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Top-25 showdown awaits Baseball against No. 17 West Virginia at Muni

The first ranked-on-ranked matchup of Arizona State's Big 12 tenure takes places at Phoenix Municipal Stadium beginning Friday, featuring national broadcast on ESPN2 on Sunday.

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Top-25 showdown awaits Baseball against No. 17 West Virginia at MuniTop-25 showdown awaits Baseball against No. 17 West Virginia at Muni
Sun Devil Athletics

PHOENIX -- A massive Top-25 series awaits on deck for No. 22 Sun Devil Baseball as the team welcomes No. 17 West Virginia to Phoenix Municipal Stadium for a three-game Big 12 set beginning Friday, March 27. Friday and Saturday are both scheduled for 6:30 p.m. AZT first pitches, followed by a rare Sunday evening game at 5 p.m. AZT, scheduled to be broadcast nationally on ESPN2.

The Sun Devils are entering the back half of a stretch where they play nine games in 11 days, currently sitting at 4-1 through the first five. The team will immediately return to the diamond Monday evening to take on San Diego State in a non-conference midweek tilt to complete the stretch.

Follow the action

  • For the first time this season, the Sun Devils will be broadcast on national television with Sunday night’s game against the Mountaineers scheduled to be shown on ESPN2. Mike Ferrin and Mike Rooney will be on the call for the contest.
  • Friday, Saturday and Monday’s games will all be available to stream via ESPN+. Braiden Bell will provide the action across all three contests, with Ryan Sykora, Jody Jackson and Alex Coil filling in as analysts. 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 games this weekend will be broadcast live over local airwaves on KDUS 1060 AM with Tim Healey and Max Rossiter on the call.
  • Fans are encouraged to follow along with in-game content and schedule updates throughout the weekend on the Sun Devil Baseball Twitter account (@ASU_Baseball).

#10Things

1. Cole Carlon’s in-zone whiff% of 44.3 on his slider that is second-highest of any pitcher in the country that has thrown it at least 150 times this season

2. ASU pitchers have been largely efficient at stymying the heart of opponent lineups, holding 3-4-5 hitters to a .227 average on the year (34th-lowest in D1).

3. 54.3 of ASU’s ABs this season have been considered quality (H, BB, SAC, SF, HBP, 8+ pitches,  runner advanced or exit velo 95+) - 24th-best in the country.

4. The Sun Devils have a .454 average on first pitches batted into play, the 16th-best average. ASU’s 69 1st pitch-hits are second tops among Power Four teams.

5. On the season, when ASU has a potential go-ahead or game-tying plate appearance (7 innings or later), the team’s .426 average is third in the country.

6. Taylor Penn’s 1.13 ERA out of the bullpen this season is 23rd in the nation among bullpen pitchers with at least 15.0 innings of action.

7.  Arizona State’s aggressive nature on the basepaths has seen the team advance a runner from 1st to 3rd on a single 24 times, 15th-most in the country.

8. Among teams with at least 20 homers this season, the Sun Devils average distance of 403.39 is eighth in the country.

9.  Sean Fitzpatrick and Colby Guy have allowed a hit to the first batter they have faced out of the pen over their 20 combined appearances.

10.  The Sun Devils are fourth nationally in slugging percentage when trailing in the count at .483. The team’s .271 AVG in pitchers’ counts is 11th.

By the numbers

93
Sun Devil pitchers have posted an average fastball/sinker velocity of 93.1 this season, a total that currently ranks 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 94.1 MPH rate. Among pitchers with at least 9.0 innings pitched this season, ASU has the No. 13 (Cole Carlon, 95.8), No. 19 (Alex Overbay, 95.6) and No. 27 (Derek Schaefer, 95.3) pitchers in the country in average fastball velo. For perspective, from 2019-2025, the Sun Devils had just two players TOTAL that averaged 95+ MPH fastballs for a season (Lucas Kelly and Will Koger, both last season).

91
Conversely, Arizona State’s average exit velocity at the plate this season is 91.3 MPH - good for the fourth-highest tally in Division I. The Sun Devils currently have a hard-hit ball average (exit velo over 95 MPH) of 46.1 percent, which is 23rd in Division I baseball and the team’s 206th hard-hit balls (exit velo over 95 MPH) are 12th. The Sun Devils have hit into a ton of tough luck this season (and great defensive plays) with 64 hard-hit outs - the 37th-most in D1 baseball. ASU has put a barrel on 141 balls this season, good for 16th in the country and the squad’s 21.0 overall barrel percentage is 41st.19.6 percent of ASU’s balls put into play this season have qualified as line drives  with an exit velocity over 95 MPH with a launch angle between 10-30 degrees, the 25th-highest percentage in the country.

