After a fun second weekend, college baseball returns to action this weekend as 14 Big 12 teams are hitting the diamond. There are several big-time matchups ahead, so let’s take a look at the top five storylines heading into the weekend.
Baseball in the Bayou
While Arlington has stolen the headlines the first two weekends, now it’s Houston’s turn to take the spotlight with the 2025 Astros Foundation Classic. The tournament features two Big 12 teams Oklahoma State and Arizona along with teams from the SEC (#1 Texas A&M, #3 Tennessee, and #18 Mississippi State) and Rice from the American Conference.
Arizona is fresh off a three-game sweep over San Diego last weekend, while Oklahoma State struggled a little bit last week, going 2-3, and fell out of D1Baseball’s top 25. Both teams are more than capable of keeping up with anyone in this tournament offensively, but the real question is, do they have the pitching depth? Texas A&M has the best offense in college baseball, and Tennessee and Mississippi State are ranked inside the top 20 for a reason. All three teams are expected to host a regional when the season ends, and all of them have top-end talent.
Rice may not be the Rice of years past, but they are by no means a pushover either. This is a huge test for two Big 12 teams who are expected to be at the top of the conference standings, and it gives an opportunity for both of them to make some noise on a national level.
Will Kansas State Stay Hot?
After a rough 1-4 season-opening road trip to the Carolinas, the Wildcats had an unforgettable weekend in Arlington, going 3-0, including two ranked wins over Arkansas and TCU. They didn’t score a ton of runs, but their offense stepped up when needed, thanks to guys like Dee Kennedy, Maximus Martin, and Shintaro Inoue. Perhaps the most impressive thing about Kansas State last weekend was their pitching.
Blake Dean was fantastic coming out of the bullpen, and Lincoln Sheffield pitched lights out against TCU on Sunday. Now the Wildcats face another challenge in Frisco, where they will take on #2 LSU, Big Ten favorite Nebraska, and Sam Houston State.
TCU’s Tough Non-Conference Continues
The Horned Frogs started their season out west in San Diego and completed a four-game sweep over the Toreros. But last weekend in Arlington, things didn’t work out nearly as well after a 1-2 weekend with losses to #4 Arkansas and Kansas State.
Now TCU heads home to Fort Worth to host their first weekend series against the preseason favorite to win the Sun Belt in Southern Miss. The Golden Eagles are one of the most balanced teams in all of college baseball. Their pitching staff is extremely deep, and they have just enough firepower offensively to keep up with just about anyone. TCU struggled to score runs in their final two games of the weekend in Arlington (3 runs in 2 games), and they are going to need much more than that to take down a team like Southern Miss.
How Good is Baylor?
Even though Houston is the place to be this weekend for the best college baseball action, Arlington isn’t too far behind with the Amegy Bank College Baseball Series. The Bears face #9 Oregon State on Friday, Ohio State on Saturday, and finish the weekend off against Auburn.
Baylor has gotten off to a hot 7-1 start to the season with series wins over Youngstown State and Gonzaga. The big reason why they have looked so good this early is due to their pitching. Friday night starter Ethan Calder has been unhittable on the mound posting a 0.75 ERA in 12 innings along with 15 strikeouts. Plus, their bullpen has been solid as well, thanks to Will Glatch, Carson Bailey, and Lucas Davenport. Now, they will face their toughest test of the non-conference this weekend against some quality opponents.
Texas Tech’s Pitching
The Red Raiders are heading to Vegas to try their luck in the Las Vegas College Baseball Classic. While Texas may be the only ranked team they play there, my focus will be on the Tech pitching staff. Last weekend against UC Irvine, the Red Raiders gave up 29 runs in three games. This has been an issue for the last several years in Lubbock, and at some point, that has to change if they ever want to get back to Omaha. Hopefully, they can get back on track this weekend against Texas, Illinois, and Washington.
Other Series
#23 Cincinnati at UC San Diego
Omaha at Kansas
West Virginia at Queens (NC)
Minnesota at Arizona State
UCF at South Florida
Houston at UT Arlington
Utah at Cal Baptist
BYU at Gonzaga
