PHOENIX — Sun Devil Baseball continues Big 12 action as it heads down the I-10 to take on rival Arizona in a three-game Big 12 set beginning Thursday, April 2, in Tucson. All three games of the Thursday-Saturday series (due to Easter Sunday) will get underway at 6 p.m. MST, with the finale on Saturday scheduled for an ESPN2 national broadcast.

Follow the action

• For the second time this season, the Sun Devils will be broadcast on national television with Saturday night’s game against the Wildcats scheduled to be shown on ESPN2. Clay Matvick and Mike Rooney will be on the call for the contest.
• For the second time this season, the Sun Devils will be broadcast on national television with Saturday night’s game against the Wildcats scheduled to be shown on ESPN2. Clay Matvick and Mike Rooney will be on the call for the contest.
• 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).

Cole Carlon pitches against West Virginia in their 14-4 win on March 27 at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.

#10Things

1. Cole Carlon’s in-zone whiff% of 42.9 on his slider is the second-highest of any pitcher in the country who has thrown it at least 175 times this season

2. Brody Briggs is credited with saving 3.67 runs on blocked balls as a catch the season, good for 12th-best in the nation.

3. 53.6 of ASU’s ABs this season have been considered quality (H, BB, SAC, SF, HBP, 8+ pitches, runner advanced or exit velo 95+) - 28th-best in the country.

4. The Sun Devils have a .445 average on first pitches batted into play, the 18th-best average. ASU’s 73 1st pitch-hits are second 2nd among Power Four teams.

5. ASU is batting .408 this season when taking the ball the opposite direction, a total that ranks 19th nationally after ranking 108th (.349) last year

6. Taylor Penn’s 1.45 ERA out of the bullpen this season is 22nd in the nation among bullpen pitchers with at least 18.0 innings of action.

7. Arizona State’s aggressive nature on the base paths has seen the team advance a runner from 1st to 3rd on a single 29 times, ninth-most in the country.

8. The Sun Devils rank 17th in the nation with 16 home runs recorded this season, with two outs, and the team’s .505 slugging% w/ 2 outs is 33rd.

9. Sean Fitzpatrick and Colby Guy have yet to allow a hit to the first batter they have faced out of the pen over their 22 combined appearances.

10. The Sun Devils are fourth in the nation in slugging percentage when trailing in the count at .490. The team’s .266 AVG in pitchers’ counts is tenth.

 

Derek Schaefer celebrates his second save of the season in the series-clinching win over St. John's.

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). 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. 18 (Cole Carlon, 95.7), No. 25 (Alex Overbay, 95.5) and No. 34 (Derek Schaefer, 95.2) 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 91.0 MPH - good for the sixth-highest tally in Division I. The Sun Devils currently have a hard-hit ball average (exit velo over 95 MPH) of 45.5 percent, which is 26th in Division I baseball and the team’s 233 hard-hit balls (exit velo over 95 MPH) are 16th. The Sun Devils have hit into a ton of tough luck this season (and great defensive plays) with 72 hard-hit outs - the 43rd-most in D1 baseball. ASU has put a barrel on 160 balls this season, good for 20th in the country, and the squad’s 20.7 overall barrel percentage is 44th. 19.0 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 32nd-highest percentage in the country.

48
Landon Hairston’s 48 RBIs this season are third in the country and tops in the Big 12. HOWEVER, all 48 RBIs have come while hitting as the leadoff batter in the Sun Devil lineup, which is easily the most of any Division I player - SIXTEEN more than Eric Becker at Virginia. To put that in perspective, his 48 RBIs would have ranked ninth in the nation among leadoff hitters for the entire SEASON a year ago.21 of Hairston’s RBIs this season have come in pitcher’s counts (0-1, 0-2, 1-2, 2-2) - fourth most in the nation. His seven homers while trailing in the count are also fourth in the country. His 21 hits overall in pitcher’s counts are tied for 10th-best in the country, with his .429 average in that scenario good for 11th, and his .918 slugging percentage is first.

24
The team is inducing a 23.6 whiff rate on pitches IN the zone that is fourth in the country, while the 32.8 OVERALL miss rate is seventh. 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 48.0 percent, the seventh-lowest total in the country.  The team has been incredibly efficient at dropping its offspeed and breaking pitches into the zone 45.0 percent of the time - 30th 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 41.8 percent of the time - the 16th-highest total in the country.

 

Dominic Smaldino gets the out at first against West Virginia in their 14-4 win on March 27 at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.

