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Baseball opens Big 12 play as it hosts No. 17 TCU at Muni

The Sun Devils will look to open Big 12 action with a statement as it welcomes the preseason favorite Horned Frogs this weekend.

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Baseball opens Big 12 play as it hosts No. 17 TCU at MuniBaseball opens Big 12 play as it hosts No. 17 TCU at Muni
by Jeremy Hawkes

PHOENIX -- With the non-conference slate of series out of the way, Sun Devil Baseball sets its sights on the next part of its season, beginning Big 12 play this weekend as it welcomes preseason league favorite No. 17 TCU to Phoenix Municipal Stadium for a three-game series beginning Friday, March 13. The series will get underway with 6:30 p.m. AZT first pitches on Friday and Saturday and concluding with a 1 p.m. first pitch on Sunday.

FOLLOW THE ACTION

  • All games this weekend will be streamed online through ESPN+.  Braiden Bell, Jesse Ough and Jody Jackson will provide the commentary throughout the weekend. Fans can check with their local cable or internet providers to see if they are on an ESPN+ plan or visit https://plus.espn.com/to sign up.
  • All contests this week wil alsol be broadcast live over local airwaves on KDUS 1060 AM with Jeff Munn and Max Rossiter on the call.
  • Fans are encouraged to follow along in-game content and schedule updates throughout the weekend on the Sun Devil Baseball Twitter account (@ASU_Baseball).

#10THINGS (Twitter-Friendly Notes)

1. The Sun Devil pitchers have stranded 121 opponent runners on the basepath this season and have a 73.6 LOB percentage that is 27th-best in the country.

2. ASU pitchers have been largely efficient at stymying the heart of opponent lineups, holding 3-4-5 hitters to a .225 average on the year (40th-lowest in D1).

3. 55.2 of ASU’s ABs this season have been considered quality (H, BB, SAC, SF, HBP, 8+ pitches,  runner advanced or exit velo 95+) - 22nd-best in the country.

4. Among team’s playing at least 10 games this season, ASU’s 100 strikeouts at the plate are tied for 20th-lowest in the country.

5.  Landon Hairston’s 413.23 average distance on his homers is 10th among D1 players with 5+ home runs this season (176 total).

6. Brody Briggs is credited with 2.97 runs saved this season with his blocking as a catcher - the fifth-highest total in the country.

7.  PJ Moutzouridis 3.04 pitches seen per plate appearance AFTER reaching two strikes is the third-highest total in the country (min. 50 PAs).

8. The team is allowing a Z-Contact rate (pitches in zone where contact made/total pitches in zone) of just 47.4 percent, the 10th-lowest total in the country. 

9.  ASU’s 18.0-inch induced vertical break on its fastballs/sinkers this season is the seventh-highest total in the country.

10.  Arizona State’s average bat speed of 72.49 MPH is 18th-best in the nation. Garrett Michel’s average bat speed of 78.65 is 27th-best in the country.

BY THE NUMBERS

93 - Sun Devil pitchers have posted an average fastball/sinker velocity of 93.0 this season, a total that currently sets good for eighth among all Division I programs. Arizona State also ranked ninth last season at 92.5. ASU ranked no higher than 28th in the category from 2019-2024 (28th in 2019 at 89.5 MPH). The only non-SEC team ranked ahead of ASU in the category is Wake Forest, which leads the country at a 94.0 MPH rate. ASU’s overall average pitch velocity on all pitches is 88.5, good for seventh in the country. Among pitchers with at least 7.0 innings pitched this season, ASU has the No. 11 (Alex Overbay, 95.9), No. 14 (Derek Schaefer, 95.8) and No. 18 (Cole Carlon, 95.6) pitchers in the country in average fastball velo. ASU and Florida  are the only team in the country with three ranked in the Top-25.

91 - Conversely, Arizona State’s average exit velocity at the plate this season is 91.0 MPH - good for the 12th-highest tally in Division I. The Sun Devils currently have a hard-hit ball average (exit velo over 95 MPH) of 46.0 percent, which is 24th in Division I baseball and the team’s 142 hard-hit balls (exit velo over 95 MPH) are 17th. The Sun Devils have hit into a ton of tough luck this season with 43 hard-hit outs - the 38th-most in D1 baseball.  ASU has put a barrel on 96 balls this season, good for 17th in the country. 20.1 percent of ASU’s balls put into play this season have had an exit velocity over 95 MPH with a launch angle between 10-30 degrees, the 26th-highest percentage in the country. The team’s 106 balls with an exit velo over 90 MPH with a launch angle between 10-30 degrees, which is 40th-most in the country.

