2026 North Alabama Lions baseball team

2026 North Alabama Lions baseball
2026 North Alabama Lions baseball
ASUN Gold Division co-champions
Conference	Atlantic Sun Conference
Record	28–26 (19–11 ASUN)
Head coach	Jad Prachniak (4th season);
Assistant coaches	Nick Patton (4th season); Jacob James (1st season);
Home stadium	Mike D. Lane Field at Bank Independent Stadium

2026 ASUN Conference baseball standings
	Conf.				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Gold
Lipscomb ^x‍‍‡‍^y	19	–	11	.633	26	–	24	.520
North Alabama ^x‍‍‍	19	–	11	.633	28	–	26	.519
Central Arkansas ‍‍‍	17	–	13	.567	30	–	25	.545
Austin Peay ‍‍‍	14	–	16	.467	24	–	31	.436
Bellarmine ‍‍‍	11	–	18	.379	19	–	33	.365
Eastern Kentucky ‍‍‍	9	–	20	.310	16	–	37	.302
Graphite
North Florida ^x‍‍‍	22	–	8	.733	31	–	22	.585
Florida Gulf Coast ‍‍‍	17	–	12	.586	34	–	20	.630
Jacksonville ‍‍‍	16	–	14	.533	30	–	24	.556
Stetson ‍‍‍	13	–	16	.448	23	–	31	.426
Queens ‍‍‍	11	–	19	.367	16	–	38	.296
West Georgia* ‍‍‍	10	–	20	.333	13	–	41	.241
* Ineligible for the 2026 NCAA tournament due to transition from Division II

x – Division champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of May 17, 2026^[1] Rankings from D1Baseball

The 2026 North Alabama Lions baseball team represent the University of North Alabama during the 2026 NCAA Division I baseball season. They are led by head coach Jad Prachniak, in his 4th season at UNA. The Lions played their home games at Mike D. Lane Field at Bank Independent Stadium as a members of the Atlantic Sun Conference.

This is the Lions' first full season playing at Mike D. Lane Field at Bank Independent Stadium. The Lions played 21 games at the stadium in 2025 as the stadium was still under construction.^[2]^[3]

Previous season

The 2023 team finished the season with a 24–31 record and a 16–13 record in ASUN play. They finished 3rd in the Gold Division and advanced to the ASUN Tournament.^[4]^[5]

The ASUN Tournament marked the UNA baseball program's first postseason appearance at the Division I level. The tournament saw them lose to Jacksonville 1-5^[6] before beating North Florida 14-11.^[7] North Alabama was eliminated from the tournament after a second loss to Jacksonville.^[8]

Preseason

Coaches poll

The ASUN baseball coaches' poll was released on February 8, 2024.^[9]

ASUN Gold Division Preseason Coaches' Poll
Predicted finish	Team	Points
1	Austin Peay	34 (4)
2	Lipscomb	28
3	North Alabama	23 (1)
4	Central Arkansas	18 (1)
5	Eastern Kentucky	15
6	Bellarmine	8

Personnel

2026 North Alabama Lions roster

Pitchers

8 – Tripp Patterson – Sophomore
11 – Jordan Touhey – Freshman
15 – Landon Scruggs – Senior
16 – Reese Young – Sophomore
18 – Hunter Bell – Senior
19 – Kelly Crumpton – Senior
21 – Justus Agosto – Senior
22 – Kevin Henrich – Junior
27 – Luke Davenport – Sophomore
28 – Nico Varlotta – Freshman
29 – Justin Battle – Senior
30 – John Allen Stogner – Graduate
31 – Tyler Rice – Graduate
32 – Carlos Carmona – Senior
33 – Josh Bowerman – Junior
43 – Sawyer Toney – Senior
48 – Gavin Oswald – Graduate
51 – Jake Boynar – Junior

Catchers

2 – Will Millard – Junior
10 – Charlie Cochran – Junior
26 – John Austin Wood – Freshman
44 – Wes Walker – Sophomore

