2026 UConn Huskies baseball team

2026 UConn Huskies baseball
2026 UConn Huskies baseball
Conference	Big East Conference
Record	0–3 (0–0 Big East)
Head coach	Jim Penders (23rd season);
Assistant coaches	Jeff Hourigan (15th season); Joshua McDonald (15th season); Chris Podeszwa (23rd season);
Home stadium	Elliot Ballpark

2026 Big East Conference baseball standings
	Conf.				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Butler ‍‍‍	0	–	0	–	0	–	0	–
Creighton ‍‍‍	0	–	0	–	0	–	0	–
Georgetown ‍‍‍	0	–	0	–	0	–	0	–
St. John's ‍‍‍	0	–	0	–	0	–	0	–
Seton Hall ‍‍‍	0	–	0	–	0	–	0	–
UConn ‍‍‍	0	–	0	–	0	–	0	–
Villanova ‍‍‍	0	–	0	–	0	–	0	–
Xavier ‍‍‍	0	–	0	–	0	–	0	–

† – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of November 11, 2025^[1] Rankings from D1Baseball

The 2026 UConn Huskies baseball team will represent the University of Connecticut in the 2026 NCAA Division I baseball season. The Huskies play their home games at Elliot Ballpark on campus in Storrs, Connecticut. The team is coached by Jim Penders, in his 23rd season at UConn. They play as members of the Big East Conference.

Previous Season

The Huskies finished the regular season with a 17–4 conference record, 38–21 overall, claiming a share of the Big East title. They entered the 2025 Big East Conference baseball tournament as the second seed, as Creighton claimed a tiebreaker from an early season series. UConn finished the tournament 2–2 and was not included in the NCAA Tournament field.

Personnel

Roster

2026 Connecticut Huskies roster^[2]

Pitchers

10 - Drew Smith - Sophomore
12 - Sean Finn - Junior
13 - Charlie West - Junior
15 - Brady Ericson - Freshman
18 - Charlie Hale - Junior
20 - Evan Hamberger - Senior
22 - Garret Garbinski - Junior
24 - Matt McDowell - Freshman
25 - Ryan Tatar - Freshman
26 - Joe Pitts - Sophomore
27 - Tristan Aasland - Junior
30 - Frank Spirito IV - Sophomore
32 - Austin Trumpour - Graduate
36 - Paxton Meyers - Graduate
37 - Sam Hutchinson - Junior
38 - JT Caruso - Junior
39 - Kyle Peters - Sophomore
40 - Joe Talarico - Junior
41 - Greg Shaw III - Senior
45 - Cayden Suchy - Sophomore
46 - Rob Gilchrist - Junior
46 - Oliver Pudvar - Junior
48 - Justin Lessing - Graduate

Catchers

5 - Steve Thomas - Graduate
6 - Cam Righi - Freshman
11 - Connor Lane - Sophomore
42 - Gabriel Tirado - Sophomore
54 - Chris Cancel - Sophomore

Outfielders

1 - Chris Polemeni - Junior
9 - Chase Taylor - Junior
49 - Nater Wachter - Junior

Infielders

2 - Tyler Minick - Junior
3 - Rob Rispoli - Sophomore
4 - Evan Menzel - Sophomore
19 - Peyton Jemison - Sophomore
21 - Logan Charboneau - Freshman
31 - Jackson Marshall - Sophomore
34 - Bryce Detwiler - Freshman
43 - Maddix Dalena - Junior

Utility

7 - Anthony Belisario - Sophomore

Coaches

2026 Connecticut Huskies baseball coaching staff^[2]
16 – Jim Penders – Head coach – 23rd season 29 – Jeff Hourigan – Assistant coach/Recruiting coordinator – 15th season 33 – Joshua MacDonald – Assistant coach – 15th season 14 – Chris Podeszwa – Volunteer assistant coach – 23rd season

Schedule

Legend
	UConn win
	UConn loss
	Cancellation
Bold	UConn team member
*	Non-Conference game

2026 Connecticut Huskies baseball game log (0–0)^[3]

Regular Season (0–0)

February (0–0)
Date	Opponent	Rank	Site/Stadium	Score	Win	Loss	Save	Attendance	Overall Record	BE Record
Feb 13	vs Nebraska*		Salt River Fields at Talking Stick • Scottsdale, AZ (MLB Desert Invitational)
Feb 14	vs Kansas State*		Scottsdale Stadium • Scottsdale, AZ (MLB Desert Invitational)
Feb 15	vs Air Force*		Salt River Fields at Talking Stick • Scottsdale, AZ (MLB Desert Invitational)
Feb 17	at Arizona State*		Phoenix Municipal Stadium • Phoenix, AZ
Feb 19	at Arizona*		Hi Corbett Field • Tucson, AZ
Feb 20	at Arizona*		Hi Corbett Field • Tucson, AZ
Feb 21	at Arizona*		Hi Corbett Field • Tucson, AZ
Feb 22	at Arizona*		Hi Corbett Field • Tucson, AZ
Feb 27	at UNC Wilmington*		Brooks Field • Wilmington, NC
Feb 28	at UNC Wilmington*		Brooks Field • Wilmington, NC