A look back: No. 17 West Virginia / San Diego State

• The Sun Devils picked up a run-rule victory in the opener of its series against West Virginia, but were unable to come from behind in the final two games as the Mountaineers took the series in Phoenix last week.
• Landon Hairston notched eight RBIs in that 14-4 (8) run- rule win, tied for fourth in program single-game history, and recorded his nation-leading and school record-tying fourth grand slam of the season. That was all part of his torrential week that saw him earn Big 12 Player of the Week honors, Perfect Game National Team of the Week and Golden Spikes National Player of the Week.
• West Virginia had lost its previous four games this season by a combined eight runs before ASU’s run-rule victory on Friday. With the run rule only recently making its way to college baseball over the last couple of seasons, Friday marked the first time that it had happened to the Mountaineers. It was the second time this season ASU run-ruled a ranked opponent, also doing so against Oklahoma earlier this season.
• On paper, the Sun Devils handed West Virginia Saturday starter Maxx Yehl his “worst” outing of the season. Yehl entered the game with just three earned runs allowed all season and one of the lowest ERAs in the country at 0.84 over 32.0 innings with 44 strikeouts. The Sun Devils tagged Yehl for three earned runs and five hits while striking out just four times.
• Friday night conference games had been unkind to ASU over the last couple of weekends, with the Sun Devils having lost four-straight Big 12 Friday night games dating back to last season before defeating Kansas State last weekend. ASU was 4-6 in Big 12 series openers last year and already halfway there with seven left on the schedule.
• Hairston added two more homers in ASU’s midweek win over San Diego State, while Colin Linder tossed 4.0 scoreless innings of work in which he retired the first 11 batters he faced to earn the victory. 

Colin Linder pitches against Arizona in their 10-4 win on March 10, 2026, at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.

On deck: at Arizona

• In the modern era of Sun Devil Baseball (since it became an NCAA sport in 1959), ASU owns a dominant 212-149-1 record against the Wildcats. ASU went 23-116 against the Wildcats prior to that, dating back to 1907, skewing the overall series record all-time. ASU dropped its series to the Wildcats in Phoenix last season, but took the series finale in what would prove to be Cole Carlon’s coming-out party.
• After a handful of years of only playing four regular-season games, ASU and Arizona are scheduled for five competitions this season (two non-conference midweeks in Phoenix and a three-game Big 12 series in Tucson). The Sun Devils took round one in Phoenix a couple of weeks ago with a 10-4 victory.

 

Cole Carlon struck out eight at Kansas State on March 20, 2026.

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 3.57 ERA over 35.1 innings pitched with 55 strikeouts to 15 walks and just a .215 average against. 
• Carlon ranks 23rd in the nation with his 55 strikeouts, and his 14.01 strikeouts per nine innings are 12th in the country.
• Carlon has been at his best with traffic on the bases as his .170 average against with runners on base is among the Top-50-lowest in the country (min. 30 innings)
• Among pitchers with at least 175 sliders thrown this season, Carlon’s .198 average against on the pitch is the 31st-lowest in the country.
• He has induced an in-zone whiff percentage of 42.9 percent on the slider, which is the second-highest of any pitcher in the country that has thrown it at least 175 times this season (13th-lowest among ALL pitchers with 30+ innings of work). Batters are making contact in the zone just 59.3 percent of the time, which is the third-lowest total in the country (min. 175 sliders).
• His 56.4 overall slider whiff percentage (including sliders out of the zone) is fourth in the country among those with 175+ thrown. He has gotten batters to chase out of the zone 37.9 percent of the time, 11th-best in the country.
• His 86.6 MPH average velo on the slider is third in the nation among pitchers with at least 175 sliders thrown.
• Additionally, his 95.7 MPH fastball/sinker average velocity is eighth-best among pitchers with 30.0+ innings of action this season. His fastest velo of the season, 99.2, is the ninth best as an individual with at least 30.0 innings of work this season.
• Carlon’s overall whiff rate on pitches in the zone of 32.5 percent is sixth among all pitchers with 30+ innings of work (513 total). His 41.4 overall miss percentage is also eighth in the country.
• Only 27.7 percent of Carlon’s pitches have ended up in play this season, the 12th-lowest total nationally (min. 30 innings).
• 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 DI Baseball’s #9 Big 12 2026 Draft Prospect, DI Baseball’s #68 of Top 200 starting pitchers, a 3rd Team NCBWA Division I 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 DI 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 DI 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). 

 

SLandon Hairston celebrates his home run against TCU in their 4-0 win on March 15, 2026, at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.