Infielders

3 – Leighton Jenkins – Graduate
4 – Bryant Loving – Junior
5 – Dylan Coleman – Senior
9 – Ryker Billingsley – Senior
12 – Jackson Westmoreland – Junior
14 – Gio Lonero – Freshman
17 – Justin Santoyo – Graduate
37 – Ryan West – Senior
39 – Tyler LePage – Junior
40 – Petey Craska – Sophomore
45 – Ethan Moore – Junior

Outfielders

7 – Cayden Sheffield – Freshman
13 – Chandler Ketchup – Junior
20 – Jackson Cheek – Junior
22 – Tait Nunnally – Junior
25 – Alex Wade – Junior
34 – Nash Rippen – Senior

Coaching staff

Name	Position	Seasons at North Alabama	Alma mater
Jad Prachniak	Head coach	4	University of Rhode Island (2005)
Nick Patten	Assistant Baseball Coach / Hitting Coach / Recruiting Coordinator	4	University of Delaware (2021)
J.D. Davis	Assistant Coach / Recruiting Coordinator	1	The Citadel (2020)
Jacob James	Director of Pitching Development	1	University of North Alabama (2025)

Source:^[10]

Schedule and results

Legend
	North Alabama win
	North Alabama loss
	Postponement/Cancellation/Suspensions
Bold	North Alabama team member

2026 North Alabama Lions baseball game log (24–23)

Regular season (24–23)

February (6–5)
Date	Opponent	Rank	Site/stadium	Score	Win	Loss	Save	TV	Attendance	Overall record	ASUN record
February 13	SIUE		Mike D. Lane Field at Bank Independent Stadium Florence, AL	W 3–1	Oswald (1–0)	Phillips (0–1)	None	ESPN+	1,000	1–0	—
February 13	SIUE		Mike D. Lane Field at Bank Independent Stadium Florence, AL	W 8–1	Davenport (1–0)	Stearns (0–1)	None	ESPN+	750	2–0	—
February 14	SIUE		Mike D. Lane Field at Bank Independent Stadium Florence, AL	L 1–2	Martin (1–0)	Touhey (0–1)	Harris (1)	ESPN+	1,350	2–1	—
February 17	UAB		Mike D. Lane Field at Bank Independent Stadium Florence, AL	L 3–15	Samuelson (1–0)	Varlotta (0–1)	None	ESPN+	550	2–2	—
February 18	Murray State		Mike D. Lane Field at Bank Independent Stadium Florence, AL	W 15–5⁽⁷⁾	Touhey (1–1)	Patterson (0–1)	None		542	3–2	—
February 20	Saint Louis		Mike D. Lane Field at Bank Independent Stadium Florence, AL	W 7–4	Oswald (2–0)	Welk (0–1)	None	ESPN+	625	4–2	—
February 21	Saint Louis		Mike D. Lane Field at Bank Independent Stadium Florence, AL	W 12–2⁽⁷⁾	Davenport (2–0)	Andrunas (0–1)	None		701	5–2	—
February 22	Saint Louis		Mike D. Lane Field at Bank Independent Stadium Florence, AL	W 8–6	Touhey (2–1)	McKinney (0–2)	Scruggs (1)	ESPN+	367	6–2	—
February 24	Samford		Joe Lee Griffin Field Birmingham, AL	L 5–6	Spurrier (1–0)	Oswald (2–1)	None	ESPN+	301	6–3	—
February 27	Southern Indiana		Mike D. Lane Field at Bank Independent Stadium Florence, AL	L 1–20⁽⁷⁾	Figueroa (2–1)	Patterson (0–1)	None		437	6–4	—
February 28	Southern Indiana		Mike D. Lane Field at Bank Independent Stadium Florence, AL	L 0–8	Weller (1–0)	Davenport (2–1)	None		818	6–5	—

