Washington State
Mustangs Welcome Washington State for Four-Game Home Opening Series
2/19/2026 12:15:00 PM | Baseball
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. -- Cal Poly and Washington State, two baseball programs that have never faced each other, will play a four-game non-conference series inside Baggett Stadium this weekend, starting Friday night.
Game times are 6 p.m. Friday, 3 p.m. Saturday, 1 p.m. Sunday and 5 p.m. Monday. All games will be streamed on ESPN+ with links and live stats available on the baseball schedule page at GoPoly.com.
Last Time in Mustang Baseball
Cal Poly (2-1) is coming off a two-games-to-one series win at Campbell, bouncing back from Friday's season-opening 5-2 loss with 16-5 and 4-3 victories in a Saturday doubleheader. Washington State (1-2) did just the opposite, winning its opener at Alabama 8-4 before falling twice in a doubleheader, 8-1 and 11-1. Both teams played Saturday doubleheaders to avoid predictions for rain on Sunday.
The Mustangs' game Tuesday at San Jose State was postponed due to a series of incoming Pacific storms. No makeup date has been announced.
Junior third baseman Alejandro Garza, the preseason Big West Player of the Year as chosen by D1Baseball.com, was Cal Poly's top hitter against the Camels, going 6-for-12 (.500) at the plate with a double and four RBIs. Defensively, he did not commit an error in 10 chances.
Fifth-year senior center fielder Casey Murray was 5-for-11 (.454) with one RBI while catcher Ryan Tayman and second baseman Jake Downing each drove in three runs with three hits. Tayman hit the lone Mustang home run of the series, a three-run shot in Saturday's first game. Designated hitter Cam Hoiland also had three hits.
On the mound, junior lefty Josh Morano earned the win and senior right-hander Nick Bonn notched a save in the first game of Saturday's twin bill while three newcomers to Cal Poly, Oregon State transfer Laif Palmer and freshman relievers Sean McGrath and Corden Pettey, combined to limit Campbell to three runs and six hits in the nightcap triumph.
Previewing the Cougars
Washington State, coached by former Mustang pitcher Nathan Choate, produced eight runs on 10 hits in its opener at Alabama, but was held to just two runs and 11 hits in Saturday's doubleheader. Right fielder Max Hartman was 4-for-10 with four runs scored, two RBIs, a double, a home run and a stolen base in the series for the Cougars.
The Cougars return 19 lettermen, including their entire weekend pitching rotation, off last year's 18-36 squad which finished seventh in the Mountain West. Friday starter Luke Meyers was 5-4 with a 5.27 ERA and two saves in 2025 while Saturday lefty Nick Lewis (4-7, 6.69 ERA) also returns. Sunday righty Griffin Smith posted a 5-6 record and 5.73 ERA.
Washington State will play another season in the Mountain West this spring before returning to a Pac-12 schedule in 2027 with Oregon State, Fresno State, San Diego State, Gonzaga, Texas State and Dallas Baptist.
The Cougars have won 2,841 games since launching their baseball program in 1892. Washington State won a pair of Pac-8 North Division crowns in 1972 and 1975, four Pac-10 North Division titles from 1984 to 1990, has qualified for 16 NCAA regionals (the last in 2010) and reached the College World Series in 1950, 1956, 1965 and 1976.
Famous Cougar baseball players include Ron Cey, John Olerud, Tom Niedenfeur and Aaron Sele.
Choate was 6-5 with a 3.59 ERA in two seasons (2000-01) at Cal Poly under head coach Ritch Price, notching 52 strikeouts over 67 2/3 innings pitched. His nine career saves is ninth in the Mustang record book and the right-hander from Esperanza High School in Anaheim was 4-4 with a 3.13 ERA and eight saves in his final year with the program. Choate played for Santa Ana College before coming to San Luis Obispo.
Choate was the winning pitcher in the first game ever played at Baggett Stadium 25 years ago as the Mustangs edged Stanford 6-5 in 12 innings.
In his third season at Washington State, Choate's career record with the Cougars is 40-70. He was 77-95-1 in four seasons as head coach at Loyola Marymount (2020-23).
Choate and Lee will face each other as head coaches for the first time this weekend. Lee was Cal Poly's head coach and Choate was an assistant coach when the Mustangs played LMU in 2019, San Diego in 2017 and 2018, Grand Canyon (2012-16), UC Riverside (2008-11) and UC Irvine (2007).
After this weekend, Cal Poly hosts another team with Pac-12 ties, current Big Ten member USC, for another four-game series Thursday through Sunday, Feb. 26-March 1.
