BYU has been the top team in the state of Utah (Photo by BYU Athletics)
Another rough week for the college baseball teams in Utah
Utah 24-22 (11-16 in the Big 12)
The U beat Utah Valley on Tuesday, 9-5. After taking two of three from BYU and beating their other Utah County rival, UVU, things took a bad turn on the road. Utah went to Fort Worth to battle the TCU Horned Frogs. TCU is one of the top six best teams in the Big 12, and they showed it in their series against the Utes. TCU’s pitching was just too good. On Friday, they shut Utah out, 3-0. Saturday, Utah just barely got on the scoreboard in a 3-1 defeat, which decided the series. The Utes couldn’t avoid the sweep on Sunday, even with a little bit more offense, falling 4-3. Four runs in three games in Fort Worth, Texas, is rough, even against a team that is 32-18. Tomorrow, Utah will play Utah Tech in Salt Lake City for the second time this season. They’ll then host Baylor for their final series of the season.
Utah Valley 16-34 (2-13 in the WAC)
UVU’s forgettable 2026 season continued to drag on for them. They fell to rival Utah once again, 9-5. Playing in Texas was rough for the Wolverines, too. On Friday, they began a series against Abilene Christian and got beat, 9-2. This extended their losing streak to 15 straight games. By some miracle, they would finally snap that streak on Saturday, with a 5-3 upset of ACU. Almost an entire month, from April 10th to May 9th, passed before UVU won again. It seemed to only make ACU mad, as they clobbered UVU on Sunday, 16-6, to take the series and send UVU packing. UVU will play their neighbor, BYU, in Provo tomorrow. They’ll then host their final series of the regular season against UT Arlington.
BYU 25-25 (13-14)
BYU’s rough stretch continued, but they still did better than anyone else in the state of Utah. They defeated UNLV down in Vegas on Tuesday before hitting the road to play Texas Tech. BYU needed that 5-2 win before battling the Red Raiders. Thursday’s series opener against Texas Tech was a pitcher’s duel. BYU gave up only two runs on five hits, but their offense got only one run on four hits. Texas Tech would edge the Cougars, 2-1. On Friday, BYU bounced back strong. The Cougars’ pitching and batting got on the same page, and they came away with a decisive 12-3 victory to even the series.
On Saturday, the BYU bats would show up, but this time it was the pitching that was absent. Despite having three separate three-run homers and scoring 11 runs, BYU would fall 15-11. Tech would take the series, and BYU would finish the week 2-2. Tomorrow, BYU will have its final game of the season against Utah Valley in Provo, and then will host the Kansas Jayhawks to wrap up the season.
Utah Tech 30-21 (7-8 in the WAC)
The Trailblazers had such a strong start to the 2026 season, but are crashing down the stretch. That continued this week in Arlington, Texas. UT Arlington is the second-worst team in the WAC (only UVU has a worse record), and they shut out Utah Tech on Friday, 2-0. Only two Tech batters would get hits. Saturday, Utah Tech roared back and evened the series. Their 16-4 victory gave hope that they might take an all-important WAC series. Sunday, though, UT Arlington once again pulled the rug out from under the Trailblazers. Tech would fall again, this time 8-5, and drop the series. Tech will play at Utah in Salt Lake City, and back home this weekend against Abilene Christian.
The Utah Four
- BYU 25-25 (13-14)
- Utah Tech 30-21 (7-8 in the WAC)
- Utah 24-22 (11-16 in the Big 12)
- Utah Valley 16-34 (2-13 in the WAC)
Wally Joyner Player of the Week
BYU’s Ezra McNaughton is having the best season of any player in the state. He’s been a consistent difference maker for BYU, and that was just as true this week as ever. McNaughton had seven hits, four runs batted in, and two home runs for BYU. The Cougars don’t win two of their four games this past week without McNaughton’s clutch play.