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 12 of the last 16 games. His 17 total homers on the season are tied for second in the country. His 12 doubles this season are third in the Big 12 and 25th nationally.
• The 17 home runs before April 1 are tied for the most of any Division I player since the beginning of the BBCOR era.
• He enters the weekend as one of just six players in the nation with double digits in doubles and homers, and of those six, he has the most in BOTH categories.
• Hairston’s offensive WAR of 3.14 is tops in the country, while his total Offensive Runs over Replacement is also first.
• His .469 batting average paces the Big 12 and is third nationally and tops among Power Four conferences. 
• Hairston leads the entire nation with his 1.578 OPS (min. 3 PA per game). He is also the only player in the nation with a slugging percentage over 1.000, currently sitting at 1.027. Of his 53 hits this season, 29 have gone for extra bases (12 doubles, 17 homers).
• Hairston had just one extra-base hit through his first 27 games as a Sun Devil. In his 56 games since, he has 45 extra-base hits. He has had just seven games this season WITHOUT an extra-base hit. 
• Hairston is the national leader with his four grand slams this season - also tying the ASU school record in the process. The NCAA single-season record is six.
• His 411.31 average distance on his homers is eighth among D1 players with 8+ home runs this season (160 total).
• Hairston’s 95.0 average exit velocity is 37th in the nation.
• Hairston’s 48 RBIs this season are third in the country and tops in the Big 12. HOWEVER, all 48 RBIs have come while hitting as the leadoff batter in the Sun Devil lineup, which is easily the most of any Division I player - SIXTEEN more than Eric Becker at Virginia.
• To put that in perspective, his 48 RBIs would have ranked ninth in the nation among leadoff hitters for the entire SEASON a year ago.
• 21 of Hairston’s RBIs this season have come in pitcher’s counts (0-1, 0-2,  1-    2, 2-2) - fourth most in the nation. His seven homers while trailing in the count are also fourth in the country.
• His 21 hits overall in pitcher’s counts are tied for 10th-best in the country, with his .429 average in that scenario good for 11th, and his .918 slugging percentage is first.
• 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. 

 

Dean Toigo homered twice and recorded six RBIs in ASU's series-clinching win in Manhattan.

Toig-a party

• Dean Toigo was voted by the Big 12 coaches as the conference’s Preseason Newcomer of the Year and has been one of the most prolific offensive threats in the conference this season.
• Toigo’s 12 homers this year are 16th in the country and fifth in the Big 12.
• Toigo has at least one RBI in 13 of his last 16 games, with six 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.
• Toigo’s offensive WAR of 1.79 this season is 42nd in the nation.
• After having just eight hits in the first 10 games of the season, Toigo has 29 in the last 19 to bring his season average up to .349.
• Toigo’s OBP is over 100 points higher than his average at .461, due in large part to being a magnet for the baseball, as his 10 HBPs this season are third in the Big 12.
• Toigo’s average home run distance of 405.70 is 34th in the nation among players with at least seven 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.

 

Dominic Smaldino rounds third after his home run against St. John's in their 9-1 win on February 20, 2026, at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.

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 (2,086 total), Smaldino’s 94.8 average exit velocity is 43rd 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. 

 

PJ Moutzouridis makes a throw against TCU in their 15-8 win on March 14, 2026, at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.

Moutz-see TV

• PJ Moutzouridis (pronounced MOOT-zerr-EE-diss) is another Sun Devil quietly putting up a solid start to the season.
• Moutzouridis leads the team in seeing 133 pitches with two strikes this season. His 3.74 pitches faced 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’ 2.56 pitches seen per plate appearance is the 31st-HIGHEST total in the country 
  (among batters with 3+ PA per game). His 33 balls fouled off also pace the team with two strikes.
• That said, Moutzouridis is arguably ASU’s best hitter while being aggressive in the count as well. His .545 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. 

 

Nu'u Contrades celebrates after scoring in the dugout during ASU's 12-4 win over LMU on March 6, 2026, at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.

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 .383 average this season is 11th in the Big 12.
• Contrades’ 408.72 average distance on his homers is 22nd in the nation among players with at least seven homers this season.
• With only seven strikeouts this season, Contrades is striking out just once every 10.9 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).
• 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 91.0 MPH - good for the sixth-highest tally in Division I.
• The Sun Devils currently have a hard-hit ball average (exit velo over 95 MPH) of 45.5 percent, which is 26th in Division I baseball, and the team’s 233 hard-hit balls (exit velo over 95 MPH) are 16th.
• The Sun Devils have hit into a ton of tough luck this season (and great defensive plays) with 72 hard-hit outs - the 43rd-most in D1 baseball.
• ASU has put a barrel on 160 balls this season, good for 20th in the country, and the squad’s 20.7 overall barrel percentage is 44th.
• 19.0 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 32nd-highest percentage in the country.
  
  
  Brody Briggs catches against LMU in their 12-4 win on March 6, 2026, at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.

