The 2026 ASU baseball team features a mix of impact transfers and a returning core. However they arrived, the roster is unified by one belief: a chip on its shoulder and a mission to prove that Sun Devil baseball is back.
Coming off an NCAA Tournament berth in 2025, which snapped a program-long three-year drought. ASU is looking to shift the tide and reestablish itself as a perennial contender in the new age of college baseball.
With head coach Willie Bloomquist entering year four fresh off inking an extension through 2028, expectations have risen, though questions remain.
READ MORE: Willie Bloomquist looks to bridge past success to current era of ASU baseball
Many of these questions center on the mound, where depth and consistency will shape the Sun Devils' trajectory.
Pitching Staff
Cole Carlon: A Tempe native, Carlon will get the nod on opening day after receiving preseason third-team All-American honors by Baseball America. The lefty was one of the nation's top relievers in 2025, posting a 3.33 ERA across 54 innings, recording 86 strikeouts.
"I've always wanted to be a starter, my goal (was) to be a Friday night pitcher at Arizona State," Carlon said. "I don't take it for granted."
Colin Linder: The redshirt junior college product will follow Carlon on Saturday after missing all of 2025 recovering from arm surgery. In 2024, he posted a 3.79 ERA in 11 games and struck out 50 over 35.2 innings at Northwest Florida State College.
Easton Barrett: Rounding out the weekend rotation will be another southpaw in Barrett. The sophomore started 10 games for the Sun Devils in 2025, going 4-2 with a 4.31 ERA.
Senior TCU transfer Kole Klecker will get the ball in ASU's first midweek matchup on Tuesday. Fellow transfer junior Alex Overbay and senior team captain Sean Fitzpatrick are expected to be used prominently out of the bullpen.
"In the fall, it wasn't pretty (from a) pitching standpoint, we had to have a wakeup call," Bloomquist said. "There was some complacency, and we had to have harsh, truthful conversations to the point where we said we weren't very good ... we are only going to go as far as our pitching staff takes us."
Offense
Highlighting an expected strong offensive unit is sophomore utility player Landon Hairston and Big 12 Preseason Newcomer of the Year, fifth-year senior outfielder Dean Toigo.
Hairston shone as a freshman, hitting .333 with four home runs and 37 RBIs, earning Freshman All-American honors, selected by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.
Toigo, a UNLV transfer and well-traveled college athlete, has made stops at the junior college, NAIA and mid-major Division I levels, brings a veteran presence to the Sun Devil locker room.
The 2025 Mountain West Co-Player of the Year hit .377 with 18 home runs and 74 RBIs in his lone season with the Rebels.
"We don't have anything under our belt," Hairston said. "From what I’ve seen, we look really good in the fall and in the spring leading up to (the season). I'm looking forward to it."
In the infield, ASU expects junior transfers from Cal, PJ Moutzouridis and Dominic Smaldino, along with Utah transfer redshirt sophomore Austen Roellig and redshirt junior Garrett Michel from Virginia Tech, to see significant playing time with team captain redshirt junior Nu'u Contrades.
Moutzouridis took a step back in 2025 after being a second-team Perfect Game Freshman All-American in 2024, where he hit .299 with six home runs and 42 RBIs.
A Southern California native, Roellig is at his third school in as many years, slugging for the Utes in 2025, posting a .341 batting average with 18 extra base hits and 35 RBIs.
"I love the challenge," Roellig said about being at his third school. "My teammates are awesome people, they're all competitors, and that's what I love because it pushes me to be better."
Tempe native and freshman catcher Cooper Clouser is someone Bloomquist tabbed as a player who can "contribute right away." The Corona del Sol graduate and No. 32 catcher in the country in the class of 2025 by Perfect Game could see time behind the plate and at DH.
The Sun Devils welcome Omaha to Phoenix Municipal Stadium on Friday to kick off a three-game opening weekend series. Bloomquist wants to start hot, especially in a sport where he believes anything can happen.
"Anybody beats anybody on any given weekend," Bloomquist said. "You've got to come ready to play, and just when you think you've arrived, you get kicked in the mouth and get beat."
Edited by Niall Rosenberg, Jack McCarthy and Ellis Preston.
Reach the reporter at eapache3@asu.edu.
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