March (6–11)
Date	Opponent	Rank	Site/stadium	Score	Win	Loss	Save	TV	Attendance	Overall record	ASUN record
March 1	Southern Indiana		Mike D. Lane Field at Bank Independent Stadium Florence, AL	W 7–3	Stogner (1–0)	Skwarek (1–1)	None		893	7–5	—
March 4	#17 Ole Miss		Swayze Field Oxford, MS	L 5–8	Robertson (2–0)	Agosto (0–1)	Koenig (2)	SECN+	8,471	7–6	—
March 6	#10 Southern Miss		Pete Taylor Park Hattiesburg, MS	L 4–9	Allen (1–1)	Patterson (0–2)	Sivley (1)	ESPN+	5,364	7–7	—
March 7	#10 Southern Miss		Pete Taylor Park Hattiesburg, MS	L 1–6	Harris (3–0)	Davenport (2–2)	Och (2)	ESPN+	5,263	7–8	—
March 8	#10 Southern Miss		Pete Taylor Park Hattiesburg, MS	L 2–9	English (1–0)	Stogner (1–1)	None	ESPN+	5,152	7–9	—
March 10	Jacksonville State		Mike D. Lane Field at Bank Independent Stadium Florence, AL	L 3–8	Thomas (1–0)	Boynar (0–1)	None		524	7–10	—
March 13	Lipscomb		Dugan Field Nashville, TN	L 3–6	Bosley-Smith (1–1)	Patterson (0–3)	Kantola (2)	ESPN+	277	7–11	0–1
March 14	Lipscomb		Dugan Field Nashville, TN	L 5–7	Jamison (1–0)	Davenport (2–3)	None	ESPN+	427	7–12	0–2
March 15	Lipscomb		Dugan Field Nashville, TN	W 13–7	Young (1–0)	Jackson (1–2)	None	ESPN+	337	8–12	1–2
March 17	Tennessee Tech		Mike D. Lane Field at Bank Independent Stadium Florence, AL	L 9–10	Kuntz (1–0)	Boynar (0–2)	Barnett (1)	ESPN+	212	8–13	—
March 20	Eastern Kentucky		Mike D. Lane Field at Bank Independent Stadium Florence, AL	W 7–5⁽¹⁰⁾	Oswald (2–1)	Bell (0–1)	None	ESPN+	814	9–13	2–2
March 21	Eastern Kentucky		Mike D. Lane Field at Bank Independent Stadium Florence, AL	W 8–5	Patterson (1–3)	Price (2–2)	Agosto (1)	ESPN+	603	10–13	3–2
March 22	Eastern Kentucky		Mike D. Lane Field at Bank Independent Stadium Florence, AL	W 7–5	Agosto (1–1)	Howell (1–2)	Rice (1)	ESPN+	712	11–13	4–2
March 27	Bellarmine		Knights Field Louisville, KY	L 6–16^(7)<	Hart (1–1)	Agosto (1–2)	None	ESPN+	100	11–14	4–3
March 28	Bellarmine		Knights Field Louisville, KY	W 7–4	Patterson (2–3)	Sims (0–2)	Toney (1)			12–14	5–3
March 29	Bellarmine		Knights Field Louisville, KY	L 9–12	Rusch (2–0)	Agosto (1–3)	None	ESPN+		12–15	5–4
March 31	UAB		Young Memorial Field Birmingham, AL	L 0–10⁽⁷⁾	Hicks (1–1)	Bell (0–1)	None	ESPN+	245	12–16	—

