2026 Tarleton State Texans baseball team

2026 Tarleton State Texans baseball
WAC regular season and tournament champions
Austin Regional, 1–2
Conference	Western Athletic Conference
Record	38–21 (12–6 WAC)
Head coach	Fuller Smith (3rd season)
Home stadium	Cecil Ballow Baseball Complex

2026 Western Athletic Conference baseball standings

	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Tarleton ‍†‍‡‍y	12	–	6		.667			34	–	19		.642
California Baptist  ‍‍‍	11	–	7		.611			43	–	13		.768
Utah Tech  ‍‍‍	10	–	8		.556			31	–	21		.596
Sacramento State  ‍‍‍	10	–	8		.556			26	–	30		.464
Abilene Christian  ‍‍‍	8	–	10		.444			25	–	29		.463
UT Arlington  ‍‍‍	8	–	10		.444			19	–	30		.388
Utah Valley  ‍‍‍	4	–	14		.222			15	–	35		.300
† – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA Tournament As of May 17, 2026 Rankings from D1Baseball

The 2026 Tarleton State Texans baseball team represents Tarleton State University during the 2026 NCAA Division I baseball season. The Texans play their home games at the Cecil Ballow Baseball Complex as a member of the Western Athletic Conference. They are be led by third-year head coach Fuller Smith.

Preseason

Coaches poll

The coaches poll was released on February 5, 2026. Tarleton State was selected to finish fifth in the conference.

WAC coaches poll
Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	Abilene Christian	33 (3)
2	Utah Valley	29 (1)
3	Cal Baptist	27
4	Sacramento State	22
5	Tarleton State	15
6	Utah Tech	11
7	UT Arlington	10

Awards and honors

Preseason WAC awards and honors

Preseason All-WAC Team
Player	No.	Position	Class
Sergio Guerra	11	C	Senior
Rayner Heinrich	8	OF	Sophomore

Personnel

Starters

Lineup

Pos.	No.	Player.	Year
C	11	Sergio Guerra	Senior
1B	13	Cage McCloud	Sophomore
2B	17	Slade McCloud	Senior
3B	4	Brady Englett	Junior
SS	2	Ike Shirey	Senior
LF	8	Rayner Heinrich	Sophomore
CF	3	Kendyl Johnson	Sophomore
RF	5	Jake Tatom	Senior
DH	6	Carson Lorch	Senior

Weekend pitching rotation

Day	No.	Player.	Year
Friday	28	Cort Lowry	Sophomore
Saturday	34	Ethan Wendel	Junior
Sunday	39	Brendon Carter	Senior

Roster

2026 Tarleton State Texans baseball team
Players	Coaches
# Pos. Name B/T Height Weight Year Home town 2 INF Ike Shirey R/R 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Sr Dale, OK 3 OF Kendyl Johnson L/L 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 170 lb (77 kg) So Little Elm, TX 4 C Brady Englett R/R 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Jr Katy, TX 5 OF Jake Tatom R/R 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Sr Kingwood, TX 6 INF Carson Lorch R/R 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Sr Cypress, TX 7 LHP Karsen Davis L/L 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) So Grand Prairie, TX 8 UTL Rayner Heinrich R/R 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 185 lb (84 kg) So Georgetown, TX 10 UTL Matt Guthmiller L/L 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Sr Omaha, NE 11 C Sergio Guerra R/R 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Sr San Diego, TX 12 INF Raphaël Smeenk S/R 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 195 lb (88 kg) RS Jr Amsterdam, NED 13 INF Cage McCloud L/R 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 195 lb (88 kg) So China Spring, TX 14 UTL Chris Ricard R/R 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Jr Lewiston, ID 15 C Mason Kirk R/R 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 195 lb (88 kg) So China Spring, TX 16 LHP Jackson Elizondo R/L 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 210 lb (95 kg) So Spring Branch, TX 17 INF Slade McCloud L/R 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Sr Robinson, TX 18 RHP Tai Phetluangsy L/R 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Sr Amarillo, TX 20 OF Braden Gostisha L/R 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Sr Round Rock, TX 21 RHP Brian Panneton R/R 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Sr Tomball, TX 23 LHP Cullen Kickhoefer L/L 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr Glen Rose, TX 24 RHP Aden Lucas R/R 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Sr Conroe, TX 25 RHP Daniel Bass R/R 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Sr Melissa, TX 27 RHP Ethan Jaques R/R 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Sr Aledo, TX 28 RHP Cort Lowry R/R 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 205 lb (93 kg) So Franklin, TX 29 RHP Conner Doucet R/R 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Sr The Woodlands, TX 30 LHP Ashton Bassett L/L 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 190 lb (86 kg) So Magnolia, TX 31 RHP Anthony Treto R/R 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Jr Fort Lupton, CO 32 RHP Corbin Walter R/R 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Fr League City, TX 33 RHP Kasey Swan R/R 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 165 lb (75 kg) So Jacksboro, TX 34 RHP Ethan Wendel R/R 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Jr Louise, TX 35 RHP Andrew Hardin R/R 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Sr Round Rock, TX 36 RHP Ben Bosse R/R 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Sr Brenham, TX 37 LHP Carter Coffin R/L 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Sr Pflugerville, TX 38 OF Tyson Drake L/L 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Sr Keller, TX 39 RHP Brendon Carter R/R 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Sr Edmond, OK 40 RHP Matthew McCullough R/R 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Fr Pottsboro, TX 43 RHP Jack Lovin R/R 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Fr Flower Mound, TX	Head coach (9) Fuller Smith Assistant coach(es) (44) R.D. Spiehs (1) Will Fox (22) Dustin Williams Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: January 3, 2026