33 - With 10 home runs against LMU  last weekend, the Sun Devils enter the week ranked eighth in the country with 33 homers, averaging 2.06 per game. ASU isn’t getting a ton of cheapies either, as can be the case with many at a home venue like Muni. Among teams with at least 12 games played this season, ASU’s 402.41 average HR distance is fifth-best in Division 1 baseball (min. 20 homers). Among players with at least three homers, Dominic Smaldino’s 425.75-ft.  average is 16th nationally. His 480.74-ft homer against Mississippi State at Globe Life is the second-longest recorded by a player this season. Landon Hairston’s 460.71-ft homer against LMU Friday was the third-longest recorded home run at Phoenix Municipal Stadium since the team moved in 2015. It is the 13th-longest homer in the country this year.

24 - Sun Devil pitchers aren’t making it easy on opposing batters when the team attacking the zone this year, issuing a 23.9 whiff rate in the zone that ranks eighth-best in the country. The team’s 32.4 overall swing and miss rate induced is 14th-best nationally. The team has been incredibly efficient at dropping its offspeed and breaking pitches into the zone 47.3 percent of the time - 32nd-best in the country. The Sun Devils ranked 184th in the country in that category (36.6) just two seasons ago, improving to 48th last season (40.5) and had ranked no higher than 87th (2020-shortened season excluded) from 2019-2024. Opponents are getting a barrel on the ball just 13.3 percent of the time, 30th-lowest nationally. ASU ranked 252nd-WORST in the category last year (19.0).

A LOOK BACK - LMU/ARIZONA

  • There was no shortage of offensive fireworks as the Sun Devils routed the LMU Lions three times en route to a series sweep at Muni this past weekend with wins of 12-4, 9-1 and an truly lopsided 29-4 outing to cap the weekend off. ASU then tacked on a 10-4 victory over rival Arizona in a Tuesday midweek effort.
  • The Sun Devils put up 29 runs in a historic offensive showing on Sunday afternoon, tied for the sixth-most in a single game in program history. It was the most since scoring 30 vs. Western Illinois on March 13, 2005. The 25-run margin of victory was tied for the eighth-largest in program history as well. The 29 runs surpassed LMU’s previous program record of runs allowed of 25 set back in 2002.
  • The contest was tied for the sixth-most runs scored by a team in Division I this season. Of those six other instances, LMU was the only team currently ranked in the Top-150 in D1 RPI. ASU is the first Big 12 team to break 25 runs this season.
  • With it happening multiple times this weekend, the Sun Devils have struck out double-digit batters eight times this season (and struck out 39 overall batters on the weekend). The Sun Devils have reached double digit hits 10 times this season. Of ASU’s 50 hits this past weekend, 21 went for extra bases (10 doubles, 1 triple, 10 homers).
  • ASU six home runs Sunday were tied for the third-most in program history. The six home runs tied for the most allowed by LMU in program history. The six homers are tied for the seventh-most by a team this season.
  • Five of ASU’s Top-10 single game home run totals have come under Willie Bloomquist (School Record 8 vs. BYU in 2025, 6 today, 6 vs. GCU and BYU in 2025 and 6 vs. Oregon in 2023).
  • Arizona starting pitcher Collin McKinney has given up 35 earned runs over 18 appearances over the last two seasons. Seven of those (20.0 percent) have come against ASU in just 6.1 innings..
  • While Arizona’s record has been lackluster this season, the team had still by-and-large pitched the ball pretty well with a 4.50 ERA on the year entering Tuesday. ASU 10 runs against the Wildcats were tied for the second-most allowed by Arizona this season.
  • Arizona’s Nate Novitske had been the one dominant offensive force for the Wildcats this season with his .440 batting average entering the night ranked third in the Big 12 and 43rd nationally. The Sun Devils held him to an 0-for-5 night with three strikeouts. It was just the second game this season Novitske had been held hitless and the only game he had not reached base in his young career.

ON DECK - TCU

  • The Sun Devils and Horned Frogs have played 15 times in history, entering the weekend with ASU holding a slim 8-7 overall advantage. After dropping the Friday opener last season in Fort Worth, the Sun Devil offense erupted for 38 runs over the final two games to take the series.
  • The 26 runs scored by ASU in the Saturday game last year were tied for the most ever allowed by TCU in a game while ASU’s 28 hits were the most ever allowed by the Horned Frogs. It was the most runs scored by an ASU team in a conference game since scoring 32 against Arizona in 2000.
  • TCU, winners of eight of its last nine games, complet-ed a 7-1 homestand with two series wins and two mid-week victories. TCU remains ranked in four of five major polls, coming in as high as No. 14 in the Baseball America poll.
  • TCU leads the Big 12 and ranks 15th nationally with 114 walks. Seven times they have drawn more walks than they have struck out in a game.TCU is averaging 10.7 runs per game over the last nine games.

