After beginning the 2026 baseball season with 11 consecutive road games, BYU (6-5) is set to host Cal Baptist (11-3) for its home opener at Miller Park in Provo from March 5 to March 7. The series will mark the first-ever baseball meeting between the two programs.
The three-game series will start on Thursday and Friday at 3 p.m. MT, with the final game scheduled for Saturday at 1 p.m. MT. All games will be broadcast live on ESPN+ with commentary by Dave McCann and Greg Sheide. Fans can also listen to radio coverage via BYUradio.org and the BYU Radio app, where Matt Baiamonte or Greg Wrubell will provide play-by-play.
Cal Baptist comes into the matchup led by head coach Gary Adcock, now in his 23rd season. The Lancers were projected to finish third in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC), behind Abilene Christian and Utah Valley University. Junior pitcher Cody New was named WAC Preseason Pitcher of the Year, while shortstop Chris Ramirez joined him on the Preseason All-WAC Team.
The Lancers have started strong this season, recording an 11-3 record over their first three weeks. Their schedule included a series win against Cal State Fullerton, a sweep of Seattle University, a split with San Francisco, and a victory over UC Riverside. Five CBU players are currently batting above .300; Riley Hunsaker leads at .375. Bryce McFeely is hitting .339 and leads in hits (21), RBIs (14), and doubles (7). On the mound, Michael Malki holds a 3-0 record with a 0.64 ERA and has tallied 25 strikeouts in just 14 innings pitched; Bryan Peck is also undefeated at 2-0 with a 1.00 ERA across 18 innings.
BYU brings back much of its roster from last year’s team—22 returning players including seven starting position players and nine pitchers who saw action previously. The Cougars’ offense returns contributors responsible for about 71 percent of last year’s plate appearances; they averaged more than seven runs per game last season and ranked among the top teams in several offensive categories within both the Big 12 Conference and nationally for fielding percentage (.978) as well as double plays turned.
In their most recent stretch—a seven-game trip through Southern California—BYU went up against San Diego State, UC San Diego, UC Riverside, Long Beach State, and Washington State, finishing with notable wins including a walk-off victory over Washington State thanks to Ryder Robinson’s late double that scored Ezra McNaughton.
Robinson finished last week going 11-for-22 (.500) at bat with three RBIs while McNaughton hit .435 with two home runs over five games. Senior left-handed pitcher Ashton Johnson played key roles out of both starting rotation and bullpen assignments; he currently boasts a perfect record this season alongside an earned run average of just .057 across nearly sixteen innings pitched.
Reliever Dan Brousseau also contributed significantly during last week’s contests by closing out crucial innings without allowing any runs.
Following this weekend’s series against Cal Baptist, BYU will host Utah Tech on March 10 before opening Big 12 conference play versus Cincinnati from March 12–14.