Coaching staff

2026 Tarleton State Texans baseball coaching staff
Name	Position	Seasons at Tarleton	Alma mater
Fuller Smith	Head coach	3	University of Mississippi (2009)
R.D. Spiehs	Associate coach	3	University of Nebraska–Lincoln (2002)
Will Fox	Assistant coach	1	McNeese State University (2017)
Dustin Williams	Assistant coach	2	Oklahoma State University (2017)

Game log

2026 Tarleton State Texans baseball game log (Overall: 38–21; Conference: 12–6); (Home: 19–8; Away: 14–9; Neutral: 5–4)
Regular season (35–21)
February (6–4) (Home: 5–2; Away: 0–0; Neutral: 1–2) Date Time (CST) Opponent Rank TV Venue Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record WAC February 13 3:00 p.m. Le Moyne* WACtv Cecil Ballow Baseball Complex Stephenville, TX W 20–3(7) Panneton (1–0) Petraitis (0–1) — 467 1–0 — February 14 6:00 p.m. Le Moyne* WACtv Cecil Ballow Baseball Complex W 5–4 Jaques (1–0) Earle (0–1) Phetluangsy (1) 403 2–0 — February 15 1:00 p.m. Le Moyne* WACtv Cecil Ballow Baseball Complex W 13–8 Wendel (1–0) Skermont (0–1) Hardin (1) 702 3–0 — February 16 2:00 p.m. vs. No. 7 Arkansas* Globe Life Field Arlington, TX L 1–3 McElvain (1–0) Bass (0–1) Brissey (1) 1,258 3–1 — February 20 3:00 p.m. South Dakota State* WACtv Cecil Ballow Baseball Complex W 9–2 Karsen (1–0) Madison (0–2) — 387 4–1 — February 21 3:00 p.m. South Dakota State* WACtv Cecil Ballow Baseball Complex L 2–6 Novotny (1–1) Bassett (0–1) Augedahl (1) 327 4–2 — February 22 12:00 p.m. South Dakota State* ESPN+ Cecil Ballow Baseball Complex L 1–5 Schlecht (1–1) Lowry (0–1) — 290 4–3 — February 24 2:00 p.m. Incarnate Word* ESPN+ Cecil Ballow Baseball Complex W 17–5(7) Treto (1–0) McKay (1–1) Doucet (1) 280 5–3 — Cleburne College Baseball Series February 27 2:00 p.m. vs. Creighton* La Moderna Field Cleburne, TX W 8–7 Phetluangsy (1–0) Goldenbau (0–1) — 877 6–3 — February 28 6:00 p.m. vs. Texas State* La Moderna Field L 3–9 Moore (1–0) Lowry (0–1) Connell (1) 922 6–4 —
March (11–9) (Home: 6–3; Away: 4–5; Neutral: 1–1) Date Time (CDT) Opponent Rank TV Venue Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record WAC Cleburne College Baseball Series March 1 11:00 a.m. vs. Creighton* La Moderna Field L 4–5 6–5 — March 3 6:00 p.m. Baylor* ESPN+ Cecil Ballow Baseball Complex W 6–5 7–5 — March 6 3:00 p.m. at New Mexico* MWN Santa Ana Star Field Albuquerque, NM W 13–11 8–5 — March 7 1:00 p.m. at New Mexico* MWN Santa Ana Star Field W 7–3 9–5 — March 7 4:00 p.m. at New Mexico* MWN Santa Ana Star Field W 15–10 10–5 — March 8 1:00 p.m. at New Mexico* MWN Santa Ana Star Field W 9–7 11–5 — March 13 6:00 p.m. Houston Christian* ESPN+ Cecil Ballow Baseball Complex L 6–7 11–6 — March 14 3:00 p.m. Houston Christian* ESPN+ Cecil Ballow Baseball Complex W 8–5 12–6 — March 15 12:00 p.m. Houston Christian* ESPN+ Cecil Ballow Baseball Complex L 5–9 12–7 — March 17 6:30 p.m. at No. 2 Texas* SECN+ UFCU Disch–Falk Field Austin, TX W 6–1 13–7 — March 20 6:00 p.m. at Stephen F. Austin* ESPN+ Jaycees Field Nacogdoches, TX W 9–8 14–7 — March 21 6:00 p.m. at Stephen F. Austin* Jaycees Field W 7–6 15–7 — March 22 1:00 p.m. at Stephen F. Austin* ESPN+ Jaycees Field W 3–1 16–7 — March 24 6:00 p.m. at Lamar* ESPN+ Vincent–Beck Stadium Beaumont, TX L 3–5 16–8 — March 27 6:00 p.m. Air Force* ESPN+ Cecil Ballow Baseball Complex W 7–2 17–8 — March 28 3:00 p.m. Air Force* ESPN+ Cecil Ballow Baseball Complex W 7–6 18–8 — March 29 12:00 p.m. Air Force* ESPN+ Cecil Ballow Baseball Complex W 11–10 19–8 — March 31 6:30 p.m. at Baylor* ESPN+ Baylor Ballpark Waco, TX W 5–1 20–8 —
