Virginia Tech
Mustangs Set to Take On Virginia Tech to Open Fifth Regional Appearance
5/27/2026 11:45:00 AM | Baseball
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — Cal Poly's fifth appearance in the NCAA baseball postseason begins Friday at UCLA's Jackie Robinson Stadium with a first-ever meeting against Virginia Tech.
First pitch is set for 5 p.m. and the first-round NCAA Los Angeles Regional contest will be video streamed on ESPN+ with Roxy Bernstein providing the play-by-play and Wes Clements serving as the analyst. The game also will be aired on ESPN Radio 1280 with Chris Sylvester, Max Kelton and Eric Burdick donning the headsets. Links for the broadcasts as well as live stats can be found on the Cal Poly baseball schedule page at GoPoly.com.
The four-team double-elimination tournament begins at noon with host and No. 1-ranked UCLA (51-6) facing Saint Mary's (34-25) on ESPNU.
Friday's losers play in an elimination contest Saturday at 1 p.m., followed by the winners' bracket final at 6 p.m. The losers' bracket final is set for Sunday at 1 p.m., with the first of possibly two championship games scheduled for 6 p.m. Should another game be needed to determine the champion, it will be played Monday with the time to be announced.
Seeded third for the regional, Cal Poly (36-22) captured its second straight Big West Baseball Championship at UC Irvine last weekend with three victories by two runs or fewer, including 1-0 and 4-3 triumphs over UC San Diego. It was the ninth conference title in program history, including five in Division II (1989, 1991-94) and four Big West crowns in 2014, 2025 as well as both the 2026 regular season and tournament titles.
Virginia Tech (30-24) is the second seed and split two games in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament at Truist Field in Charlotte, N.C., defeating Notre Dame 17-10 in a four-hour, eight-minute contest before falling to North Carolina 10-4. The Hokies were 15-15 for seventh place in the ACC regular season standings.
Cal Poly is in an NCAA regional for the fifth time since moving its athletics program to Division I prior to the 1995 season. The Mustangs also qualified for five Division II regionals and captured the national title in 1989 and finished second in 1993.
Cal Poly competed in the 2009 Tempe Regional (Arizona State), 2013 Los Angeles Regional (UCLA), 2014 San Luis Obispo Regional (Cal Poly) and 2025 Eugene Regional (Oregon). The Mustangs are 5-8 in Division I regional play, including a 1-2 mark in the 2013 regional at UCLA with an opening-round win over the University of San Diego, a 6-4 loss to the Bruins (who went on to capture the College World Series title) and an 8-5 setback against the Toreros.
Cal Poly has won nine of its last 10 games and also had a 10-game winning streak in the first half of March. The Mustangs won 21 games in come-from-behind fashion, have compiled double-digit hits 34 times this year and clinched nine of 10 Big West series for the second consecutive year.
Virginia Tech was 12th in the ACC in hitting with a .280 batting average, last in pitching with a 6.95 ERA and third in fielding with a .978 fielding percentage and 42 errors in 54 games.
Cal Poly will take a Big West-leading .304 team batting average to the Los Angeles Regional. The Mustangs' 4.85 staff ERA is fifth in the conference while their .971 fielding percentage and 62 errors over 58 games are eighth.
Ten Mustang regulars are hitting .280 or better this season, led by catcher Ryan Tayman with a .355 mark, 18 doubles, 16 home runs and 53 RBIs en route to Big West Co-Field Player of the Year honors. Shortstop Nate Castellon owns a .329 average and third baseman Alejandro Garza is at .327.
Junior right-hander Griffin Naess (7-4, 4.24 ERA), who has earned seven victories in each of his three Mustang seasons, is expected to start Friday's game against Virginia Tech. The Hokies are not expected to name a starter until Thursday.
Virginia Tech's top hitters are first baseman Ethan Gibson (.333, 13 doubles, seven home runs, 27 RBIs), shortstop Pete Daniel (.329, eight doubles, 22 RBIs) and second baseman Ethan Ball (.310, 17 doubles, 16 home runs, 51 RBIs). On the mound, right-hander Brett Renfrow is 5-4 with a 4.65 ERA in 14 starts while Griffin Stieg, also a righty, is 2-5 with a 7.62 ERA in 15 starts this season.
