI. He should be a staple in this lineup. Walker Mitchell is also back at the hot corner and will look to improve upon his 2025 season. 

Blagen Pado and Dean Mihos return as well and should potentially lock down spots in the outfield. Mihos led the team in batting average, hitting .332. He has some potential table setter traits. 

The good news for the Chants is that they had the 37th-best transfer portal class per 64Analytics. One of their big gets was outfielder Jordan Taylor out of Stetson. He slashed .322/.359/.504 with 16 doubles, eight home runs, and 43 RBI. He could be massive for the Chants.

The Chants also got Rex Watson out of San Diego, who slashed .295/.400/.532 with four doubles, 13 home runs, and 60 RBI. As well as Phillip Ard out of North Georgia. Ard hit 35 home runs and drove in 138 in his last two seasons there. They can provide Coastal with a bit more pop in the lineup. 

The pitching staff looks just as strong as 2025 and with key returners plus a strong group of transfer portal bats, the Chants look primed to have a strong 2026 season and take the Sun Belt Championship with the potential for another Omaha run. (Jared Perkins)

Teams to Watch

Southern Miss Golden Eagles

The Golden Eagles return to action at one of the best environments in college baseball, thanks to Pete Taylor Park, after hosting a regional and super regional, boasting a 47-11 record with a 24-6 Sun Belt record and second-place finish.

A program rich and historic with winning, Christian Ostrander has picked up in what will be his third season as head coach and ninth with the program, which has strung together consecutive postseason appearances and 40-win seasons dating back to 2016.

Southern Miss will look to replace a slew of pieces at the plate, most notably Nick Monistere, who posted a 1.033 OPS with a club-leading 21 home runs and 71 RBI.

Ozzie Pratt, the only player from the 2025 Golden Eagles to start all 62 games, the USM batting average leader, Jake Cook, and Carson Paetow, who slugged 18 doubles, 16 home runs, and 64 RBI have moved on as well.

Potential Sun Belt Player of the Year Matthew Russo will return after finishing his 2025 campaign with a .970 OPS, 18 home runs, and 57 RBI, a force in the middle of the order yet again, and a run-producing machine.

Senior outfielder Joey Urban will be a staple for the 2026 Golden Eagles after slashing .333/.417/.552 last year with 19 extra-base hits.

USM will also bring back four more offensive players who appeared in 50-plus games in 202,5, including starting catcher Tucker Stockman, who managed the staff and produced 33 RBI.

While they did graduate two-thirds of their weekend rotation in JB Middleton and Matthew Adams, southpaws Kros Sivley and Grayden Harris are back, who will presumably fill those roles in 2026.

Sivley posted a 4.14 ERA over 71 ⅔ innings over 22 appearances, making eight starts in 2025, while Harris made 15 starts, tallying 58 ⅓ innings to the tune of a 3.39 ERA.

Senior closer Colby Allen will continue to anchor the pen, recording 12 saves in 2025 with 67 innings over 29 appearances, racking up 77 strikeouts with opposing hitters batting a mere .214 off him. 

Two more Golden Eagles out of the pen return in Camden Sunstrom and Josh Och, who combined for 35 appearances and 63 ⅓ innings.

Again, USM hasn’t fallen below the 40-win mark since 2015, and there’s no reason for me to believe that will change this year with all the returning pieces for Ostrander’s club. Expect another regional appearance and a tight race at the top of the Sun Belt. (Will Mossa)

Troy Trojans

The Troy Trojans were arguably the largest snub of the 2025 postseason after tallying a 39-21 record while only losing just one conference series to Southern Miss and finishing 18-12 in a Sun Belt Conference that we can all agree is deserving of three teams more often than not.

2025 was the third consecutive season with 37+ wins under Head Skipper Skylar Meade, and four consecutive wins with 32+ wins, a benchmark the Trojans have not dipped below in Meade’s tenure.

The Trojans bring back six starters on offense who made 37 or more starts in 2025, but lose a big piece of the puzzle in catcher Brooks Bryan, who led the team in both home runs (12) and RBI (61). 

Senior outfielder Steven Meier will be the centerpiece of the Trojans on both sides of the ball, coming off a junior campaign where he slashed .300/.447/.507 with 16 doubles, eight home runs, 42 RBI while going 24-29 on stolen bases and finished sixth in the country in hit-by-pitches with 29.

He’s an all-around gamer who embodies every bit of the Troy culture.