April (11–4)
Date	Opponent	Rank	Site/stadium	Score	Win	Loss	Save	TV	Attendance	Overall record	ASUN record
April 2	Central Arkansas		Mike D. Lane Field at Bank Independent Stadium Florence, AL	W 4–3	Battle (1–0)	Fernandez (1–4)	Oswald (1)	ESPN+	919	13–16	6–4
April 3	Central Arkansas		Mike D. Lane Field at Bank Independent Stadium Florence, AL	L 2–4⁽¹¹⁾	Alexander (3–1)	Davenport (1–4)	None		573	13–17	6–5
April 4	Central Arkansas		Mike D. Lane Field at Bank Independent Stadium Florence, AL	W 16–9	Oswald (3–1)	Williams (1–4)	None		923	14–17	7–5
April 7	UT Martin		Mike D. Lane Field at Bank Independent Stadium Florence, AL	L 5–6	King (3–3)	Boynar (0–3)	Bryant (2)	ESPN+	314	14–18	—
April 10	Austin Peay		Raymond C. Hand Park Clarksville, TN	W 9–3	Oswald (5–1)	Lanham (0–2)	None	ESPN+	428	15–18	8–5
April 11	Austin Peay		Raymond C. Hand Park Clarksville, TN	W 13–12	Patterson (3–3)	McCain (1–2)	Davenport (1)	ESPN+	493	16–18	9–5
April 12	Austin Peay		Raymond C. Hand Park Clarksville, TN	W 15–5⁽⁸⁾	Young (2–0)	Merriweather (2–1)	None	ESPN+	338	17–18	10–5
April 14	UT Martin		Skyhawk Baseball Field Martin, TN	W 21–3⁽⁷⁾	Stogner (2–1)	Jones (0–1)	None	ESPN+	120	18–18	—
April 17	Lipscomb		Mike D. Lane Field at Bank Independent Stadium Florence, AL	L 4–6	Llinas (2–3)	Oswald (5–2	Kantola (5)	ESPN+	691	18–19	10–6
April 18	Lipscomb		Mike D. Lane Field at Bank Independent Stadium Florence, AL	W 6–2	Patterson (4–3)	Martin Jr. (1–2)	Davenport (2)		455	19–19	11–6
April 19	Lipscomb		Mike D. Lane Field at Bank Independent Stadium Florence, AL	L 0–6	Bosley-Smith (3–2)	Stogner (2–1)	Lee (1)	ESPN+	326	19–20	11–7
April 22	Tennessee Tech		Bush Stadium Cookeville, TN	W 10–7	Boynar (1–3)	Barnett (0–3)	Young (1)	ESPN+	236	20–20	—
April 24	Eastern Kentucky		Earle Combs Stadium Richmond, KY	W 10–6	Oswald (6–2)	Faulkner (2–4)	None	ESPN+	205	21–20	12–7
April 25	Eastern Kentucky		Earle Combs Stadium Richmond, KY	W 11–8	Battle (2–0)	Schneider (1–2)	Davenport (3)	ESPN+	211	22–20	13–7
April 26	Eastern Kentucky		Earle Combs Stadium Richmond, KY	W 15–3⁽⁷⁾	Young (3–0)	Collins (0–3)	None		100	23–20	14–7

May (5-6)
Date	Opponent	Rank	Site/stadium	Score	Win	Loss	Save	TV	Attendance	Overall record	ASUN record
May 1	Bellarmine		Mike D. Lane Field at Bank Independent Stadium Florence, AL	W 13–3⁽⁷⁾	Agosto (2–3)	Sims (0–3)	None	ESPN+	757	24–20	15–7
May 2	Bellarmine		Mike D. Lane Field at Bank Independent Stadium Florence, AL	L 8–15	Oak (2–4)	Patterson (4–4)	None		566	24–21	15–8
May 3	Bellarmine		Mike D. Lane Field at Bank Independent Stadium Florence, AL	L 6–9	Rusch (3–1)	Crumpton (0–1)	None	ESPN+	411	24–22	15–9
May 5	Samford		Mike D. Lane Field at Bank Independent Stadium Florence, AL	L 2–8	Fredette (1–2)	Touhey (2–2)	None	ESPN+	312	24–23	—
May 8	Central Arkansas		Bear Stadium Conway, AR	L 6-11	Alexander (6-2)	Oswald (6-3)	None	ESPN+	194	24-24	15-10
May 9	Central Arkansas		Bear Stadium Conway, AR	W 12-4	Patterson (5-4)	Jones (4-3)	None	ESPN+	279	25-24	16-10
May 9	Central Arkansas		Bear Stadium Conway, AR	L 3-4	Alexander (7-2)	Toney (0-1)	None	ESPN+	357	25-25	16-11
May 12	Murray State		Johnny Reagan Field Murray, KY	L 5-9	Patterson (2-1)	Boynar (0-4)	None	ESPN+	516	25-26
May 14	Austin Peay		Mike D. Lane Field at Bank Independent Stadium Florence, AL	W 9-2	Oswald (7-3)	Carney (1-1)	None	ESPN+	617	26-26	17-11
May 15	Austin Peay		Mike D. Lane Field at Bank Independent Stadium Florence, AL	W 6-1	Patterson (6-4)	Walton (2-4)	None	ESPN+	811	27-26	18-11
May 16	Austin Peay		Mike D. Lane Field at Bank Independent Stadium Florence, AL	W 8-4	Rice (1-0)	Hope (3-3)	None	ESPN+	777	28-26	19-11