NO LUMP OF COLE

  • Cole Carlon has shown no signs that moving to a starting role has fazed him this season, picking up a winning decision in each of his first two starts and entering the weekend with 2-1 mark with a 3.00 ERA over 21.0 innings pitched with 29 strikeouts to six walks and just a .182 average against.
  • Among pitchers with at least 100 sliders thrown this season, Carlon’s .147 average against on the pitch is the 19th-lowest in the country.
  • He has induced an in-zone whiff percentage of 48.1 percent on the slider that is the highest of any pitcher in the country that has thrown it at least 100 times this season (CBU’s M. Malki at 44.2 on 132 sliders is next). Batting are making contaxt in the zone just 54.0 percent of the time, which is the fourth-lowest total in the country.
  • His 60.5 overall slider whiff percentage (including sliders out of the zone) is fourth in the country among those with 100+ thrown. He had gotten batters to chase out of the zone 41.3 percent of the time, ninth-best in the country.
  • His 86.1 MPH average velo on the slider is fourth in the nation among pitchers with at least 100 sliders thrown.
  • Additionally, his 95.6 MPH fastball/sinker average velocity is seventh-best among pitchers with 18.0+ innings of action this season. His fastest velo of the season of 98.4 is the ninth-fastest pitch thrown by a pitcher with at least 18.0 innings of work this season.
  • Carlon’s overall whiff rate on pitches in the zone of 34.8 percent is eighth among all pitchers with 18+ innings of work (430 total). His 43.4 overall miss percentage is 11th in the country.
  • Carlon became one of the top relievers in college baseball last year, earning All-America honors from the NCBWA to become ASU’s 135th all-time All-American. He also earned All-Big 12 first team recognition and was named the Collegiate National Team for USA Baseball.
  • Carlon received a slew of preseason recognition coming into 2026 with a trophy case that includes  being D1 Baseball’s #9 Big 12 2026 Draft Prospect, D1 Baseball’s #68 of Top 200 starting pitchers , a 3rd Team NCBWA Division 1 Preseason All-American, Baseball America’s #8 Big 12 2026 Draft Prospect , Baseball America’ 3rd Team Preseason All-American (Relief Pitcher) and on the Big 12 Preseason Team (Relief Pitcher).
  • Last season, Among D1 pitchers with at least 500+ pitches in the regular season, Carlon’s 41.9 whiff percentage was 2nd in the nation. His 55.3 whiff percentage on his slider was fifth among pitchers who threw it at least 150 times.
  • Carlon allowed just 16 hits in his last 33.2 innings of work in the regular season, and 68 of those 102 outs came via strikeout. Carlon had a 2.82 ERA in the regular season with a 3-1 record and three saves, and only a paltry .147 batting average against over 51.0 innings.
  • He had 82 strikeouts in the regular season, third on the Sun Devils, 10th in the Big 12 and 105th in the nation - but notable as all came out of the bullpen. Of the 117 players in D1 baseball to record 80 strikeouts in the regular season, Carlon accomplished the feat in the second fewest innings of work (Vanderbilt’s Connor Fennell, 82 in 50.1 innings).

THINGS ARE GETTING A BIT HAIR-Y

  • Landon Hairston has not experienced any sort of sophomore slump in Year Two with the program, quickly establishing himsefl as one of the elite pure hitters in the country.
  • Hairston enters the weekend having homered in three consecutive games. His eight doubles this season are second in the Big 12 and 27th nationally and his six homers are fourth in the Big 12 and just outside the Top-50 in the country. m
  • Hairston’s 1.391 OPS is currently 20th in the country (min. 3 PA per game) while his .864 slugging percentage sits 21st. Of his 25 hits this season, 14 have gone for extra bases (8 doubles, 6 homers).
  • Hairston had just one extra-base hit through his first 27 games as a Sun Devil. In his 49 games since, he has 28 extra-base hits. He has had just four games this season WITHOUT an extra base hit.
  • His 413.23 average distance on his homers is 10th among D1 players with 5+ home runs this season (176 total).
  • Hairston’s 86.4 average FORWARD exit velocity is currently 60th among all players with at least averaging 3+ PAs per game (2,036 total).
  • He has recorded 20 hard-hit balls on the year (balls with an exit velocity over 95 MPH), tied for 57th among all Division I players (min. 3 PA per game).
  • Landon Hairston became ASU’s 38th Freshman All-American last season, as selected by the NCBWA and was named to the All-Big 12 first team as a utility player and to the Big 12 All-Freshman team.
  • Hairston’s preseason recognition includes being ranked D1 Baseball’s #101 of  theTop 150 outfielders, D1 Baseball’s #4 Big 12 2027 Draft Prospect and also to the Big 12 Preseason Team.
  • Last season, Hairston finished the regular season last year eighth in the Big 12 with his .362 average - also good for eighth among all freshmen nationally and 2nd among freshmen in a Power Four conference. His .485 OBP was fourth in the league and 13th among all freshmen in the nation during the regular season and fourth among Power Four freshmen.
  • Hairston was easily ASU’s best player in advancing runners, doing so at a .638 clip - 34 points higher than anyone else on the team during the regular season. He was second on the team with his .441 average with runners in scoring position (26-for-59) in the regular season.
  • Hairston became an everyday fixture in the outfield for ASU despite coming to the program as a corner infielder and is 70-for-72 on defensive chances with two errors and a team-leading three outfield assists.