34
Landon Hairston’s 34 RBIs this season are tied for 21st in the country and third in the Big 12. HOWEVER, all 34 RBIs have come while hitting as the leadoff batter in the Sun Devil lineup, which is easily the most of any Division I player - three more than Eric Becker at Virginia. 15 of Hairston’s RBIs this season have come in pitcher’s counts (0-1, 0-2, 1-2, 2-2) - 20th most in the nation.  His 19 hits overall in pitcher’s counts are tied for ninth-best in the country, with his .413 average in that scenario good for 24th, and his .804 slugging percentage is eighth. The Sun Devils, in general, have done a significant amount of damage while trailing in counts this year, with the team’s 76 RBIs in pitcher’s counts tied for 15th nationally, while the team’s 20 home runs in that scenario are second in the country.

24
The team is inducing a 23.8 whiff rate on pitches IN the zone that is eighth in the country while the 33.2 OVERALL miss rate is also eighth. 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 46.7 percent, the fifth-lowest total in the country. The team has been incredibly efficient at dropping its offspeed and breaking pitches into the zone 46.0 percent of the time - 36th in the country after ranking 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 42.3 percent of the time - the 15th-highest total in the country.

A look back: K-State / UNLV / NMSU

  • The Sun Devils kicked off the first half of a stretch of nine games played over 11 days on the road at Kansas State last weekend, taking two of three against the Wildcats for a pivotal early-season road series win.
  • K-State, which was ranked or receiving votes by numerous outlets, watched the Sun Devils come from behind to win on both Friday and Saturday. Landon Hairston’s go-ahead homer in the eighth inning Friday paced ASU to a 5-4 win before the Sun Devils rallied to score eight runs in the ninth inning on Saturday to secure a 18-12 victory.
  • Friday night conference games had been unkind to ASU of late prior to the Friday win over K-State, with the Sun Devils having lost four-straight Big 12 Friday night games dating back to last season. ASU was 4-6 in Big 12 series openers last season and won just a single Friday road game in conference play (at Utah).
  • Kansas State was 7-1 at home entering the series after going 18-3 at Tointon Family Stadium last season. In fact, this was K-State’s first series loss at home since dropping two of three to Texas from March 28-30 in 2024 and the first to a team currently in the Big 12 since the final weekend of the regular season against TCU in 2023. The Wildcats have not been swept at home since a series against Baylor from April 27-29, 2018.
  • ASU became the first team this season to post double-digit punchouts against the Wildcats in multiple games this season.
  • The Sun Devils flew directly to Las Vegas to take on UNLV as Las Vegas Ballpark on Monday, jumping out to a 12-0 lead before holding serve in the ninth inning of butt-clenching time after the Rebels rallied for 11 unanswered runs to make it a one-run game.
  • ASU had a relatively low-stress affair on Wednesday against New Mexico State, scoring eight runs in the first inning and coasting to a 10-4 victory.
  • Since last Tuesday, the Sun Devils have one three one-run games in their six games played - notable as the team had just six such wins total a year ago.
  • ASU has trailed at some point in eight of its victories this season, with six of those coming in the last eight wins. ASU has trailed in 64 of its last 99 victories dating back to 2023.

On deck: No. 17 West Virginia

  • This weekend will mark the first-ever games played between Arizona State and West Virginia.
  • The contest will mark the first ranked-on-ranked competition for the Sun Devils since joining the Big 12 last season, while it is just the second for West Virginia (Texas Tech, 2023).
  • WVU is ranked in the Top 25 by D1Baseball (#17), Baseball America (#15), The Athletic (#16), Perfect Game (#18), the USA Today Coaches Poll (#16), and the NCBWA (#21).
  • Paul Schoenfield (.418) and Gavin Kelly (.416) pace the Mountaineer offense, which boasts a .318 team average for the season (24th nationally). While WVU hasn’t necessarily been known for its light tower power this season (17 homers), the team’s gap-to-gap skills are undeniable, with its 51 doubles ranking fourth in the Big 12 and Top-50 nationally.
  • West Virginia has been exceptional on the mound this season with a team 3.28 ERA that leads the Big 12 and ranks 12th in the country. Saturday starter Maxx Yehl is seventh nationally with his 0.84 ERA.
  • The contest features two of the top strikeout teams in the nation and the top-two in the Big 12 with Arizona State ranking 15 in K/9 at 11.3 and WVU not far behind at 19th at 11.0.
  • Saturday’s game should prove interesting regarding the Sun Devils vs. Yehl, as ASU has scored 9, 15 and 18 runs over its last three Saturday games.

