2026 Fall College Baseball Reset: Stanford

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2026 Fall College Baseball Reset: Stanford

Originally posted on New Baseball Media
By Chris Studley | Last updated Oct 8, 2026 7:47 PM ET

The rebuild effort for Stanford continued in 2026. No, the Cardinal did not make the NCAA tournament, although there were some positives from last season. Namely, the rise of several freshmen who could pace the school in the coming future. Heading into 2027, the future looks rather bright.

The Returnees

While things weren’t particularly clean on the win-loss record last season, the Stanford Cardinal saw great gains among their now-sophomores and juniors.

Offensively, freshman Teddy Tokheim was one of the best players in the ACC last season. Tokheim hit .352 with 70 total hits and 17 home runs last season, both of which marked team-highs for Stanford. Right behind him was Palo Alto boy Charlie Bates, who had 55 hits and is also back for the 2027 campaign.

Bates played summer ball this year in the Cape, as did JJ Moran and Brock Ketelsen. Moran hit .245 for Cotuit, while Bates went .241 for Hyannis. Bates finished with the fourth-most strikeouts in the Cape, while Moran’s 33.3% Whiff% was among the highest in the circuit.

Moran batted .261 with eight home runs last year for the Cardinal.

Ketelsen was one of the big names from the 2025 summer recruit class for Stanford, alongside Tokheim and Brock Sell. Sell was an electric high school prospect and hit .284 as a freshman. As for Ketelsen, he is a two-way player who saw significant time in the field this summer in the Cape. However, his real future may be on the mound.

The left-hander had a 34.8% Whiff% in the Cape Cod League this summer, one of the highest in the wood-bat summer circuit. Ketelsen’s fastball sat in the low-90s but it’s a fastball with riding action and cut. Plus, there is secondary stuff there, too.

(via New Baseball Media)

Cohen Gomez, the 2026 Stanford strikeout leader, is also back for the 2027 season. Gomez worked mainly as a reliever, albeit one who does have a starter-like arsenal, including a low-90s fastball, slider, and a big breaking curveball.

(via New Baseball Media)

Other notable returnees include Tatum Marsh, Luke Lavin, Brady Reynolds, Quinten Marsh, Mike Erspamer, Austin Steeves, and Andrew Shaw.

The Newcomers

Compared to many other power schools in the ACC, the vast majority of Stanford’s roster never played on another collegiate team. In fact, just three have. Henry MacDonald, one of those three, was on the Cardinal roster last season. As was Braden Guentz, who did not pitch in 2026.

Cody Kiemele tossed 26 innings as a freshman with Grand Canyon last season. The left-hander walked 20 and struck out 21 for the Anteaters.

There are 11 new freshmen, with the headliner being Archer Horn. A two-way player, Horn was a monstrous high school athlete with a hard fastball, can run, and is the type of player that any collegiate program would covet. He hit .267 in the WCL, albeit in limited action, this past summer.

Alex Harrington, Alika Ahu, and Julian Cazeras are among the other notable freshmen with Stanford this season.

This article first appeared on New Baseball Media and was syndicated with permission.

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