Big West Baseball: Composite Schedule || Standings || Stats 

Friday, Feb. 18
Long Beach State at Mississippi State, Noon
UC Santa Barbara at San Francisco, 2 p.m.
Cal State Fullerton at Stanford, 2:05 p.m.
Saint Mary’s at UC Davis, 2:30 p.m. E+
Seattle at UC San Diego, 4 p.m. E+
UC Irvine at Louisiana, 4 p.m. E+
CSUN at UCLA, 6 p.m.
Washington at Cal Poly, 6 p.m.
Oakland at CSU Bakersfield, 6:05 p.m. E+
Washington State at Hawai’i, 8:35 p.m. E+

Saturday, Feb. 19
Long Beach State at Mississippi State, Noon
UC Irvine at Louisiana, Noon E+
Saint Mary’s at UC Davis, 1 p.m.
Seattle at UC San Diego, 1 p.m.
UC Santa Barbara at San Francisco, 1 p.m.
CSUN at UCLA, 2 p.m.
Cal State Fullerton at Stanford, 2:05 p.m.
Washington at Cal Poly, 4 p.m.
Seattle at UC San Diego, 4:30 p.m.
UC Riverside at Fresno State, 6:05 p.m.
Oakland at CSU Bakersfield, 6:05 p.m. E+
Washington State at Hawai’i, 8:30 p.m.

Sunday, Feb. 20
UC Irvine at Louisiana, 10 a.m. E+
Long Beach State at Mississippi State, 11 a.m.
Seattle at UC San Diego, Noon E+
UC Santa Barbara at San Francisco, 1 p.m.
UC Davis at Saint Mary’s, 1 p.m.
CSUN at UCLA, 1 p.m.
Washington at Cal Poly, 1 p.m.
Oakland at CSU Bakersfield, 1:05 p.m. E+
UC Riverside at Fresno State, 1:05 p.m.
Cal State Fullerton at Stanford, 1:05 p.m.
Washington State at Hawai’i, 3:05 p.m.

Monday, Feb. 21
Washington State at Hawai’i, 8:35 p.m. E+

Tuesday, Feb. 22
San Francisco at UC Davis, 2 p.m.
Saint Mary’s at CSU Bakersfield, 6 p.m.
San Diego State at UC Irvine, 6 p.m.
Fresno State at Cal Poly, 6 p.m.
Washington at UC Riverside, 6 p.m.
UC San Diego at USC, 6 p.m.
UC Santa Barbara at Loyola Marymount, 6 p.m.
 

All times Pacific, and subject to change; E+ - Streamed on ESPN PLUS

What 2 Watch 4
Every Big West program is in action during this opening weekend of the 2022 campaign, with nine of the 11 teams contesting three-game sets this Friday through Sunday, Feb. 18-20.

Headlining the weekend, and in fact seeing the first pitch (12 p.m. PT) on Opening Day, will be preseason coaches’ favorite Long Beach State, in Starkville, Miss., at defending national champion Mississippi State. UC Irvine also faces a cross country trek and will be in Lafayette, La., to take on the Ragin’ Cajuns of Louisiana.

UC Santa Barbara travels up the coast to play at the University of San Francisco. New head coach Jason Dietrich takes his Cal State Fullerton squad the same direction to pay another visit to 2021 College World Series participant Stanford after the Titans began their 2016, 2018 and 2020 seasons there as well just in the past decade. CSUN makes the shorter trip over to battle the UCLA Bruins.

One of the two four-game sets this weekend is on O’ahu, as Hawai’i begins the Rich Hill era by welcoming in Washington State through Monday, Feb. 21. Other Big West sides with hosting duties during this initial weekend include Cal Poly against Washington, CSU Bakersfield versus Oakland, and UC San Diego against Seattle. The Tritons start their second go-around in The Big West with four tilts against the Redhawks in La Jolla.

UC Riverside is at Fresno State, while UC Davis and first-year head coach Tommy Nicholson take on Saint Mary’s in a split-venue three-gamer that begins in Davis and ends in Moraga.

Big West Trio on Golden Spikes List
USA Baseball on Tuesday, Feb. 15, announced its 55-player preseason Golden Spikes Award watch list, beginning the process of identifying the top amateur baseball player in the country for the 2022 season. Three of the 55 standouts came from The Big West, in Long Beach State right-hander Devereaux Harrison, Cal Poly shortstop Brooks Lee and UC Santa Barbara shortstop Jordan Sprinkle. The Big West is one of six collegiate athletic conferences boasting multiple selections. Lee was also a member of the 2021 Golden Spikes midseason watch list.