Postseason (0–0)

ASUN tournament (0–0)
Date	Opponent	Seed	Site/stadium	Score	Win	Loss	Save	TV	Attendance	Overall record	ASUNT record
May 19	vs. Jacksonville/Austin Peay	4	Melching Field at Conrad Park DeLand, Florida	–				ESPN+

Source:^[11]

References

↑ "2026 Baseball Standings". asunsports.org. Retrieved May 4, 2026.
↑ "Prachniak announces 2026 baseball schedule". North Alabama Athletics. January 12, 2026. Retrieved February 7, 2026.
↑ Glovach, David (April 16, 2025). "Move in day: After transient spring, UNA baseball gets its new-stadium experience". TimesDaily. Florence. Retrieved February 7, 2026.
↑ "2025 Baseball Schedule". UNA Athletics. Retrieved February 7, 2026.
↑ "2025 Baseball Standings". Atlantic Sun Conference. Retrieved February 7, 2026.
↑ "Lions fall 5-1 in opening game of ASUN tournament". North Alabama Athletics. May 20, 2025. Retrieved February 7, 2026.
↑ "Baseball earns program's first Division I postseason win, 14-11". North Alabama Athletics. May 21, 2025. Retrieved February 7, 2026.
↑ "Baseball falls in elimination game against Jacksonville, 3-2". North Alabama Athletics. May 23, 2025. Retrieved February 7, 2026.
↑ "ASUN reveals preseason baseball poll". North Alabama Athletics. February 5, 2026. Retrieved February 7, 2026.
↑ "2026 Baseball Roster". UNA Athletics. Retrieved February 10, 2026.
↑ "2026 Baseball Schedule". UNA Athletics. Retrieved February 7, 2026.

[1] "2026 Baseball Standings". asunsports.org. Retrieved May 4, 2026.

[2] "Prachniak announces 2026 baseball schedule". North Alabama Athletics. January 12, 2026. Retrieved February 7, 2026.

[3] Glovach, David (April 16, 2025). "Move in day: After transient spring, UNA baseball gets its new-stadium experience". TimesDaily. Florence. Retrieved February 7, 2026.

[4] "2025 Baseball Schedule". UNA Athletics. Retrieved February 7, 2026.

[5] "2025 Baseball Standings". Atlantic Sun Conference. Retrieved February 7, 2026.

[6] "Lions fall 5-1 in opening game of ASUN tournament". North Alabama Athletics. May 20, 2025. Retrieved February 7, 2026.

[7] "Baseball earns program's first Division I postseason win, 14-11". North Alabama Athletics. May 21, 2025. Retrieved February 7, 2026.

[8] "Baseball falls in elimination game against Jacksonville, 3-2". North Alabama Athletics. May 23, 2025. Retrieved February 7, 2026.

[9] "ASUN reveals preseason baseball poll". North Alabama Athletics. February 5, 2026. Retrieved February 7, 2026.

[10] "2026 Baseball Roster". UNA Athletics. Retrieved February 10, 2026.

[11] "2026 Baseball Schedule". UNA Athletics. Retrieved February 7, 2026.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]