TOIG-A PARTY

  • Dean Toigo was voted by the Big 12 coaches as the conference’s Preseason Newcomer of the Year and after somewhat of slow start, that honorific has started to look more fitting.
  • Toigo has homered in three-straight games for the Sun Devils and is up to six homers on the year, tied for fourth in the Big 12 and 51st nationally.
  • After having just eight hits in the first 10 games of the season, Toigo has seven in the last six to bring his season average up to .268.
  • Toigo’s OBP is nearly 150 points higher than his average at .406, due in large part to being a magnet for the baseball as his six HBPs this season are fourth in the Big 12.

DOM.COM

  • Dominic Longo has been a standout for the Sun Devils despite not being in ASU’s opening night lineup, currently fourth on the team with his .348 average.
  • Of Longo’s 16 hits on the season, 10 have been for extra bases (six homers, four doubles). His 1.290 OPS on the season is eighth in the Big 12 and 46th in the country.
  • Longo is tied for fourth in the Big 12 with his six homers on the season. His .826 slugging percentage on the year is sixth in the Big 12.
  • Longo leads the team in seeing 4.11 pitches per at bat this season.

BIGGIE SMALS

  • New Sun Devil infielder Dominic Smaldino is anything but small, giving his teammates a 6-6, 230-pound target over at first base.
  • Of the D1 baseball players with over 50 at-bats this season (1,832 total), Smaldino’s 95.6 average exit velocity is 37th in the country and his 65.7 hard-hit ball average (exit velo 95+) is 39th.
  • Smaldino’s 425.75 average home run distance is 16th in the country among players with at least three homers this year.
  • Smaldino’ mammoth blast against Mississippi State at Globe Life Field was officially logged at 480.74 feet, the second-longest RECORDED homer by any Division I player this season and the longest recorded by a Sun Devil since 2019.

MOUTZ SEE TV

  • PJ Moutzouridis (pronounced MOOT-zerr-EE-diss) is another Sun Devil quiet putting up a solid start to the season.
  • Moutzouridis has seen a team-best 76 pitches with two strikes this season - 10 more than any of his teammates - and despite that, has struck out just eight times. His 3.94 pitches faces per AB are second the team as well.
  • HOWEVER, it’s his ability to battle back from early holes in the count that has stood out. With two strikes on the board, Moutzouridis’ 3.04 pitches seen per plate appearance is the third-HIGHEST total in the country (among batters with 50+ plate appearances)
  • His 20 balls fouled off with two strikes also easily pace the team.
  • Faced with two strikes AND two outs in a plate appearance, Moutzouridis is batting .333 on the season.
  • His .375 overall average with two outs is third on the Sun Devils.

NOT SO NU’U ANYMORE

  • Nu’u Contrades represents ASU’s most veteran presence as he enters his fourth year with the program - a rarity in the modern age of college baseball.  Contrades was selected by his teammates as a Co-Captain of the 2026 squad entering the year.
  • Unfortunately the veteran will be down a couple games while dealing with a hamstring injury sustained in the finale against LMU. All stats below refer to where Contrades stood entering the TCU weekend.
  • Entering the TCU weekend, Contrades was 11th in the Big 12 with 20 RBIs while ranking eighth in the league with a .755 slugging percentage.
  • With only five strikeouts this season, Contrades is striking out just once ever 10.6 ABs on the season, the third-lowest mark in the Big 12. Last season, he notably struck out just 30 times - compared to 28 walks -  on 181 ABs on the year (16.6 percent) after striking out 51 times with just 9 walks his freshman season on 217 ABs (23.5 percent).
  • On the flip slide of the ball, Contrades is credited with saving 3.09 runs on infield ground balls this season, good for 34th in the nation but third among all second basemen.
  • Contrades made his long awaited return to the diamond last season after missing the majority of 2024 season with a back injury. He enteredl last season on D1Baseball’s sixth-ranked third baseman in the country and the No. 22 MLB Draft prospect in the Big 12. Contrades has shifted over to second base this season. He was ranked by D1Baseball as the #21 second basemen in the country entering the year.
  • Unfortunately, after a strong season for the majority of last year, Contrades missed ASU’s final month of the season with a hand injury. Prior to the injury, Contrades was reaching base at a .416 clip over his .309 average while posting 15 doubles, three triples and six homers. His 24 extra-base hits were tied for second on the team at the time
  • He ranked third in the Big 12 at the time with those 15 doubles and tied for second in the Big 12 with nine doubles in conference-only games.
  • Contrades played exceptionally well at the hot corner, and was second on the team in defensive assists prior to the injury with 75 - the most among Big 12 third baseman
  • Contrades was 14-for-15 on stolen bases last year, bringing his career tally to 23-of-26. The 14 stolen bases were tied for 9th in the Big 12 at the time of the injury
  • Contrades batted out of the leadoff position often last year and reached on 21-of-51 (.412) leadoff opportunities
  • He was named the Big 12 Co-Player of the Week for his efforts against Oral Roberts, where he homered three times and batted at a .385 average with five RBIs and six runs scored. 