No lump of Cole

  • Cole Carlon has shown no signs that moving to a starting role has fazed him this season, entering this weekend with a 2-1 mark with a 3.19 ERA over 31.0 innings pitched with 48 strikeouts to 14 walks and just a .180 average against.
  • Among pitchers with at least 25.0 innings of work this season, Carlon’s .180 average against is tied for the 33rd-lowest tally in the nation. His 48 strikeouts are 18th in the nation.
  • Carlon has been at his best with traffic on the bases as his .114 average against with runners on base is the 10th-lowest in the country (min. 25 innings)
  • Among pitchers with at least 150 sliders thrown this season, Carlon’s .164 average against on the pitch is the 27th-lowest in the country.
  • He has induced an in-zone whiff percentage of 44.3 percent on the slider, which is the second-highest of any pitcher in the country who has thrown it at least 150 times this season. Batters are making contact in the zone just 57.3 percent of the time, which is the third-lowest total in the country.
  • His 57.5 overall slider whiff percentage (including sliders out of the zone) is fourth in the country among those with 150+ thrown. He had gotten batters to chase out of the zone 38.5 percent of the time, 14th-best in the country.
  • His 86.5 MPH average velo on the slider is fourth in the nation among pitchers with at least 150 sliders thrown.
  • Additionally, his 95.8 MPH fastball/sinker average velocity is ninth-best among pitchers with 25.0+ innings of action this season. His fastest velo of the season of 99.2 is the ninth-fastest pitch thrown by a pitcher with at least 25.0 innings of work this season.
  • Carlon’s overall whiff rate on pitches in the zone of 34.6 percent is fourth among all pitchers with 25+ innings of work (563 total). His 43.9 overall miss percentage is also seventh 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.
  • 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 himself as one of the elite pure hitters in the country.
  • Hairston enters the weekend having homered in eight of the last 12 games. His 11 total homers on the season are tied for 13th in the country and third in the Big 12. His 11 doubles this season are tops in the Big 12 and 18th nationally. He enters the weekend as the only player in the nation with double digits in both.
  • His .458 batting average paces the Big 12 and is fifth nationally.
  • Hairston’s 1.460 OPS is currently fourth in the country (min. 3 PA per game) as is his .917 slugging percentage. Of his 44 hits this season, 22 have gone for extra bases (11 doubles, 11 homers).
  • Hairston had just one extra-base hit through his first 27 games as a Sun Devil. In his 52 games since, he has 38 extra-base hits. He has had just seven games this season WITHOUT an extra-base hit.
  • Hairston is tied with two other players for the national lead with three grand slams this season.
  • His 423.23 average distance on his homers is fifth among D1 players with 8+ home runs this season (110 total).
  • Landon Hairston’s 34 RBIs this season are tied for 21st in the country and third in the Big 12. HOWEVER, all 34 RBIs have come while hitting as the leadoff batter in the Sun Devil lineup, which is easily the most of any Division I player - three more than Eric Becker at Virginia.
  • 15 of Hairston’s RBIs this season have come in pitcher’s counts (0-1, 0-2, 1-2, 2-2) - 20th most in the nation.
  • His 19 hits overall in pitcher’s counts are tied for ninth-best in the country with his .413 average in that scenario good for 24th and his .804 slugging percentage is eighth.
  • 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 moved from D1Baseball’s No. 101 outfield in its preseason rankings to its No. 2 outfielder in its Week 6 update.

Toig-a party

  • Dean Toigo was voted by the Big 12 coaches as the conference’s Preseason Newcomer of the Year, and after a somewhat slow start, that honorific has started to look more fitting over the past couple of weeks.
  • Toigo is tied for the team lead with 11 homers this season, good for third in the Big 12 and 13th in the nation.
  • Toigo has at least one RBI in 10 of his last 12 games, with five of those being multi-RBI efforts. He had nine RBIs through his first 13 games this season while posting 21 RBIs in the last 12 games.
  • After having just eight hits in the first 10 games of the season, Toigo has 22 in the last 15 to bring his season average up to .330.
  • Toigo’s OBP is over 100 points higher than his average at .445, due in large part to being a magnet for the baseball as his nine HBPs this season are third in the Big 12.
  • Toigo’s average home run distance of 406.30 is 17th in the nation among players with at least five homers.
  • The transfer from UNLV was named the Big 12 Newcomer of the Week on March 16 for his efforts against TCU and was named to Baseball America’s National Team of the Week as well.