A disciplined approach

• The Sun Devils have recorded a 53.6 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 28th nationally.
• ASU has done a good job of not taking pitches for strikes in the zone, with an in-zone swing percentage of 70.9 percent, which is 10th 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 .266 as a team when trailing in the count this season, which is the 10th-highest in the country. The team’s .490 slugging percentage in pitcher’s counts is fourth in the country.
• The Sun Devils have a .408 average when taking the ball the opposite direction, good for the 19th-best average in the country.
• Among D1 teams with at least 25 games played this season, ASU’s 187 strikeouts offensively are the 32nd-fewest in the country.
• The team has just 50 strikeouts looking on the season, which is 21st-lowest among teams with 25+ games.
• Brody Briggs (1 per 13.8 ABs), Nu’u Contrades (1 per 10.9) and Landon Hairston (1 per 9.4) rank as the 2nd, 3rd and 5th-toughest players in the Big 12 to strike out.
• 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 .445 average on first pitches put into play this season is 15th nationally. The squad’s 73 hits on first pitches are the second-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 94.2 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. 18 (Cole Carlon, 95.7), No. 25 (Alex Overbay, 95.5) and No. 34 (Derek Schaefer, 95.2) 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 69 games over his career in relief (66 at ASU), which currently ranks 15th among active Division I players.
• Fitzpatrick has recorded 35 outs this season, and 21 of those have come by way of strikeout. Among pitchers with 10.0+ innings of work, his 16.20 K/9 is tied for 13th-most in the country.
• The veteran has allowed just seven hits this season over 10.1 innings of work, which is tied for the 50th-lowest mark among pitchers with at least 10 innings of action (2,926).
• He has inherited a team-high 16 baserunners this season, and just five have scored. 

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 team has a K/9 ratio of 11.1 that is 12th in the country and tops in the Big 12.
• The team is inducing a 23.6 whiff rate on pitches IN the zone that is fourth in the country, while the 32.8 OVERALL miss rate is seventh.
• 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 48.0 percent, the seventh-lowest total in the country.
• The team has been incredibly efficient at dropping its offspeed and breaking pitches into the zone 45.0 percent of the time - 30th 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 41.8 percent of the time - the 16th-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. 

 

Colby Guy has quickly become one of ASU’s most reliable arms out of the pen, and his seven hits allowed over 12.2 innings are among the 50-fewest among pitchers with at least 10.0 innings of work this year.

Grabbing the bull-pen by the horns

• The bullpen has a solid 4.53 ERA this season with a 15-2 record and a  176- 65 strikeout to walk rate over 137.0 innings.
• The 4.57 ERA ranks 48th in the country - a year removed from ranking 80th with a 5.32 bullpen ERA in 2025 and 159th at 6.36 in 2024.
• 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 95.1 average fastball velo is 32nd in the country among pitchers with at least 12.0 innings of work.
• Schaefer's four saves are 33rd 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 4-0 record over his 18.2 innings out of the pen, striking out 20 and posting a 1.45 ERA. That ERA ranks 22nd in the nation among all players with at least 18.0 innings of work in relief this season.
• Colby Guy has quickly become one of ASU’s most reliable arms out of the pen, and his seven hits allowed over 12.2 innings are among the 50-fewest among pitchers with at least 10.0 innings of work this year.
• Fitzpatrick and Guy have yet to allow a hit on the first batter they have faced in their 22 combined appearances this season.
• Guy is one of just 36 pitchers in the nation who have appeared in at least eight games and not allowed the first batter they faced to reach base.
• Fitzpatrick is one of just four pitchers in the nation to have appeared in 14+ games this season and not allowed a first batter they faced to record a hit.
• 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 35th in the country with a .979 fielding percentage, also good for third in the Big 12.
• The team’s numbers have been largely skewed by just 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 3.67 runs on blocked balls, which is 12th-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 2024 season of 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 49th in the country and fourth in the Big 12 with 58 doubles this season, paced by Landon Hairston’s 12 - 25th in the country.
• The team has recorded at least one double in all but six games this season and has multiple doubles in 18 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 fourth in the nation with 58 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 404.04 ranking 11th in the country.
• The team has a home run rate per fly ball rate of 14.2 percent on the season, a tally that sits fifth in the country.
• The squad’s 10 opposite field homers are tied for 18th in the nation, and its 15 homers to center are tied for eighth.
• The Sun Devils are third in the nation when behind in the count with 23 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 964-594 over its last 102 regular-season games, going 72-30 in the process.
• ASU has scored multiple runs in 58 of its 98 half-innings with runs this season. ASU has 34 innings with at least three runs scored, 22 with at least four and 17 with at least five.
• Last season, the Sun Devils put up 69 innings 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 13 of its last 17 games and in 20 games overall this year.
• ASU’s 329 total hits this season are third in the Big 12 and eighth in the country, while the team’s .329 average is ninth nationally and third in the league. The team’s .571 slugging percentage is seventh in the nation
• ASU is averaging 9.0 runs per game, good for 20th nationally.
• ASU scored 253 runs in its 30 conference games last season (8.4 per game) - tops in the league. The team bats .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 in nine games over the last two-plus seasons (not including run-rule games).
• ASU has trailed at one point in 66 of its last 101 victories dating back to 2023 - including 20 of its wins last season and 10 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 its 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 who 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.