NEXT MAN UP

  • With Contrades down for an undisclosed amount of time, the Sun Devils now look to Austen Roellig and Beckett Zavorek to step up in his absence and early returns have neen exceptional.
  • Since being thrown into the fire as a pinch runner after Contrades went down in the first inning Sunday against LMU, Roellig has answered the call with six hits in his eight at-bats since that moment. He has scored six runs and added three RBIs and has only had two plate appearances where he didn’t reach base OR have an RBI.
  • After having just four hits in his first eight games this season, Zavorek has five in the last four games alone - including his first career triple and home run. Three of his five hits in his four-game hitting streak have gone for extra bases and all three of those resulted in RBIs - of which he has four in the the last three games.
  • Zavorek leads the team with his .462 average with two outs on the board this season.

LASER SHOW

  • Arizona State’s average exit velocity at the plate this season is 91.0 MPH - good for the 12th-highest tally in Division I.
  • The Sun Devils currently have a hard-hit ball average (exit velo over 95 MPH) of 46.0 percent, which is 24th in Division I baseball and the team’s 142 hard-hit balls (exit velo over 95 MPH) are 17th.
  • The Sun Devils have hit into a ton of tough luck this season (and great defensive plays) with 43 hard-hit outs - the 38th-most in D1 baseball.
  • ASU has put a barrel on 96 balls this season, good for 17th in the country.
  • 20.1 percent of ASU’s balls put into play this season have had an exit velocity over 95 MPH with a launch angle between 10-30 degrees, the 26th-highest percentage in the country.
  • The team’s 106 balls with an exit velo over 90 MPH with a launch angle between 10-30 degrees, which is 40th-most in the country.

A DISCIPLINED APPROACH

  • The Sun Devils have recorded a 55.2 quality at-bat percentage this season (plate appearance with an exit velo over 95 MPH, ending in a hit, walk, sac bunt, sac fly or HBP, is eight pitches or longer, or moves the runner). That total is currently tied for 22nd nationally.
  • ASU has done a good job of not taking pitches for strikes in the zone, with an in-zone swing percentage of 71.2 percent that is 11th in the country.
  • Among D1 teams with at least 10 games played this season, ASU’s 100 strikeouts offensively are the 20th-fewest in the country.
  • The team has just 31 strikeouts looking on the season, which is also among the 50-lowest totals in the country.

THE HEAT SHEETS

  • Sun Devil pitchers have posted an average fastball/sinker velocity of 93.0 this season, a total that currently sets good for eighth among all Division I programs.
  • Arizona State also ranked ninth last season at 92.5. ASU ranked no higher than 28th in the category from 2019-2024 (28th in 2019 at 89.5 MPH).
  • The only non-SEC team ranked ahead of ASU in the category is Wake Forest, which leads the country at a 94.0 MPH rate.
  • ASU’s overall average pitch velocity on all pitches is 88.5, good for seventh in the country.
  • Among pitchers with at least 7.0 innings pitched this season, ASU has the No. 11 (Alex Overbay, 95.9), No. 14 (Derek Schaefer, 95.8) and No. 18 (Cole Carlon, 95.6) pitchers in the country in average fastball velo. ASU and Florida  are the only team in the country with three ranked in the Top-25 in the category.
  • For perspective, from 2019-2025 the Sun Devils had just two players TOTAL that averaged 95+ MPH fast balls for a season (Lucas Kelly and Will Koger, both last season).
  • The team’s 83.9 MPH average on its sliders is sixth best in the country and its 88.2 MPH average on cutters is fourth. Heck, even the team’s 83.8 MPH velo on its changeups is 19th best. For perspective, ASU’s 2019 team’s average FASTBALL velocity was 89.4 miles per hour.

FITZ-MAGIC

  • Sean Fitzpatrick enters his fourth season of college baseball and third season with the Sun Devils and was elected a team captain by his teammates entering this season. The southpaw - whose numbers don’t necessarily reflect his impact on the mound - has bulked up over the offseason and it has resulted in a noticeable uptick in velocity.
  • Fitzpatrick has record 21 outs this season and 12 of those have come by way of strikeout. Among pitchers with 7.0+ innings of work, his 15.43 K/9 is tied for 44th-lowest in the country.
  • The veteran has allowed just two hits this season over 7.0 innings of work with no earned runs allowed - one of just 59 players yet to allow a run with 7.0+ innings on the season. His two hits allowed are tied for the ninth-lowest among those pitchers.
  • He has inherited a team-high eight baserunners this season and has yet to allow any to score.