Locking down first base will be Australian-Native Blake Cavill who led the Trojans in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging, and OPS with a 1.078. Cavill rounded out his season with 12 doubles, 11 home runs, and 50 RBI, as well as finishing second in the country in walks with 64.

Troy will return a duo of sophomores who made immediate impacts in their true freshman seasons. Backstop Jimmy Janicki who made 51 starts as a true freshman and posted a .280 batting average with 32 RBI, primarily at third base, but will likely take over the catching duties for recently departed Brooks Bryan.

Outfielder Houston Markham will also look to take another leap forward after making 33 starts with 27 RBI and seven stolen bases in 2025.

Seniors Sean Darnell and Gavin Schrader round out the veteran-laden Trojans lineup as Darnell started all 60 games in the infield and Schrader made 37 starts with a .927 OPS, both going five-for-six on stolen bases. 

The pitching will be the interesting piece for the Trojans in 2026 after losing their top six innings arms, including Noah Edders, who led the way with 14 starts, 65 innings, and 67 punch-outs.

Left-handed pitcher Drew Nelson will be the most seasoned returner of the Trojans’ staff after making eight starts in 2025 with 33 ⅓ innings pitched to a 5.49 ERA and 25 strikeouts. 

With plenty of innings to fill, the pitching will be the biggest factor in the ceiling for the Trojans, but it’s hard to argue with the previous success of Coach Meade and the returning pieces on offense and sets them up for another high finish in the Sun Belt. (Will Mossa)

Texas State Bobcats

Despite their 27-31 finish, the Texas State Bobcats were a fascinating team in 2025, notching a handful of wins against Top 25 opponents, most notably Texas, Texas A&M, and Oklahoma State.

Battling injuries all season long, the depth showed itself in a skid in the back half of the season as they rounded out their campaign in eighth place in the Sun Belt with a 14-16 conference record.

Assistant Coach Danny-David Linahan shared some excitement around the 2026 group in his second season with the Bobcats; “This is a talented, balanced group with pieces from the high school and junior college ranks, along with some key portal additions.

At the same time, the reality is we don’t have a ton of Division 1 experience, so there will be a lot of firsts for our guys – and that’s something we’re embracing, not running from.”

The pitching for the Bobcats has plenty of roles and innings to fill, with the only one returning starter in Jesus Tovar, losing most notably Alex Valentin as well as their top three bullpen arms. Coach Linahan mentioned on their pitching staff; “We have several suitors who showed real glimpses this fall.

Coach Blakley did an outstanding job in his first full semester running the staff, putting guys in a variety of situations – starting, relieving, high leverage – to help us learn more about who we can be as a team.”

Tovar should lead the way on the mound after making 11 starts to the tune of a 6.21 ERA with 58 strikeouts over 66 ⅔ innings. 

The offense is where things get exciting for Texas State heading into 2026, returning four seniors, including infielder Chase Mora, who posted a team-leading .834 OPS with eight home runs and 44 RBI.

Senior utility-man Rehawn Galloway looks to lead the way on offense after a bullish Fall after missing last season, suffering a broken hamate early on in 2025.

Coy DeFury should take another jump after making 31 starts in 2025, transferring from Blinn College, and should patrol the middle of the order again for the Bobcats.

One of the more fascinating guys to keep tabs on will be Ethan Ferris who posted gaudy power numbers this fall with EVs approaching 110. With a big frame and big pop, he’ll look to supply some juice into the lineup after starting just 17 games in 2025.

While Texas State is in rebuild mode, this team was extremely fun in 2025, and as long as they stay healthy in 2026, considering the portal additions, they should take a big leap in the Sun Belt standings. (Will Mossa)

Marshall Thundering Herd

Marshall was sneakily good in the Sun Belt Conference last year, going 16-14 in conference and producing an overall winning record at 33-26. This was a massive improvement from their 2024 season, where they went 18-37. 

It was the best finish under Head Coach Greg Beals, who took over the program in 2023. New facilities have really helped propel the Thundering Herd in recruiting, and they look to build on an incredible 2025. 

The key strength for Marshall in 2026 is definitely their rotation as they return everyone: Griffin Miller, Bryce Blevins, and Clint Moak.

Miller is a preseason all-conference starter for us as he was incredible last year, posting a 3.46 ERA while striking out 71 batters in 83.1 innings. He should easily return as their Friday night guy in 2026. 

While Blevins and Moak didn’t post great numbers last year, there is hope that they can find it in 2026. Especially for crafty lefty Blevins who enters his senior season and posted a 3.45 ERA in 2024 as a sophomore. 

