2026 Washington State Cougars baseball team

The 2026 Washington State Cougars baseball team represented Washington State University during the 2026 NCAA Division I baseball season. The Cougars play their home games at Bailey-Brayton Field. Washington State entered this season seeking to improve upon their last place finish in the Mountain West conference in the prior season.

2026 Washington State Cougars baseball
Mountain West Conference tournament champions
ConferenceMountain West Conference
Record31-28 (15-9 MW)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Tommy Richards
  • Eric Hutting
  • Dan Bower
Home stadiumBailey-Brayton Field
Seasons
 2025
2027 
2026 Mountain West Conference baseball standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L T PCTW L T PCT
San Diego State  1680 .66736240 .600
Washington State y 1590 .62531280 .525
Air Force   1590 .62527280 .491
Nevada   13110 .54224270 .471
New Mexico   12111 .52129241 .546
UNLV   11130 .45830250 .545
San Jose State   11130 .45824270 .471
Grand Canyon   11130 .45821300 .412
Fresno State   3201 .14614381 .274
Conference champion
Tournament champion
y Invited to the NCAA Tournament
As of May 16, 2026[1]
Rankings from D1Baseball

The Cougars found a more consistent identity, especially in conference play. They would earn a 2-seed in the Mountain West tournament, and would go on to win it by beating future Pac-12 rival San Diego State. By securing an automatic bid to the 2026 NCAA Division I baseball tournament, the team had broken a 16-year postseason drought. They were seeded third in the Eugene regional alongside former Pac-12 rival Oregon, current Pac-12 rival Oregon State, and Yale. The Cougars would go on to beat Oregon State in the first game, and lose to Oregon and Oregon State in their second and third games, respectively.[2]

This season marked the last of Washington State's two-year stint as an affiliate member in the Mountain West conference. They would depart the conference along with full members Fresno State and San Diego State to become charter members of the reformed Pac-12 Conference on July 1, 2026.[3]

Previous season

edit

The Cougars finished 18–36, 11–19 in the Mountain West to finish in last place. The Cougars did not appear in any postseason tournament.[4]

Personnel

edit

Roster

edit
2026 Washington State Cougars baseball roster[5]
 

Pitchers

  • 43 - Gavin Derr - Sophomore
  • 13 - Nick Lewis - RedshirtSophomore
  • 26 - Owen Harper - Junior
  • 10 - Taber Fast - RedshirtJunior
  • 34 - Brock Blatter - Redshirt Junior
  • 41 - Bryce Chambers - Senior
  • 54 - Rylan Hader - Redshirt Junior
  • 32 - Luke Meyers - Senior
  • 20 - Gabe Schneider - Sophomore
  • 25 - Griffin Smith - Senior
  • 42 - Trevor Stowe - Redshirt Junior
  • 35 - Kaden Wickersham - Redshirt Senior
  • 31 - Ryan Falke - Freshman
  • 11 - August Richie - Junior
  • 15 - Scott Rienguette - Redshirt Junior
  • 28 - Erik Rodriguez - Junior
  • 27 - Lleyton Daily - Sophomore
  • 45 - Austin Sheldon - Graduate
  • 57 - Dillon O'Neil - Sophomore
 

Catchers

  • 44 - Brock Cross - Freshman
  • 46 - Noah Thein - Senior
  • 4 - Alexandre Giguère - Freshman
  • 24 - Cam Macleod - Junior
  • 39 - Joel Fernandez - Sophomore

Infielders

  • 19 - Ryan Skjonsby - Senior
  • 5 - Kyler Northrop - Sophomore
  • 8 - Ollie Obenour - Sophomore
  • 2 - Dane Chavez - Freshman
  • 6 - Gavin Roy - Senior
  • 1 - Luke Thiele - Redshirt Senior
 

Outfielders

  • 23 - Max Hartman - Senior
  • 7 - Cole Watterson - Redshirt Junior
  • 40 - Joey Hecker - Freshman
  • 12 - Mason Pirello - Freshman
  • 3 - Matt Priest - Redshirt Freshman
  • 21 - Dustin Robinson - Redshirt Sophomore
  • 17 - Trevor Smith - Freshman
 

References

edit
  1. "2026 Baseball Standings". themw.com. Retrieved May 6, 2026.
  2. Communications, Washington State Athletic. "Cougars Fall to Oregon State, Outstanding 2026 Comes to a Close". Washington State University Athletics. Retrieved June 8, 2026.
  3. "Ushering in a new era, the Pac-12 Conference strengthens its legacy by welcoming four respected academic and athletic universities". pac-12.com. Retrieved June 8, 2026.
  4. Communications, Washington State Athletic. "Cougars Close out Season at San Diego State". Washington State University Athletics. Retrieved June 8, 2026.
  5. "2026 Baseball Roster". Washington State Cougars. Retrieved June 7, 2026.