BYU baseball is set for a demanding stretch, playing five road games in six days across California this week. The team begins its trip at UC Riverside on Monday, February 23, with the game scheduled for 1 p.m. PT at the Riverside Sports Complex. The matchup will be available on ESPN+, as well as BYUradio.org, the BYU Radio app, and 107.9 FM in Utah County, with Matt Baiamonte providing play-by-play commentary.
After facing UC Riverside, BYU will move to Long Beach State’s Bohl Diamond at Blair Field for four more games from February 25-28. The Cougars are slated to play Long Beach State on Wednesday and Saturday and will meet Washington State in two neutral-site contests on Thursday and Friday. All four games in Long Beach will air live on BYUradio.org and the BYU Radio app; the Washington State games will also be simulcast on 107.9 FM in Utah County. Wednesday’s contest against Long Beach State will be broadcast on ESPN+.
The Cougars returned 22 players from their 2025 roster, including most of their starting position players and several experienced pitchers. They also added five pitchers during the offseason who have collegiate experience. Last season, returning players accounted for a significant majority of plate appearances as BYU averaged over seven runs per game and ranked among the top teams in the Big 12 Conference for runs scored, triples, and doubles. Defensively, they achieved a school-record fielding percentage and were among national leaders in double plays.
In their most recent outings at the Tony Gwynn Legacy tournament in San Diego, BYU split two games—losing to San Diego State before defeating UC San Diego. First baseman Ezra McNaughton had three hits across both games with two RBIs; centerfielder Crew McChesney contributed two RBIs and a triple; shortstop Ryder Robinson recorded two hits including a home run with a .714 slugging percentage over the series.
On the mound during game two against UC San Diego, left-handed starter Wayland Crane allowed one hit and two runs over four innings while striking out four batters before reliever Nate Gray pitched four shutout innings with four strikeouts to earn the win. Luke Sterner secured his first save of the year by recording the final outs.
BYU’s schedule includes road games against UC Riverside (2-5), which recently took two of three from Wagner after being swept by Utah Tech to open its season; Long Beach State (2-5), which has faced teams such as San Jose State and Texas A&M–Corpus Christi; and Washington State (2-4), which started its season with a series at Alabama followed by matchups against Cal Poly.
After this week’s California road trip, BYU returns home to face Cal Baptist from March 5-7 at Miller Park before hosting Utah Tech on March 10 and opening Big 12 play versus Cincinnati beginning March 12.