April (11–4) (Home; 6–2; Away: 5–2) Date Time (CDT) Opponent Rank TV Venue Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall record WAC record April 2 UT Arlington Arlington, TX (Clay Gould Ballpark) W 3-1 21–8 1–0 April 3 UT Arlington Arlington, TX (Clay Gould Ballpark) L 3-6 21–9 1–1 April 4 UT Arlington Arlington, TX (Clay Gould Ballpark) L 2-8 21–10 1–2 April 7 UTSA* Stephenville, TX (Tarleton State Baseball Complex) L 2-6 21–11 — April 9 Abilene Christian Stephenville, TX (Tarleton State Baseball Complex) W 10-5 22–11 2–2 April 10 Abilene Christian Cecil Ballow Baseball Complex L 4-11 22–12 2–3 April 11 Abilene Christian Cecil Ballow Baseball Complex W 10-9 23–12 3–3 April 14 at TCU* Fort Worth, TX (Lupton Stadium) L 5-12 23–13 — April 17 Cal Baptist Stephenville, TX (Tarleton State Baseball Complex) L 1-12 23–14 3–4 April 18 Cal Baptist Stephenville, TX (Tarleton State Baseball Complex) W 3-2 24–14 4–4 April 19 Cal Baptist Stephenville, TX (Tarleton State Baseball Complex) W 7-6 25–14 5–4 April 21 at Texas Tech* Lubbock, TX (Dan Law Field at Rip Griffin Park) L 3-13 25–15 — April 24 Utah Valley Stephenville, TX (Tarleton State Baseball Complex) W 12-2 26–15 6–4 April 25 Utah Valley Stephenville, TX (Tarleton State Baseball Complex) W 8-2 27–15 7–4 April 26 Utah Valley Stephenville, TX (Tarleton State Baseball Complex) W 13-9 28–15 8–4 April 28 at Texas A&M* Bryan-College Station, TX (Blue Bell Park) L 7-9 28–16 —
May (6–5) (Home; 3–1; Away: 3–4) Date Time (CDT) Opponent Rank TV Venue Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall record WAC record May 1 (Fri) Utah Tech St. George, UT (Bruce Hurst Field) W 9-6 29–16 May 2 (Sat) Utah Tech St. George, UT (Bruce Hurst Field) W 8-4 30–16 May 3 (Sun) Utah Tech St. George, UT (Bruce Hurst Field) W 10-8 31–16 May 8 (Fri) UTRGV Stephenville, TX (Tarleton State Baseball Complex) W 7-4 32–16 May 9 (Sat) UTRGV Stephenville, TX (Tarleton State Baseball Complex) W 10-8 33–16 May 10 (Sun) UTRGV Stephenville, TX (Tarleton State Baseball Complex) L 2-4 33–17 May 14 (Thu) Sacramento State Sacramento, CA (John Smith Field) L 5-8 33–18 May 15 (Fri) Sacramento State Sacramento, CA (John Smith Field) W 15-4 34–18 May 16 (Sat) Sacramento State Sacramento, CA (John Smith Field) L 4-8 34–19
Postseason (4–2)
WAC tournament (3–0) Date Time (CDT) Opponent Rank TV Venue Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record WACT record May 21 (Thu) Sacramento State Mesa, AZ (Hohokam Stadium) W 9-0 35–19 May 22 (Fri) California Baptist Mesa, AZ (Hohokam Stadium) W 5-3 36–19 May 23 (Sat) Sacramento State Mesa, AZ (Hohokam Stadium) W 21-11 37–19
NCAA Austin Regional (1–2) Date Time (CDT) Opponent Rank TV Venue Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record NCAAT record May 29 (Fri) UC Santa Barbara Austin, TX (UFCU Disch-Falk Field) W 11-5 38–19 May 30 (Sat) Texas Austin, TX (UFCU Disch-Falk Field) L 2-16 38–20 May 31 (Sun) UC Santa Barbara Austin, TX (UFCU Disch-Falk Field) L 5-9 38–21
"#" represents ranking. All rankings from D1Baseball Poll on the date of the contest. "()" represents postseason seeding in the WAC Tournament or NCAA Regional, respectively.   = Win,   = Loss,   = Canceled/Postponed Bold = Tarleton State Texans team member * = Non-Conference Game
Schedule Source:

Schedule Notes:

External links

• Tarleton State Baseball