Returning Stars
Four of the nine student-athletes who earned The Big West’s major awards in 2021 are back. The group includes Freshman Pitcher of the Year Devereaux Harrison of Long Beach State, and Co-Freshman Field Players of the Year Brooks Lee and Jordan Sprinkle, shortstops for Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara, respectively. Lee was also the Co-Field Player of the Year. Tri-Defensive Player of the Year Taishi Nakawake of UC Irvine returns for first-time Big West Coach of the Year Ben Orloff. Ten of 20 first-team All-Big West picks from a year ago remain on the diamond around the conference. Lee is ranked as the No. 1 shortstop in the country by D1Baseball.

Serrano Set to Retire
On Jan. 25, CSUN head coach Dave Serrano announced his intention to retire at the conclusion of the 2022 season. Serrano has guided three different Big West programs over his long career. He has coached in college since 1988, as he gets set for his 33rd year in the dugout. Serrano is 31-24 through two seasons at CSUN. He was previously 114-66-1 in charge at UC Irvine from 2005-07, and 175-73 at the helm of Cal State Fullerton from 2008-11. The veteran skipper led UCI to the first College World Series trip in program history in 2007, earning Baseball America National Coach of the Year distinction, and the Titans to three Big West crowns and one CWS in 2009. Serrano is one of 13 head coaches to take two different schools to the CWS. He was also the Baseball America National Assistant Coach of the Year as a member of the CSF staff during that program’s run to the 2004 national title. Serrano begins the 2022 campaign nearing the 500-win milestone, with an overall mark of 477-326-1.

Poll Chatter
UC Irvine is ranked No. 14 by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, No. 18 by Baseball America, No. 19 by USA Today and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA), and No. 20 by D1Baseball. Long Beach State is No. 24 in the D1Baseball Preseason Top 25, and No. 29 and No. 46 in the NCBWA and CBN polls, respectively. UC Santa Barbara is rated No. 17 by CBN and No. 33 by the NCBWA. Long Beach State and UCSB are receiving votes outside of USA Today’s top 25. Cal Poly appears at No. 47 in the CBN rankings. The Mustangs and Hawai’i are getting votes outside of the top 35 in the NCBWA listing.

Statistical Superlatives
Cal Poly star shortstop Brooks Lee was second nationally with his school-record 27 doubles in 2021. UC Irvine outfielder Nathan Church wound up tied for third with his 100 hits, just two back of the national leader. He paced Division I with eight triples, and was tied for fifth with 24 doubles and seventh with 158 total bases. Devereaux Harrison’s 10 saves for Long Beach State tied him for 20th. Big West batting champion Kai Moody of CSUN was 24th with his .393 average. UC Santa Barbara’s Jordan Sprinkle swiped 26 bases to tie for 13th. As a team, UCI (627) and UCSB (613) ranked seventh and eighth, respectively, in hits, and 15th (443) and 18th (430) in runs scored. The Gauchos tied for 13th with 92 stolen bases. Cal Poly was 18th with its .979 fielding percentage and tied for 17th with 47 double plays behind Lee.

Pair of Big West Tilts Announced for ESPNU
On Wednesday, Feb. 16, The Big West announced two baseball telecasts on ESPNU this spring which feature the top three teams in the preseason coaches’ poll. Defending conference champion UC Irvine will play at preseason favorite Long Beach State at 1 p.m. PT on Sunday, May 1. Then on May 6, UC Irvine hosts UC Santa Barbara under Friday night lights in a 7 p.m. PT showdown at Cicerone Field. The Anteaters and Gauchos represented The Big West in the NCAA postseason in 2021. Games aired on ESPN networks are available on the ESPN App, accessible on computers, smartphones, tablets and connected devices to fans who receive their video subscription through an authenticated provider.

Ranked Wins
Below is a look back at Big West teams with wins over nationally-ranked non-conference opponents in 2021.

Feb. 26 - Hawai’i 3, No. 15 Arizona State 2
Feb. 27 - UC Irvine 7, No. 2 UCLA 3
March 12 - Cal Poly 5, No. 6 UCLA 4
March 14 - Cal Poly 8, No. 6 UCLA 5
April 24 - UC Irvine 11, No. 21 Oregon State 9
April 25 - UC Irvine 7, No. 21 Oregon State 6 (12)
May 14 - UC Santa Barbara 10, No. 17 UCLA 4
June 4 - UC Santa Barbara 14, No. 19 Oklahoma State 4
June 6 - UC Santa Barbara 13, No. 19 Oklahoma State 3
June 6 - UC Irvine 8, No. 7 Stanford 4

Big West History
The Big West has sent at least one team to the College World Series in 21 seasons, including a stretch of eight consecutive years from 1988-95 and four in a row from 2014-17. Four current members have represented the Big West at the CWS - Cal State Fullerton (1975, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2015, 2017), Long Beach State (1989, 1991, 1993, 1998), UC Irvine (2007, 2014) and UC Santa Barbara (2016). In 2007, CSF and UCI played in the longest game in CWS history - a five-hour and 40-minute marathon that lasted 13 innings and ended in a 5-4 Anteater victory. The Big West has won two national titles, both by the Titans, in 1995 and 2004.