Series Preview: Baylor Baseball Travels to Tempe to Face No. 25 Arizona State

TEMPE, Arizona – Baylor baseball (22-18, 9-9) heads west for an important three-game set against No. 25 Arizona State (28-14, 11-7) at the Phoenix Municipal Stadium. The Bears will open the three-game set at 8:30 p.m. CT on Friday, April 24. Saturday’s game is also slated for 8:30 p.m. CT, while the series finale on Sunday is scheduled for 3 p.m CT. All three games this weekend will be streamed on ESPN+.

Baylor Bears

• Record: 22-18 (9-9)
• RPI: 50th
• SOS: 15th

2026 Season Statistics

• Batting Average: .267 (12th in Big 12)
• Earned Run Average: 5.31 (4th in Big 12)
• Fielding Percentage: .973 (7th in Big 12)

Head Coach: Mitch Thompson

• Career Record: 469-244 (13th season) 
• Record at Baylor: 97-106 (4th season) 

2026 Projections

• D1Baseball: 10th in Big 12
• Coaches Poll: 11th in Big 12

Notable Results

• Wins: Houston (3), BYU (2), UTSA, No. 25 Ole Miss,
• Losses: No. 11 Oregon State, No. 20 Southern Miss, No. 3 Texas, No. 22 West Virginia (2), Oklahoma State (2), Cincinnati (2), TCU (2)

Arizona State Sun Devils

• Record: 28-14 (11-7)
• RPI: 37th
• SOS: 60th

2026 Season Statistics

• Batting Average: .324 (2nd in Big 12)
• Earned Run Average: 5.60 (7th in Big 12)
• Fielding Percentage: .977 (3rd in Big 12)

Head Coach: Willie Bloomquist

• Career Record: 154-119 (5th season) 
• Record at Arizona State: 154-119 (5th season) 

2026 Projections

• D1Baseball: 4th in Big 12
• Coaches Poll: 4th in Big 12

Notable Results

• Wins: No. 17 TCU (2), Kansas State (2), BYU (2)
• Losses: No. 13 Oklahoma, No. 4 Mississippi State, No. 23 Texas A&M, West Virginia (2)

Baylor’s Projected Starting Lineup

• SS: Travis Sanders (RJr.): (.353 BAVG, .956 OPS, 156 AB)
• 2B: Pearson Riebock (So.): (.208 BAVG, .660 OPS, 120 AB)
• RF: Brady Janusek (Fr.): (.333 BAVG, 1.004 OPS, 162 AB)
• 1B: Tyce Armstrong (RSr.): (.305 BAVG, 1.054 OPS, 154 AB)
• DH: Dylan Perez (Fr.): (.225 BAVG, .608 OPS, 40 AB)
• 3B: Brytton Clements (RFr.): (.297 BAVG, .720 OPS, 101 AB)
• C: JJ Kennett (Jr.): (.274 BAVG, .743 OPS, 84 AB)
• LF: Ty Johnson (5Sr.): (.220 BAVG, .609 OPS, 123 AB)
• CF: Bo Caraway (Fr.): (.232 BAVG, .545 OPS, 56 AB)

Projected Bench

• INF: Robert De La Garza (Jr.): (.227 BAVG, .653 OPS, 44 AB)
• DH: Hunter Snow (RFr.): (.193 BAVG, .697 OPS, 83 AB)
• C: Brayden Buchanan (RSo.): (.220 BAVG, .641 OPS, 50 AB)

*2026 Stats: (BAVG = Batting Average, OPS = On-Base Percentage + Slugging Percentage, AB = At-Bats)*

Arizona State’s Projected Starting Lineup

• CF: Landon Hairston (So.): (.440 BAVG, 1.520 OPS, 166 AB)
• 3B: Austen Roellig (RSo.): (.305 BAVG, .823 OPS, 141 AB)
• DH: Nuu Contrades (RJr.): (.364 BAVG, 1.152 OPS, 121 AB)
• RF: Dean Toigo (5Sr.): (.335 BAVG, 1.116 OPS, 155 AB)
• LF: Matthew Polk (RSr.): (.383 BAVG, 1.099 OPS, 23 AB)
• 1B: Dominic Smaldino (Jr.): (.313 BAVG, .870 OPS, 150 AB)
• C: Brody Biggs (RSo.): (.253 BAVG, .722 OPS, 79 AB)
• 2B: Beckett Zavorek (So.): (.277 BAVG, .743 OPS, 83 AB)
• 3B: PJ Moutzouridis (Jr.): (.303 BAVG, .890 OPS, 142 AB)

*2026 Stats: (BAVG = Batting Average, OPS = On-Base Percentage + Slugging Percentage, AB = At-Bats)*

Probable Starting Pitchers

• BU SP 1 – RHP: Lucas Davenport (Jr.); (3.86 ERA, 1.42 WHIP, 37.1 IP, 8-8 APP-GS, 4-1 W-L)
• ASU SP 1 – LHP: Cole Carlin (Jr.); (3.63 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 52 IP, 10-10 APP-GS, 3-2 W-L)
• BU SP 2 – RHP: Zack Wallace (So.); (4.87 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 40.2 IP, 12-7 APP-GS, 3-3 W-L)
• ASU SP 2 – TBD
• BU SP 3 – LHP: Ethan Calder (Sr.); (4.14 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, 50 IP, 10-10 APP-GS, 3-4 W-L)
• ASU SP 3 – RHP: Kole Klecker (Sr.); (6.34 ERA, 1.41 WHIP, 44 IP, 9-9 APP-GS, 4-2 W-L)

*2026 Stats: (ERA = Earned Run Average, WHIP = Walks & Hits Per Inning Pitched, IP = Innings-Pitched, APP = Appearances)

Top Quotes

Head coach Mitch Thompson on facing No. 25 Arizona State this weekend:

• “We’ve responded pretty well all year, and we’re going to have to do it again. We’re going to face a good opponent in Arizona State. The ball flies out there pretty well, typically, so it’s going to be an offensive series. We’re going to have to go swing the bats. I think our guys are going to go out there and try to do that.”

Head coach Mitch Thompson on the success of Baylor’s weekend rotation:

• “They’re going deeper and deeper into games. They’re starting to really understand who they are and what they can do. Wallace was great last week against TCU. He gave us almost six complete innings. He was very good. Davenport’s been fantastic on Fridays, and Calder’s been really solid on Sundays. For us to go out here this weekend, we’ll need those guys to perform. There’s no question about it. They’ll need to keep the ball in the ballpark, limit damage and not put on extra base-runners. The things we preach all the time will come into play because these guys can really hit.”

Head coach Mitch Thompson on what to expect from Arizona State:

• “Their Friday guy, Cole Carlin, is outstanding. Left-hander. Big, strong, physical dude. He throws the ever-loving heck out of it. He’ll be 96 to 100. He has a great arm. They have talented arms in that bullpen. They give up some runs sometimes, but I think a lot of that is them playing out there, and the ball does fly. Their offense is deep. They’re hitting .320 or something like that as a team. When you start seeing that at this point in the year, you know those guys can hit. For us to go out here and get it done, we’re going to have to throw strikes, limit free bases, play good defense and then we’re going to have to swing the bats.”