Utes made progress in second Big 12 season. Can they win in first-ever Big 12 tournament apperance?
· Yahoo Sports
The 2026 season has been a year of progress for the Utah baseball program, which is gaining momentum and generating much more fan excitement in its new on-campus ballpark, Charlie Monfort Field at America First Ballpark.
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The 3,000-seat ballpark is much more intimate than the cavernous-by-comparison Smith’s Ballpark, and with everything the baseball team needs on-site, including an indoor training area with pitching and batting areas, it provides the team a much better experience.
Utah Athletics invested in the baseball program, finally giving it an on-campus home, and the increased fan support and nicer amenities for the team has spurred better results in its second season in one of the nation’s best baseball conferences.
Utah finished the regular season with a 26-24 record, notching a winning season after a 21-29 campaign last year, and earned the No. 10 seed in the 12-team Big 12 tournament. The Utes will take on No. 11-seeded Kansas State on Tuesday at 9 p.m. MDT (ESPN+).
Utah’s 12-18 mark in Big 12 play was a four-game improvement from last season, and the team improved in batting average (.308), runs (364) and hits (533) from a season ago. In 2026, the Utes hit 63 home runs — nearly double the amount they hit last year — thanks in part to more favorable dimensions at their new home park compared to the former home of the Triple-A Salt Lake Bees.
The Utes’ offense was humming throughout much of the season, scoring 7.3 runs per game, led by Jake Long (.369 batting average, 76 hits, 56 RBI and 11 home runs), Jet Gilliam (.368, 68 hits, 36 RBI, six HR) and Cameron Gurney (.356, 68 hits, 48 RBI and seven HR).
The status of Gurney in Tuesday’s game remains in question after he exited Saturday’s regular-season finale with an injury.
The Achilles’ heel of the 2026 Utes has been a pitching staff that ranks among the bottom of the Big 12. The Utes have a team ERA of 6.65, second-worst in the league, and are last in the league in strikeouts.
The Utes had an opportunity to earn a first-round bye in the Big 12 tournament with a series win against Baylor in the regular-season finale, but Utah dropped two of three games with a pair of losses in which it gave up at least 10 runs. As a result, the Utes will be playing in the first round of the Big 12 tournament.
Utah’s starting pitcher on Tuesday will likely be Colter McAnelly (6.82 ERA) or Payton Riske (6.15 ERA), who have received the majority of the starting nods this season. The Utes’ pitching staff will need to be at the top of their game against Kansas State, which ranks in the middle of the pack offensively in the Big 12.
Kansas State’s own pitching staff ranks in the bottom five in ERA (6.10) and hits allowed, so the Utes’ offense will have an opportunity.
Utah won its lone series against Kansas State in late March, defeating the Wildcats 13-11 and 16-14 after losing the opener 8-5. If history, and Utah’s play of late, tells us anything, expect a high-scoring affair between the two schools Tuesday.
Should the Utes win, Utah would take on No. 7-seeded TCU on Wednesday.
Utah pitcher Sammy Cova (36) prepares to deliver a pitch during an NCAA baseball game against BYU held at America First Ballpark in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, March 24, 2026. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News