Renfrow earned a spot on the All-ACC second team while Ball is a member of the ACC's All-Freshman squad.
For the first time in 32 years, Cal Poly has claimed back-to-back conference titles, grabbing the 2025 Big West tournament at Goodwin Field. The Mustangs captured four straight California Collegiate Athletic Association championships from 1991-94.
Cal Poly registered 93 crooked numbers (two through nine) on the scoreboard during the regular season but was held to seven single-run innings in the 2026 Big West tournament before Dylan Kordic crushed his ninth home run of the season, a three-run blast, for a 4-0 Mustang lead in the fifth inning Sunday.
Nick Bonn closed out the 4-3 win for his school-record 15th save, surpassing Mike Bille (2005) and Reed Reilly (2013). Garza, the team leader with 25 multiple-hit games this season, contributed a single in the title-clinching game and needs three more to catch Jimmy Allen's school record for career hits of 252, set from 2011-14.
Bonn, who earned three saves in the tournament en route to MVP honors, tops all closers in the nation with his 15 saves. In addition, Garza is 22nd with 21 doubles, 11th in toughest to strike out (once every 16.4 at bats) and tied for 17th with 86 hits, Tayman is tied for 83rd with 16 home runs, Casey Murray Jr. is tied for 20th with five triples and Castellon is eighth in toughest to strike out (once every 16.9 at bats).
The Mustangs, who led the nation with 701 hits a year ago, currently are No. 1 in doubles (152), No. 7 in hits (629) and tied for 30th in batting average (.304).
Joining Bonn on the All-Big West Baseball Championship team were Naess, junior right-hander Carson Turnquist and designated hitter Cam Hoiland, who was 6-for-11 at the plate in the tournament.
The Big West is one of just seven conferences in the nation to have multiple teams in the NCAA regionals. UC Santa Barbara (38-18), making its 16th NCAA Tournament appearance, will face Western Athletic Conference regular-season and tournament champion Tarleton State (37-19) on Friday at 3 p.m. PDT in the Austin Regional hosted by Texas.
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No. 1 UCLA, 51-6, 28-2 Big Ten Conference (First Place)
- UCLA, which departed the Pac-12 Conference and headed to the Big Ten on July 1, 2024, captured its first Big Ten baseball championship with a 3-0 mark, all walk-off victories, at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Neb., defeating Purdue 4-3 on first baseman Mulivai Levu's ninth-inning sacrifice fly, USC 7-5 on a ninth-inning three-run home run by Levu and Oregon 3-2 in 11 innings when Phoenix Call was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the 11th inning.
- The Bruins are the first team in Division I to reach the 50-win mark this season and UCLA attained that plateau for the first time since 2019 and the third time under head coach John Savage. UCLA is the first team to sweep through the Big Ten tournament since Maryland in 2023, is the only team in Division I to win at least two of three games in every weekend this season and is the first team in college baseball history to go wire to wire as the No. 1-ranked team in the nation in the regular season. In their first two years in the Big Ten, the Bruins are 48-12, winning 18 of 20 conference series, including 12 sweeps.
- Shortstop Roch Cholowsky, a Brooks Wallace Award semifinalist after claiming the honor a year ago, a Golden Spikes semifinalist and the likely first overall selection in July's Major League Draft, was named Big Ten Player of the Year for the second straight season after hitting .329 with 10 doubles, 21 home runs and 59 RBIs in 57 games. His home runs and 71 runs scored lead the Big Ten and Cholowsky, a graduate of Hamilton High School in Chandler, Ariz., was a four-time All-American in 2025. Other top Bruin hitters are Levu (.342, 11 doubles, 17 home runs, 62 RBIs), third baseman Roman Martin (.333, 17 doubles, three triples, seven home runs, 62 RBIs), the team leader with 24 multiple-hit games, and center fielder Will Gasparino (.316, 12 doubles, 19 home runs, 62 RBIs).