Biggie Smalls

  • 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 averaging 3+ plate appearances per game this season (2,067 total), Smaldino’s 96.6 average exit velocity is 16th 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 22nd in the country among players with at least three homers this year.
  • Smaldino’s mammoth blast against Mississippi State at Globe Life Field was officially logged at 480.74 feet, the fifth-longest RECORDED homer by any Division I player this season and the longest recorded by a Sun Devil since 2019.
  • Smaldino has seen his line drive percentage jump to 31.3 percent this season, notable as it sat at just 14.8 percent as a freshman and 24.8 percent last season. Conversely, he has watched his groundball rate drop from nearly 45 percent in 2024 to 34.3 percent this season.

Moutz-see TV

  • PJ Moutzouridis (pronounced MOOT-zerr-EE-diss) is another Sun Devil quietly putting up a solid start to the season.
  • Moutzouridis is second on the team in seeing 103 pitches with two strikes this season. His 3.67 pitches per AB are second on 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’ 2.64 pitches seen per plate appearance is the 15th-HIGHEST total in the country (among batters with 3+ PA per game)
  • His 25 balls fouled off with two strikes are also second on the team. He has chased spin below the zone just three times this season, once he’s hit two strikes.
  • That said, Moutzouridis is arguably ASU’s best hitter while being aggressive in the count as well. His .579 average when putting the first pitch of an AB into play leads the team and is 11th in the country among players with 20+ first pitch balls put into play.

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 was down a couple of games while dealing with a hamstring injury sustained in the finale against LMU, missing nearly three weeks and the first two weekends of Big 12 action.
  • Contrades .400 average this season is seventh in the Big 12 and 58th in the country.
  • With only five strikeouts this season, Contrades is striking out just once every 12 ABs on the season, the 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).
  • Prior to his injury, Contrades was 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 the 2024 season with a back injury. He entered 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 baseman 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 basemen.
  • 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. 

Laser show

  • Arizona State’s average exit velocity at the plate this season is 91.3 MPH - good for the fourth-highest tally in Division I.
  • The Sun Devils currently have a hard-hit ball average (exit velo over 95 MPH) of 46.1 percent, which is 23rd in Division I baseball, and the team’s 206th hard-hit balls (exit velo over 95 MPH) are 12th.
  • The Sun Devils have hit into a ton of tough luck this season (and great defensive plays) with 64 hard-hit outs - the 37th-most in D1 baseball.
  • ASU has put a barrel on 141 balls this season, good for 16th in the country, and the squad’s 21.0 overall barrel percentage is 41st.
  • 19.6 percent of ASU’s balls put into play this season have qualified as line drives with an exit velocity over 95 MPH with a launch angle between 10-30 degrees, the 25th-highest percentage in the country.

A disciplined approach

  • The Sun Devils have recorded a 54.3 quality at-bat percentage this season (plate appearance ending in a hit, walk, sac bunt, sac fly or HBP, is eight pitches or longer, moves the runner, or has an exit velo over 95 MPH). That total is currently tied for 24th nationally.
  • ASU has done a good job of not taking pitches for strikes in the zone, with an in-zone swing percentage of 71.9 percent, which is ninth in the country.
  • The team makes contact on 88.1 percent of the pitches in the zone, the 19th-highest total in the nation.
  • The Sun Devils are batting .271 as a team when trailing in the count this season, which is the 11th-highest in the country. The team’s .483 slugging percentage in pitcher’s counts is fourth in the country.
  • Among D1 teams with at least 20 games played this season, ASU’s 157 strikeouts offensively are the 33rd-fewest in the country.
  • The team has just 43 strikeouts looking on the season, which is also among the 40 lowest totals in the country and eighth-lowest in the Power Four.
  • The Sun Devils have taken just 265 fast balls looking, the fourth-lowest total of any Power Four team in the country.
  • The Sun Devils are producing quality at-bats even while being aggressive at the plate. The team’s .454 average on first pitches put into play this season is 15th nationally. The squad’s 69 hits on first pitches is the most in the country.
  • On the season, when ASU has a potential go-ahead or game-tying plate appearance (7 innings or later), the team’s .426 average is third in the country.