YOUR BEST SALES PITCH

  • Sun Devil pitching coach Jeremy Accardo’s addition to the staff paid immediate dividends last seasonand continues to excel this season.
  • The team is hovering around the top-50 in lowest batting average allowed (52nd, .235), and ERA (52nd, 4.01).
  • The Sun Devils have been barreled up on the mound just 13.3 percent of the time, the 30th-lowest total in the country.ASU ranked 252nd-WORST in the category last year (19.0).
  • The team is inducing a 23.9 whiff rate on pitches IN the zone that is eighth in the country while the 32.4 OVERALL miss rate is 14th overall.
  • The team is allowing a Z-Contact rate (pitches in the zone where contact was made divided by total pitches in the zone) of just 47.4 percent, the 10th-lowest total in the country.
  • The team has been incredibly efficient at dropping its offspeed and breaking pitches into the zone 47.3 percent of the time - 32nd-best in the country. The Sun Devils ranked 184th in the country in that category (36.6) just two seasons ago, improving to 48th last season (40.5) and had ranked no higher than 87th (2020-shortened season excluded) from 2019-2024.
  • Opponents are missing (swing and miss/total swings) that offspeed/breaking stuff 41.7 percent of the time - the 22nd-highest total in the country.
  • Last season, ASU had seven pitchers with 10.0+ innings pitched and a sub-4.55 ERA in the regular season. In 2024, the team had just a single player that met that criteria.
  • ASU’s overall team WHIP was 78th nationally at 1.48 last year. While not eye popping, It was notable as the team had not finished in the Top-100 in the category since 2012 (6th, 1.17). In fact, ASU has been outside the Top-200 five different times since then and outside the Top-150 eight times.
  • The team’s strikeout-to-walk ratio of 2.44 ranked 36th in the nation. The Sun Devils had not ranked in the Top-100 in that category in a non-COVID season since the 2015 campaign where ASU checked in at 79th in the nation with a ratio of 2.20.
  • ASU was first in the Big 12 with a 11.3 K/9 average last season, good for third nationally. The Sun Devils struck out double digit batters in 37 of 60 games.
  • ASU was one of just three schools in the nation with three different pitchers with 80+ strikeouts (Vanderbilt, Florida State) in the regular season.
  • ASU struck out 653 batters last season, the seventh-most in the country.  The tally was the second-most in school history in the aluminum bat era, just behind the school record 675 set by the 1975 team.
  • ASU had given up the 81st-most home runs (64) in the regular season which, while not outstanding, was still a marked improvement from the previous year’s squad, which ranked 23rd with 88 allowed.

GRABBING THE BULL-PEN BY THE HORNS

  • As many fresh faces as there are in the starting rotation and in the field, the most veteran force on the roster likely comes from the team’s bullpen.
  • The bullpen has a solid 3.78 ERA this season with an 8-1 record and a 95-36 strikeout rate over 66.2 innings. Seven bullpen pitchers have a sub-3.00 ERA with three of those still having a 0.00 ERA.
  • The 3.78 ERA ranks ASU among the Top-40 bullpens in the country in lowest ERA. The group’s 95 strikeouts are good for 35th among bullpens.
  • The ASU bullpen has posted a 72.2 LOB percentage against opponents, the 40th-best in the country.
  • Derek Schaefer has taken hold of the back end of the bullpen, settling in as the team’s closer with a mid-90s fastball and electric secondary pitches. Scheafer’s 95.8 average fastball velo is 14th in the country among pitchers with at least 7.0 innings of work. What’s more disgusting is his average changeup speed of 91.1 that ranks as the fifth-best in the country. Schaefer was ASU’s fireman when its needed it last season, allowing just three of his 15 inherited runners on the season to score.
  • Taylor Penn has ate up valuable middle relief innings, posting a 2-0 record over his 10.0 innings out of the pen, strikeing out 11 and posting a 1.80 ERA.
  • Alex Overbay was exceptional out of the pen for the Sun Devils, posting a 1.00 ERA over 9.0 innings out of the pen with 13 strikeouts to just 4 walks. His efforts there in the first month led him to a spot in ASU’s weekend rotation.
  • The team has stranded 121 baserunners this season and has averaged over 8.0 opponents left on base per game since 2022.
  • Last regular season, ASU had three players with a bullpen ERA of 3.00 or less with 10.0+ innings pitched (Cole Carlon, Easton Barrett, Jaden Alba) - a feat that hadn’t been achieved through the regular season at ASU since the 2013 team (Ryan Burr, Matt Dunbar, Josh McAlister). 

PLAYING THE FIELD

  • The Sun Devils currently sit eighth in the country with a .986 fielding percentage, also good for first in the Big 12. The seven teams ranked ahead of ASU all have some version of turf covering all or some of their fields.
  • The team has just eight errors on the season and has an error in only five of 16 games and has been largely under by its uncharacteristic four-error effort in the Sunday matinee against St. John’s.
  • Catcher Brody Briggs is credited with saving 2.97 runs on blocked balls is fifth best in the nation. 
  • The Sun Devils posted 31 games last season without an error and quietly put up a .980 fielding percentage in the regular season - good for first in the Big 12 and 14th in the country. ASU ranked outside the Top-100 in each of the last three seasons in the category.
  • The 31 games without an error easily surpassed ASU’s total for the  the 2024 seasonof 21. ASU had a seven-game streak without an error at one point last year - which was  its longest since a nine-game stretch in the 2015 season.
  • The Sun Devil pitchers were amongst the most improved in the area, with just four errors credited against them in the regular season (10.2 percent) - notable as ASU pitchers were responsible for 12 of ASU’s 60 errors in 2024 (20.0 percent).