- UCLA's pitching staff is paced by Logan Reddemann (8-0, 2.87 ERA), Michael Barnett (6-0, 4.15 ERA) and Wylan Moss (5-1, 2.40 ERA). Easton Hawk is the closer with 14 saves and a 6-2 mark and 1.41 ERA in 31 appearances on the mound. All are right-handers. Hawk has not allowed an earned run in his last 25 appearances on the mound, giving up just seven hits over 25 innings, and was the winning pitcher in all three UCLA victories in the Big Ten tournament.
- UCLA owns a .294 team batting average and the Bruins' staff ERA of 3.27 is No. 2 in the nation. UCLA also has 88 home runs, No. 30 in NCAA Division I, along with 463 runs scored (24th), 9.9 strikeouts per nine innings (35th), .414 on-base percentage (24th) and .497 slugging percentage (34th). The Bruin batters also have been hit by pitches 125 times, seventh in the nation, and Cholowski has been plunked a school-record 24 times, 16th in NCAA Division I.
- Nationally, Cholowsky is 17th in home runs (21), Gasparino 36th (19) and Levu 56th (17) while Levu and Gasparino are No. 53 in RBIs with 62 each. Moss is 15th in ERA (2.40) and Hawk is No. 2 in saves with 14.
- Cholowsky, Gasparino, Hawk, Levu, Martin, Moss and Reddemann all earned first-team All-Big Ten honors.
- The Bruins have a better record on the road (18-1) than at home (27-5). UCLA won its first 25 Big Ten games before falling to Oregon 9-6 on May 9. The Bruins' only other loss in 30 conference contests was an 8-0 shutout at Washington five days later. The four non-conference losses were to UC San Diego 8-7 on Feb. 15, San Diego State 4-3 on Feb. 24, UC Santa Barbara 4-0 on April 14 and Sacramento State 9-6 on April 26.
- UCLA's longest winning streak this year is a school-record 27 games, including an 18-0 record in the month of March, and the Bruins have yet to lose consecutive games this year.
- UCLA has earned its 27th NCAA Tournament berth and 15th under head coach John Savage. The Bruins return to the postseason for the 16th time in the last 22 seasons, with Savage leading them to tournament appearances in 15 of his 21 years at the helm (excluding 2020).
- In the previous 14 trips to the postseason at UCLA, Savage has compiled a 51-29 record (.638 winning percentage), recording the most postseason victories of any head coach in program history. With Savage at the program's helm, UCLA advanced to the College World Series in 2010, 2012, 2013, and 2025. The Bruins reached the best-of-three championship series in 2010 and 2013. UCLA defeated Mississippi State, two games to none, for the title at the 2013 College World Series.
- UCLA is hosting a regional at Jackie Robinson Stadium for the second straight season. This marks the second time the Bruins have earned the number one overall national seed. UCLA was also the number one overall seed in 2019.
- Savage (22nd season at UCLA (775-487-2), 25th season overall (88-84-1), Nevada '91) was head coach at UC Irvine for three seasons before taking the job at UCLA in the summer of 2004 and has posted 17 winning seasons in his 22 years with the Bruins, including eight 40-win campaigns. The 2026 Big Ten Coach of the Year also was an assistant coach at USC (1997-2000) and Nevada (1992-96). He pitched at Santa Clara for three seasons and was selected by the Cincinnati Reds in the 16th round of the 1986 MLB Draft. Savage played two seasons in the Reds' minor league system. Larry Lee is 9-18 against UCLA while John Savage is 25-11 against Cal Poly, including an 18-9 mark at UCLA and 7-2 record at UC Irvine.
- The Bruins own a 32-13 advantage in their series against Cal Poly. First meeting was in 1953 and the two teams last met in a season-opening three-game series in 2025 at Jackie Robinson Stadium with UCLA earning 3-2, 18-2 and 16-0 victories for a sweep. Cal Poly won two of three games versus the Bruins at Baggett Stadium in 2021. The two teams also met in the 2013 Los Angeles Regional, UCLA rallying from a 4-0 deficit for a 6-4 win in the second round on the way to the regional title and College World Series championship.
- UCLA has fielded a baseball team since 1920, winning one national title (2013) and 13 conference championships (including the Big Ten crown in 2026 and his last Pac-12 title in 2019). The Bruins have made six College World Series appearances, six Super Regionals and 27 regionals.