March
Date	Opponent	Rank	Site/Stadium	Score	Win	Loss	Save	Attendance	Overall Record	BE Record
Mar 1	at UNC Wilmington*		Brooks Field • Wilmington, NC
Mar 3	New Haven*		Elliot Ballpark • Storrs, CT
Mar 6	at Old Dominion*		Bud Metheny Ballpark • Norfolk, VA
Mar 7	at Old Dominion*		Bud Metheny Ballpark • Norfolk, VA
Mar 8	at Old Dominion*		Bud Metheny Ballpark • Norfolk, VA
Mar 10	Boston College*		Elliot Ballpark • Storrs, CT
Mar 13	at Portland*		Joe Etzel Field • Portland, OR
Mar 14	at Portland*		Joe Etzel Field • Portland, OR
Mar 15	at Portland*		Joe Etzel Field • Portland, OR
Mar 17	at California*		Evans Diamond • Berkeley, CA
Mar 18	at Santa Clara*		Stephen Schott Stadium • Santa Clara, CA
Mar 20	at San Jose State*		Excite Ballpark • San Jose, CA
Mar 21	vs San Diego State*		Excite Ballpark • San Jose, CA
Mar 22	vs San Diego State*		Excite Ballpark • San Jose, CA
Mar 22	at San Jose State*		Excite Ballpark • San Jose, CA
Mar 25	Quinnipiac*		Elliot Ballpark • Storrs, CT
Mar 27	Xavier		Elliot Ballpark • Storrs, CT
Mar 28	Xavier		Elliot Ballpark • Storrs, CT
Mar 29	Xavier		Elliot Ballpark • Storrs, CT
Mar 31	at Northeastern*		Parsons Field • Brookline, MA

April
Date	Opponent	Rank	Site/Stadium	Score	Win	Loss	Save	Attendance	Overall Record	BE Record
Apr 2	Creighton		Elliot Ballpark • Storrs, CT
Apr 3	Creighton		Elliot Ballpark • Storrs, CT
Apr 4	Creighton		Elliot Ballpark • Storrs, CT
Apr 7	at Bryant*		Conaty Park • Smithfield, RI
Apr 10	at Butler		Bulldog Park • Indianapolis, IN
Apr 11	at Butler		Bulldog Park • Indianapolis, IN
Apr 12	at Butler		Bulldog Park • Indianapolis, IN
Apr 15	at Boston College*		Eddie Pellagrini Diamond • Brighton, MA
Apr 17	St. John's		Elliot Ballpark • Storrs, CT
Apr 18	St. John's		Elliot Ballpark • Storrs, CT
Apr 19	St. John's		Elliot Ballpark • Storrs, CT
Apr 21	Rhode Island*		Dunkin' Donuts Park • Hartford, CT
Apr 24	at Georgetown		Capital One Park • Tysons, VA
Apr 25	at Georgetown		Capital One Park • Tysons, VA
Apr 26	at Georgetown		Capital One Park • Tysons, VA
Apr 28	at Rutgers*		Bainton Field • Piscataway, New Jersey

May
Date	Opponent	Rank	Site/Stadium	Score	Win	Loss	Save	Attendance	Overall Record	BE Record
May 1	East Tennessee State*		Elliot Ballpark • Storrs, CT
May 2	East Tennessee State*		Elliot Ballpark • Storrs, CT
May 3	East Tennessee State*		Elliot Ballpark • Storrs, CT
May 8	at Seton Hall		Owen T. Carroll Field • South Orange, NJ
May 9	at Seton Hall		Owen T. Carroll Field • South Orange, NJ
May 10	at Seton Hall		Owen T. Carroll Field • South Orange, NJ
May 12	Northeastern*		Elliot Ballpark • Storrs, CT
May 14	Villanova		Elliot Ballpark • Storrs, CT
May 15	Villanova		Elliot Ballpark • Storrs, CT
May 16	Villanova		Elliot Ballpark • Storrs, CT

Post-Season

Big East Tournament
Date	Opponent	Rank	Site/Stadium	Score	Win	Loss	Save	Attendance	Overall Record	BET Record
May 20	TBD		Prasco Park • Mason, OH
May 21	TBD		Prasco Park • Mason, OH

Rankings from D1Baseball. Parentheses indicate tournament seedings.

Rankings

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	Final
Coaches'^[4]	RV	RV*
Baseball America^[5]	—	—
NCBWA†^[6]	RV	—
D1Baseball^[7]	—	—
Perfect Game^[8]	—	—

† NCBWA ranks 30 teams in their preseason poll, but only ranks 25 teams weekly during the season.
* A new poll was not released for this week, so for comparison purposes, the previous week's ranking is inserted in this week's slot.

References

^ "2026 Baseball Standings". bigeast.com. Retrieved November 11, 2025.
^ ^a ^b "2026 Baseball Roster". UConn Huskies. Retrieved December 6, 2025.
^ "2026 Schedule". UConn Huskies athletics. Retrieved December 6, 2025.
^ Baseball Coaches Poll
^ Baseball America College: Top 25
^ NCBWA Division I poll
^ D1 Baseball
^ Perfect Game Top 25 Rankings

[1] "2026 Baseball Standings". bigeast.com. Retrieved November 11, 2025.

[roster-2] "2026 Baseball Roster". UConn Huskies. Retrieved December 6, 2025.

[3] "2026 Schedule". UConn Huskies athletics. Retrieved December 6, 2025.

[4] Baseball Coaches Poll

[5] Baseball America College: Top 25

[6] NCBWA Division I poll

[7] D1 Baseball

[8] Perfect Game Top 25 Rankings

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