Washington State baseball returns to NCAA Tournament after 16-year absence
Head coach Nathan Choate leads a revitalised squad into the double-elimination bracket, seeking to replicate past postseason success with a roster featuring conference pitcher of the year Nick Lewis.
Washington State University’s baseball team is set to open its first NCAA Tournament appearance in 16 years, facing host Oregon State at noon today in Eugene, Oregon. The Cougars secured their automatic qualifier berth by defeating San Diego State 14-4 in the Mountain West Conference Tournament championship, marking a significant turnaround for a program that finished last in the conference with an 18-36 record just one season ago.
The team’s resurgence under head coach Nathan Choate has been driven by the retention of core talent. Five of the Cougars’ seven best batters from the previous year, along with three weekend starting pitchers, returned for the current campaign. This continuity helped WSU finish the regular season with a 30-26 record, a stark contrast to their previous year’s performance and a testament to the stability Choate has instilled in the locker room.
Key offensive contributors include Gavin Roy, who leads the team with a .372 batting average, and Max Hartman, who boasts a .366 average and eight triples. Ryan Skjonsby has also provided power, leading the team with eight home runs. Choate noted that Hartman’s return from injury has been pivotal to the program’s turnaround, describing it as a defining moment for the player’s legacy in Pullman.
On the mound, the Cougars rely on Nick Lewis, the Mountain West Conference Pitcher of the Year. Lewis holds a 3.07 earned run average across 15 appearances, striking out 65 batters while walking only 27. Choate, a pitching coach by trade, has drawn comparisons between Lewis and Codie Paiva, the pitcher of the year for his previous team, Loyola Marymount, during their successful 2019 postseason run.
The Eugene Regional is a double-elimination bracket that also features host Oregon and Yale. Washington State will face Oregon State, who finished the season with a 43-12 record. The two teams split their midweek regular-season series, with WSU suffering an 18-0 loss before securing a 7-6 victory in April. The opening match will be broadcast by ESPNU, with the winners of the day’s games set to meet on Saturday evening.
Choate has prepared his players for the shift in environment, advising them to expect increased media coverage and deviations from their normal routines. He emphasised the importance of competitiveness and belief, noting that while the players have not experienced the postseason before, they have earned the right to compete in meaningful games late in the season. The Cougars aim to leverage their internal camaraderie to navigate the uncertainties of the tournament.