- UCLA's most famous Major Leaguers include Trevor Bauer, Chris Chambliss, Gerrit Cole, Troy Glaus, Eric Karros, Dave Roberts, Jackie Robinson and Chase Utley. A total of 91 Bruins have played in the Major Leagues.
- The Bruins currently are 2,776-2,186-25 in 105 seasons of baseball, 26th in the nation for total wins.
No. 2 Seed Virginia Tech, 30-24, 15-15 Atlantic Coast Conference (Seventh Place)
- Virginia Tech split two games in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) tournament at Charlotte, N.C., defeating Notre Dame 17-10 before falling to No. 2-ranked North Carolina 10-4 in the quarterfinal round. The Hokies posted a 15-15 mark for seventh place in the 16-team ACC.
- Virginia Tech was 12th in the ACC in hitting with a .280 batting average, last in pitching with a 6.95 ERA and third in fielding with a .978 fielding percentage and 42 errors in 54 games.
- Virginia Tech's top hitters are first baseman Ethan Gibson (.333, 13 doubles, seven home runs, 27 RBIs), shortstop Pete Daniel (.329, eight doubles, 22 RBIs) and second baseman Ethan Ball (.310, 17 doubles, 16 home runs, 51 RBIs). Catcher Henry Cooke is batting .376 and slugging .656 since April 1. On the mound, right-hander Brett Renfrow is 5-4 with a 4.65 ERA in 14 starts while Griffin Stieg, also a righty, is 2-5 with a 7.62 ERA in 15 starts this season.
- Brett Renfrow earned a spot on the All-ACC second team while Ethan Ball is a member of the ACC's All-Freshman squad.
- Cal Poly and Virginia Tech are meeting for the first time in a baseball game this weekend.
- Head coach John Szefc (ninth season at Virginia Tech (253-198), 21st season overall (645-457-3), Drexel '89) has guided the Hokies to five consecutive 30-win seasons from 2022-26, including an historic 45-win campaign in 2022 in which Virginia Tech won the ACC Coastal Division title by claiming nine consecutive series and finished the regular season as the consensus No. 2-ranked team in the nation by college baseball's six leading national publications. That year, the Hokies won the Blacksburg Regional to earn its first Super Regional berth. Szefc also was head coach at Maryland (2013-17), coaching the Terrapins to three NCAA regional appearances and a pair of Super Regionals. He also was head coach at Marist from 1996-2002 and an assistant coach at Drexel, Sacred Heart, Louisiana, Kansas and Kansas State. Szefc played two years at Connecticut before transferring in 1987 to Drexel. During his senior campaign with the Dragons, he was tabbed an All-East Coast Conference outfielder.
- Winning 14 of their last 20 games, including a combined no-hitter against Radford, the Hokies are competing in their 12th NCAA regional this weekend and the second under head coach John Szefc. They have yet to reach the College World Series. Virginia Tech has made 10 appearances in the ACC Tournament, going 3-1 as the No. 6 seed en route to a second-place finish in 2013. The Hokies were the No. 1 seed in 2022 but went 1-1.
- A total of 25 former Hokies have played in the Major Leagues, including Franklin Stubbs with the Dodgers, Astros, Brewers and Tigers from 1984-95 and Johnny Oates with the Orioles, Braves, Phillies, Dodgers and Yankees from 1970-81.
No. 4 Seed Saint Mary's, 34-25, 15-12 West Coast Conference (Tie-Third Place)
- Top Saint Mary's hitters are right fielder Diego Castellanos (.384, 20 doubles, six home runs, 49 RBIs), first baseman Makoa Sniffen (.358, 17 doubles, 11 home runs, 61 RBIs, 10 steals), catcher Ian Armstrong (.358, 16 doubles, 15 home runs, 49 RBIs) and center fielder Tanner Griffith (.340, 21 doubles, five home runs, 41 RBIs, 17 steals). Armstrong (April 12 vs. Santa Clara) and Ian Josephson (April 8 vs. Cal State Bakersfield) both hit for the cycle this season, the first two in program history. Sniffen and Castellanos are now one-two in the Saint Mary's record book for hits in a season with 92 and 91 respectively. The Gaels' pitching staff is paced by right-hander John Damozonio (7-2, 2.71 ERA) and fifth-year southpaw Jake Hilton (4-4, 5.53 ERA), a transfer from Pomona-Pitzer.