HEADED TO THE GAP

  • The Sun Devils currently rank 17th in the country with 40 doubles this season, paced by Landon Hairston’s eight - 27th in the country.
  • The team has recorded at least one double in all but one game this season ad has multiple doubles in 12 games.
  • ASU led the nation with its 149 doubles last season and  recorded multiple doubles in 42 of 60 games. The team was  seventh in country at 2.48 per game.
  • ASU has had a player reach 20 doubles five times under Willie Bloomquist and at least one player do so in each season (2022-p). ASU had just two players, total,  reach 20 doubles from 2011-21.
  • 11 players recorded at least four doubles last season and eight reached double digits in the category.
  • The Sun Devils were tops in the Pac-12 and sixth in the country with 143 doubles in 2024 in 58 games and the 2.47 doubles per game were fourth in the nation. The total was 15 more than any other team in the Pac-12 even without making the postseason. 15 different Sun Devils had multiple doubles that season - the most of any school in the Pac-12.

CHICKS DIG THE LONG BALL

  • Arizona State is currently 10th in the nation with 33 home runs. .Already, 11 different players have homered for the Sun Devils.
  • The team hasn’t had many cheapies either, with its average home run distance of 402.41 currently fifth in the nation among all teams with 20+ homers this year.
  • The team has a home run rate of 5.0 percent that is tied for eighth in the country.
  • The squad’s five opposite field homers are tied for 19th in the nation and its nine homers to center are tied field fifth.
  • Arizona State had 87 home runs last season, a total that was fourth in the Big 12 and 38th in the country.  ASU was 19-3 when hitting two or more homers in a game.
  • Five times last season, ASU recorded five or more homers. That included a school record eight homers against BYU and 6 in two other games that were tied for third in school history.
  • The Sun Devils set a school record with eight home runs in the finale of the BYU series, surpassing its previous record of seven against Arizona on March 4, 2000. ASU got that in the first two innings of the game alone as eight of the team’s first 10 hits all left the ballpark.  ASU’s 15 home runs in the BYU series (8 Saturday, 6 Friday and 1 Thursday) were a school record for a three-game series.
  • The Sun Devils had 102 homers in 2024, good for 30th nationally and surpassing the program’s BBCOR record of 94 from the 2019 season. ASU became just the eighth Sun Devil team in the program’s illustrious history to reach 100 home runs and the first to do it since having 101 in 1990. The 2024 Sun Devils were the fastest to reach triple digits in the category in program history, doing so in 56 games.
  • ASU had five Sun Devils reach doublle digit homers in 2024 (Ryan Campos, Kien Vu, Brandon Compton, Jacob Tobias and Nick McLain), marking the first time at ASU since 1993 that five players accomplished the feat (Todd Cady, Doug Newstrom, Antone Williamson, Paul Lo Duca, Jacob Cruz). It was the first season that even four had reached the tally since 1994. The 2024 Sun Devils were the first ASU team to have 13 players homer since the 2008 squad also had 13.

COMING IN HOT

  • ASU has outscored opponents 859-507 over its last 89 regular season games, going 63-26 in the process.
  • ASU has scored multiple runs in 33 of its 54 half-innings with runs this season. ASU has 20 innings with at least three runs scored, 17 with at least four and 13 with at least five.
  • The Sun Devils put up 69 innings last season where the team had scored at least three runs, 32 with four or more and 21 with 5 or more.
  • The team has reached double digit hits in 11 of ASU’s games this season. 
  • ASU’s 187 total hits this season are third in the Big 12 and 18th in the country while the team’s .338 average is 13th nationally and second in the league. The team’s .599 slugging percentage is seventh
  • ASU is averaging 9.8 runs per game, good for 15th nationally.
  • ASU scored 253 runs in its 30 conference games last season (8.4 per game) - tops in the league. The team bat .328 in Big 12 games - tops in the league by 11 points.
  • Last season, ASU ranked 9th nationally and 2nd in the Big 12 with a .318 batting average in the regular eason and was 19th in the country and first in the league with a .527 slugging percentage. ASU was first in the Big 12 and 27th nationally with 8.4 runs per game in the regular season.
  • Eight times in the Willie Bloomquist tenure have the Sun Devils recorded 20 or more hits (since 2022). The team had just eight from 2008-21 and only three from 2011-21.
  • Both of ASU’s 20-hit games last season came on the road and three of the seven total under Bloomquist have met that criteria. Of the team’s 36 games with 20+ hits from 2000-2021, only eight came on the road.
  • The Sun Devils have scored 20 or more runs six times in 4+ seasons under head coach Willie Bloomquist. That total is notable as the team had just five such games TOTAL from 2009-2021