The heat sheets

  • Sun Devil pitchers have posted an average fastball/sinker velocity of 93.1 this season, a total that currently ranks 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 94.1 MPH rate.
  • ASU’s overall average pitch velocity on all pitches is 88.4, good for eighth in the country.
  • Among pitchers with at least 9.0 innings pitched this season, ASU has the No. 13 (Cole Carlon, 85.8), No. 19 (Alex Overbay, 95.6) and No. 27 (Derek Schaefer, 95.3) pitchers in the country in average fastball velo.
  • For perspective, from 2019-2025, the Sun Devils had just two players TOTAL that averaged 95+ MPH fastballs for a season (Lucas Kelly and Will Koger, both last season).
  • The team’s 84.1 MPH average on its sliders is fifth-best in the country and its 88.3 MPH average on cutters is fourth. . 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 appeared in 68 games over his career in relief (65 at ASU), which currently ranks 15th among active Division I players.
  • Fitzpatrick has record 31 outs this season and 18 of those have come by way of strikeout. Among pitchers with 8.0+ innings of work, his 15.68 K/9 is tied for 21st-most in the country.
  • The veteran has allowed just six hits this season over 10.1 innings of work, which is tied for the 33rd-lowest mark among pitchers with at least 10 innings of action.

Your best sales pitch

  • Sun Devil pitching coach Jeremy Accardo’s addition to the staff paid immediate dividends last season and continues to excel this season.
  • The Sun Devils are allowing just 8.17 hits per nine innings, the 50th-lowest total in the country. It should be noted that ASU has faced five teams ranked in the Top-50 in batting average this season (and will add a sixth with West Virginia this weekend).
  • The team has a K/9 ratio of 11.0 that is 15th in the country and tops in the Big 12.
  • The team is inducing a 23.8 whiff rate on pitches IN the zone that is eighth in the country, while the 33.2 OVERALL miss rate is also eighth.
  • 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 46.7 percent, the fifth-lowest total in the country.
  • The team has been incredibly efficient at dropping its offspeed and breaking pitches into the zone 46.0 percent of the time - 36th in the country after ranking 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 42.3 percent of the time - the 15th-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 who 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 had 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 an 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 4.36 ERA this season with a 13-2 record and a 149-56 strikeout to walk rate over 117.2 innings.
  • The 3.52 ERA ranks ASU 50th in the country in the category, its .243 average against is 55th, while the group’s 149 strikeouts are good for 14th among bullpens.
  • 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. Schaefer’s 95.3 average fastball velo is 27th in the country among pitchers with at least 12.0 innings of work.
  • Schaefer's four saves are 21st in the nation this season.
  • Schaefer was ASU’s fireman when it needed him last season, allowing just three of his 15 inherited runners on the season to score.
  • Taylor Penn has eaten up valuable middle relief innings, posting a 3-0 record over his 16.0 innings out of the pen, striking out 17 and posting a 1.13 ERA. That ERA ranks 60th in the nation among all relievers with 10.0+ innings of work (1,325 total)
  • Colby Guy has quickly become one of ASU’s most reliable arms out of the pen, and his six hits allowed over 11.1 innings are tied for the 33rd-fewest among pitchers with at least 10.0 innings of work this year.
  • The team has stranded 149 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 40th in the country with a .978 fielding percentage, also good for third in the Big 12.
  • The team’s numbers have been largely skewed by a handful of games where the team has four games with 2 or more errors while posting 21 with 1 or fewer (14 with none).
  • Catcher Brody Briggs is credited with saving 2.95 runs on blocked balls is 18th-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 50th in the country and fourth in the Big 12 with 51 doubles this season, paced by Landon Hairston’s 11 - 18th in the country.
  • The team has recorded at least one double in all but five games this season and has multiple doubles in 15 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 the 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 ninth in the nation with 48 home runs. Already, 12 different players have homered for the Sun Devils.
  • The team hasn’t had many cheapies either, with its average home run distance of 403.39 ranking 14th in the country.
  • The team has a home run rate per fly ball rate of 14.1 percent on the season, a tally that sits sixth in the country.
  • The squad’s nine opposite field homers are tied for 15th in the nation and its 13 homers to center are tied for 11th.
  • The Sun Devils are second in the nation when behind in the count with 20 homers.
  • 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 their 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 double-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 and 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 932-566 over its last 98 regular-season games, going 70-28 in the process.
  • ASU has scored multiple runs in 49 of its 85 half-innings with runs this season. ASU has 29 innings with at least three runs scored, 21 with at least four and 16 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 10 of its last 13 games and in 17 games overall this year.
  • ASU’s 287 total hits this season are third in the Big 12 and 11th in the country while the team’s .332 average is ninth nationally and second in the league. The team’s .569 slugging percentage is 10th in the nation
  • ASU is averaging 9.2 runs per game, good for 19th 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 season 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 Willie Bloomquist's 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 eight 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

  • 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 five times season.
  • The Sun Devils have walked off nine games over the last two-plus seasons.
  • ASU has trailed at one point in 64 of its last 99 victories dating back to 2023 - including 20 of its wins last season and eight times this season.
  • 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 their nation-leading streak of 85-straight regular-season games.
  • 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 and 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 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 previously 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 an 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 this 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.