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What 2 Watch 4
It’s the final weekend of the 2026 regular season and Big West postseason berths, as well as the regular-season crown, are on the line.
UC Santa Barbara (34-16, 19-8 BW), Cal Poly (29-21, 19-8 BW) and UC San Diego (22-25, 16-11 BW) have all secured berths into the upcoming 2026 Big West Baseball Championship and are the three teams in conention for the regular-season title. The Gauchos and Mustangs enter the weekend in pole position, while the Tritons will need to win all three games and both teams tied for first to get swept in order to win a share of the regular-season trophy.
With only two spots remaining, Hawai‘i (25-21, 14-13 BW) and Cal State Fullerton (22-28, 14-13 BW) are currently tied for fourth place and can qualify for the postseason with one more win. Both teams hold the tiebreaker over UC Irvine.
If either the Rainbow Warriors and Titans fail to earn a win, then UC Davis (26-25, 14-16 BW), UC Irvine (23-26, 12-15 BW), CSUN (24-26, 11-16 BW) and Long Beach State (17-32, 11-16 BW) have the possibility to finish in a qualifying position into the championship.
With needing only a win, the series to watch this weekend are Cal State Fullerton at UC San Diego and CSUN at Hawai‘i.
The Tritons need a sweep to stay in contention for the regular-season crown, while the Titans only need one win to punch their ticket into the postseason. Game Camacho and Michael Crossland have 14 and 12 home runs, respectively, for the Tritons, while Paul Contreras is the Titans’ offensive catalyst hitting .358 with 12 home runs. Fullerton ace Mikiah Negrete is 8-3 with a 2.31 ERA and 84 strikeouts in 85.2 innings this season.
The Matadors lead the conference in home runs largely in part by Matthew Thomas (.350 BA, 15 HR, 42 RBI, 47 R), Matthew Pena (.304 BA, 15 HR, 49 RBI, 35 R), Vaughn Coleman (.298 BA, 10 HR, 36 RBI, 37 R) and Kyle Panganiban (.310 BA, 9 HR, 37 RBI, 36 R). Hawai‘i is second in the league in ERA at 3.56 thanks to starters Isaiah Magdaleno (6-4, 2.59 ERA, 98 K, 80.0 IP) and Heikili Robello (8-4, 3.26 ERA, 70 K, 77.1 IP).
The other three conference series this weekend are UC Riverside at UC Santa Barbara, Cal State Bakersfield at UC Irvine and Long Beach State at Cal Poly.
UC Davis will host future Big West member California Baptist, Wednesday through Friday, in this week’s lone non-conference series.
Big West Baseball Schedule
Tickets On Sale Now
All-Session tickets for the 2026 Big West Baseball Championship are on sale now. The league’s top five teams will advance to the 2026 Big West Baseball Championship May 20-24 at UC Irvine's Cicerone Field at Anteater Ballpark, with the winner earning an automatic berth in the NCAA Championship.
All-Session tickets for all days of competition are $125 for reserved seating and $75 for general admission.
Single-session tickets are on sale April 29, 2026, and range from $10 - $20 for games 1-6 and $10 - $25 for the championship game on Saturday, May 23 at 6 p.m. and the “if necessary” championshipgame in the double-elimination event on Sunday, May 24 at Noon.
Purchase All-Session Tickets
Championship Homepage
Big West in MLB Opening Day
No less than 19 former Big West baseball standouts will suit up for Major League Baseball (MLB) teams on Opening Day of the 2026 season. For full list >>>>
Former Big West players are spread out over 13 MLB clubs, with the St. Louis Cardinals housing four alums on their rosters. The Athletics, Cleveland Guardians, Minnesota Twins and San Francisco Giants are also teams that have multiple Big West alums on Opening Day rosters. Cal State Fullerton and UC Irvine led all Big West programs with four players each on Opening Day rosters.
Big West alums are also scattered throughout MLB coaching staffs and front offices, but no two are more prominent than managers Mark Kotsay (Cal State Fullerton/Athletics) and Skip Schumaker (UC Santa Barbara/Texas Rangers).
History of Big West at College World Series
The Big West has sent at least one team to the Men’s 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 MCWS - 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, CSUF and UCI played in the longest game in MCWS 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.
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