HOLD ON TO YOUR SEATS

  • With the team’s 9-3 loss in the finale of the Amegy Bank College Baseball Series at Globe Life, the Sun Devils lost their first regular season game by more than five runs since a 17-7 run-rule loss at Cal State Fullerton on April 17, 2024 - ending its nation-leading streak of 85-straight regular season games.
  • The team posted the game-winning RBI/run in the sixth inning or later in 12 of the team’s wins last year. It has done so twice this season.
  • The Sun Devils have walked off eight games over the previous two seasons.
  • ASU has trailed at one point in 59 of its last 92 victories dating back to 2023 - including 20 of its wins last season and three times this season, including twice this past weekend.
  • In four seasons under Willie Bloomquist, the Sun Devils have shown that no opponent lead is safe, showing off plenty of grit in erasing multi-run deficits. ASU has 22 wins over the last three seasons when trailing by at least three runs at some point in the game (one this season).
  • In 2022, the seven-run deficit overcome by the Sun Devils to defeat and take the series from Cal was the most since March 3, 2000 against Arizona. ASU doubled down at that in 2023  with the victories over North Dakota State and GCU, overcoming a 7-0 deficit in both (and 9-2 in entering the eighth against GCU) for victories in both.
  • ASU came from behind 13-6 in the regular season finale in 2024 against UNLV to walk it off in the ninth - the fourth seven-run comeback in the Bloomquist era.
  • ASU has won 11 games in which it has trailed by at least five runs at some point in the game under Willie Bloomquist.

A FRESH LOOK

  • The Sun Devil roster will look quite a bit different in 2026, especially in the field. Arizona State welcomes a whopping 27 new faces (12 on the mound anf 15 position players) as ASU was aggressive in both the transfer portal and the high school ranks.
  • The Sun Devils brought in the nation’s No. 11 portal class according to 64Analytics. It was the highest-ranked class west of the Mississippi and the highest ranked class NOT in the SEC (8 teams) or ACC (2 teams).
  • ASU brought in six portal players rated in the Top-250 in the nation while not losing any players to the portal that were ranked in that Top-250.
  • Right-handed pitcher Kole Klecker was the highest-rated of the group, checking in at No. 54 after returning back home to the Valley after his time at TCU. Klecker was a Freshman All-American in 2023 and started a game for the Horned Frogs in Omaha at the College World Series. The Chandler native previous starred at Hamilton High School, winning a State Title as the starting pitcher his senior year in the championship game.
  • A pair of Cal transfers in PJ Moutzouridis (No. 98) and Dominic Smaldino (No. 155) will look to serve a prominent role in ASU’s infield. Moutzouridis was a Freshman All-American himself in 2024. Smaldino is anything BUT small, standing at 6-6 and offering a big target over at first base. The junior launched 11 homers for Cal last season and figures to greatly enjoy the lefty-friendly hitting confines of Phoenix Muni this season.
  • Dean Toigo has already been asterisked by the Big 12 coaches, who voted him the Big 12 Preseason Newcomer of the Year entering 2026. Toigo was the Mountain West Co-Player of the Year for UNLV last season and was also named a NCBWA Preseason All-American heading into this year as 64Analytics’ No. 187 transfer.
  • A pair of ACC transfers in Florida State’s Brady Louck and Virginia Tech’s Garrett Michel checked in at No. 242 and No. 243 in the transfer rankings. Louck was the top-rated southpaw out of Illinois out of high school while Michel is a light tower power-wielding bat that has battled through injuries in the last two seasons after a freshman campaign that saw him log 11 homers and 16 doubles.
  • Austin Roellig looks to man the hot corner for ASU this season and just missed being a Top-250 transfer prospect, checking in at No. 255. Roellig earned Big 12 All-Freshman honors and was a All-Big 12 Honorable Mention after his redshirt freshman campaign at Utah last year.
  • Junior College transfer RHP Finn Edwards was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 18th round of the 2025 MLB Draft before electing to continue his collegiate career with the Sun Devils thus year.
  • Alex Overbay (UNLV), Nick Annello (Jacksonville), Colby Guy (UNC Asheville)  and Taylor Penn (Western Kentucky)  bring a glutton of experience to the mound while Coen Niclai (Oregon), Dominic Longo (Utah Valley), Matt Polk (Vanderbilt) and Sam Myers (TCU) all figure to contribute in the field over the course of the season.
  • ASU signed the nation’s No. 22 freshman class in 2025 and while the veteran-heavy lineup will allow the group to mature, there is plenty of talent in the form of INF Finn Leach (No. 141 prospect nationally by Perfect Game), Marcelo Rodriguez (No. 244), Austin Musso (No. 331), Cooper Clouser (No. 416), Brenden Lewis (No. 433) all flashing throughout Fall and Spring practices.