- Armstrong, Castellanos and Damozonio all earned first-team All-West Coast Conference honors while Josephson, Sniffen and Griffith landed on the second unit. Designated hitter Jacob Johnson, who played at Cuesta College in 2025, earned honorable mention praise and Josephson also was named to the WCC All-Freshman squad.
- The Gaels have compiled a .332 team batting average, best in the West Coast Conference and third in the nation. Saint Mary's also is second in the NCAA in doubles (152) and hits (692), 12th in triples (18) and 36th in runs scored (441). In the WCC, Saint Mary's also is No. 1 in hits, runs scored, doubles, triples, home runs (64), RBIs (396), slugging percentage (.515), on-base percentage (.413), sacrifice bunts (49) and fielding percentage (.979).
- Individually, WCC leaders include Castellanos with his .384 batting average and 61 runs scored, Armstrong in slugging percentage (.665), Griffith in on-base percentage (.479), walks (43) and triples (4), Sniffen in hits (92), triples (4) and RBIs (61), and Cody Kashimoto in sacrifice bunts (19). Castellanos brings a 35-game hitting streak with him to the regional, one game shy of the WCC record. Getting a lot of credit for the Gaels' offensive success is associate head coach Jack Meggs, son of former longtime Washington head coach Lindsey Meggs.
- Cal Poly leads Saint Mary's 33-14 in its all-time series with the Gaels, which began in 1949. Last time the Mustangs and Gaels met was in 2019, a four-game series at Baggett Stadium that ended in a 2-2 split.
- Saint Mary's has claimed a trio of West Coast Conference titles (2016, 2025 and 2026) and has yet to earn a College World Series berth. The Gaels made their first NCAA regional appearance at Raleigh, N.C., in 2016, falling to Coastal Carolina and Navy. Their second NCAA regional appearance was in 2025 at Corvallis and Saint Mary's went 1-2 with a 6-4 upset of Oregon State, Saint Mary's first NCAA regional victory, and losses to USC and the Beavers. The Gaels have won 1,384 games since their modern era began in 1968, averaging 25 wins per campaign.
- Eric Valenzuela (ninth year at Saint Mary's (2014-19 and 2024-26), 284-229 with the Gaels; 100-69 in four seasons at Long Beach State (2020-23), 384-298 in 12 seasons overall, Pepperdine '01) is the winningest coach in program history, achieving the feat in 2025. He also was pitching coach under Tony Gwynn at San Diego State for four seasons and under Rich Hill at the University of San Diego for six years. Valenzuela was an All-American performer at Bishop Amat High School, began his collegiate career at Arizona State and finished up at Pepperdine. Valenzuela is 5-11 against Cal Poly, including a 2-4 mark while at Saint Mary's and 3-7 while at Long Beach State, while Larry Lee is 12-4 against Saint Mary's.
- Valenzuela has a deep boxing background as he was a talented amateur boxer growing up and his father was actually an assistant boxing coach for the United States in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. Valenzuela uses a lot of boxing references in his coaching ... the grind, the grit, the determination, the details in preparation, etc.
- On the helmets of his players, Valenzuela and his staff hand out stickers for specific rewards and positive plays throughout practice and games, similar to big time college football programs. The stickers are mini faces of Mike Tyson. Valenzuela is a fan of Tyson and his killer mentality in and out of the ring and uses those factors as motivators for his team and players.
- A total of 65 former Gaels have played in the Major Leagues, including Harry Hooper (1909-25), Tom Candiotti (1983-99), Von Hayes (1981-92), Corbin Burnes (2018-25) and Tony Gonsolin (2019-25). Hooper is the lone Gael in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Gonsolin is now a free agent after his release from the Dodgers in November and remains involved in the Gaels' baseball program, attending the preseason Team Fundraising Dinner the last two years and also meeting up with the team in Arizona earlier this season, attending practice at Grand Canyon.