The Thundering Herd also returns four bullpen arms, giving them tons of experience. Charlie Krebs and Peyton Jackson are the two to watch, as both dominated last year. Krebs posted a 2.92 ERA and logged 52. 1 innings, and Jackson posted a 3.55 ERA in 25.1 innings. 

Marshall took some big blows on the offensive side with their leading producer, Maika Niu, transferring to Arkansas, and Eddie Leon graduating. That being said, they still return to key bats on the right side of the infield in first baseman AJ Harvilla and second baseman Tyler Kamerer.

Harvilla drove in 45 while slashing .287/.420/.446 with 16 doubles and four homes runs, and Kamerer had more of a tablesetter approach. Jackson Halter also returns to the outfield, and he should be a key part of the top of the order. 

Ethan Murdoch and Akron transfer Evan Bottone could round out this outfield. Murdoch was second on the team in home runs with 10, behind Niu. Bottone put up some really intriguing numbers at Akron, slashing .281/.413/.378 with 13 SBs in 2025. 

The biggest question for the Herd is whether they can replace some of the thump in their lineup that they lost. They have a bunch of grinder types who can make contact and work at bats, but will they have the production? 

The Thundering Herd will likely find it somewhere, and with the pitching staff looking so strong, Marshall could finish near the top of the Sun Belt Conference again in 2026. (Jared Perkins)

Arkansas State Red Wolves

You usually don’t expect a write-up on a team that finished 14-16 in conference and 26-28 overall, but it feels like Arkansas State has been doing a lot of the right things to get itself back to prominence of late. 

They’ve had years of really bad teams and haven’t been to an NCAA Regional since 1994, but Head Coach Mike Silva took over the program last year after leading Nicholls to back-to-back regionals, and they ended with one of their best finishes in a long time. 

The school is investing in the program as well. They recently announced they are moving forward with plans for a transformative 40,000 square-foot baseball Player Development Center overlooking right field at Tomlinson Stadium. 

The two-level facility is set to include a full turf infield, batting cages, pitching tunnels, weight room, meeting spaces, and premium seating, giving the Red Wolves year-round player development resources and a major recruiting boost. This should only help Coach Silva moving forward. 

As for 2026, Arkansas State brings back some really key returners, especially on the offensive side of the ball. The biggest headliners for them are infielder Patrick Engskov and outfielder Ashton Quiller. Both were top producers for the Red Wolves in 2026.

Engskov hit 13 doubles, nine home runs, and drove in 35 runs. Quiller slashed .318/.371/.479 with 12 doubles, five triples, three home runs, and 30 RBI in his freshman year. Getting these two back is huge for Arkansas State. 

They also return outfielder Cross Jumper, infielder Cason Campbell, catcher Kaden Amundson, and outfielder Jake Henry Williams, all of whom started significant games last year. That’s 6 of 9 returners on the offensive side. 

In terms of the transfer portal, they did bring in Evan Griffis from Stetson and Cougar Cooke out of Utah Valley, who could play a role for this team in 2026. 

On the mound, the biggest name returning is freshman Jack Hibbard, who posted a 4.95 ERA with 45 strikeouts in 56.1 innings. He started 12 games for the Red Wolves. Colin Maloney also returns and he posted a 4.46 ERA with 36 strikeouts in 42.1 innings and started nine games. 

Senior Jack Nelson also comes back, and he is one of the most productive returners, posting a 3.86 ERA last year in 49 innings. 

They also brought in some intriguing transfer portal arms, including Wes Pritchard from Mississippi State, Houston Tomlinson from Texas A&M, and Ryan Ashford from Miami. 

Between the offensive returners and firepower, the return to the mound, the Red Wolves seem primed to improve on their 2025 season. Will the offense be able to take that next step in production? That remains to be seen, but all the pieces of the puzzle are there for Arkansas State to improve its Sun Belt Conference standings. (Jared Perkins)

Top 2026 MLB Draft Prospects

Player	Position	School
Cam Flukey	RHP	Coastal Carolina
Hayden Johnson	LHP	Coastal Carolina
Colby Allen	RHP	Southern Miss
Dominick Carbone	LHP	Coastal Carolina
Ross Norman	RHP	Coastal Carlina
Thomas Crabtree	RHP	Southern Miss
Hunter Baynes	RHP	Old Dominion
Dylan Alonso	RHP	Troy