Game Times (Mountain):
Friday - 2 p.m.
Saturday (DH) - 12 p.m. / 3:30 p.m. (approx.)
Sunday - 2 p.m.
Game Notes: UTAH TECH - PDF | UCR
Live TV/Streaming: NONE
Live Stats: GAME #1 | GAME #2 | GAME #3 | GAME #4
Twitter: @UtahTech_Sports | @UtahTech_BASE | #UtahTechBlazers | #WACbsb

PROBABLE STARTERS:
Friday (G1) – RHP #7 Tyler Ray (2025 - 0-1, 7.16 ERA) vs. LHP #23 Matthew O'Brien (2025 - 4-5, 6.75 ERA)
Saturday (G2) – LHP #38 David Sheppard (2026 Collegiate Debut) vs. RHP #47 Jayden Avina (2026 Collegiate Debut)
Saturday (G3) – RHP #35 Dakoda West (2025 - 3-6, 4.64 ERA) vs. LHP #16 Joshua Martinez (2025 - 2-7, 6.83 ERA)
Sunday (G4) – RHP #33 Brandon Kosel (2025 @Scottsdale CC - 6-3, 3.87 ERA) vs. RHP #15 Halen Guerrero (2026 UCR Debut)

FIRST PITCH: Utah Tech (0-0/0-0 WAC) opens its 20th NCAA-era season, and its sixth NCAA Division I campaign, with an eight-game California road trip, which begins this weekend with a four-game series at UC Riverside (0-0). 
      The Trailblazers "Opening Day" will be this Friday at 2 p.m. (MT), followed by a Saturday doubleheader beginning at 12 noon (MT), and the series finale on Sunday at 2 p.m. (MT), at the Riverside Sports Complex (2,500).
 
UTAH TECH VS. UC RIVERSIDE: This weekend's series will be the second meeting between the Trailblazers and the Highlanders on the diamond. 
      The two sides first squared off in a four-game set in St. George last season (02/21-23/25). Utah Tech claimed the first game by a 12-3 county, only to see UCR clap back with three-straight victories to clinch the series win. 
 
WAC FOR ONE MORE SEASON: The 2025-26 campaign will mark an end of an (brief) era as Utah Tech will compete as a member of the Western Athletic Conference for the sixth, and final, season. The Trailblazers joined the WAC in 2020-21 during the first year of the program's NCAA Division I transition. 
 
CLIMBING THE "MOUNTAIN" IN 2027: This past October 29, Utah Tech announced that it had accepted an invitation to join the Mountain West Conference beginning on July 1, 2026. 
      Starting in the 2026-27 season, both the Trailblazer Baseball and Men's Soccer programs will compete under the Mountain West banner as affiliate members.
 
COACHING STAFF: Two-time Pacific West Conference Coach of the Year Chris Pfatenhauer begins his 14th season as head coach of the Utah Tech Baseball program. 
      During his tenure in the Utah Tech dugout, Pfatenhauer led the Trailblazers to consecutive PacWest titles in 2014 and 2015, and to five-straight trips to the NCAA West Regionals from 2013-17, including serving as the host institution in 2013. 
      Pfatenhauer, who picked up his 350th victory as UT skipper in the 2025 regular season finale at Sacramento State (6-5; 5/17/2025), owns a 351-305-1 (.5335) overall record at Utah Tech, and a 403-364-1 (.525) career mark. 
      Joining Pfatenhauer (UNLV, 2000) in the Trailblazer dugout this season is assistant coach Braxton Ipson (Utah Tech, 2020), who is in his fourth season on coaching staff overall after concluding his collegiate playing career with the program in 2020.
      In addition, pitching coach Quentin McGrath (Washburn, 2017) and assistant coach Tyler Malone (Oregon State, 2020) begin their first seasons on Pfatenhauer's staff, as does former Trailblazer Jake Schulz (Utah Tech 2025), who returns to Utah Tech as the program's director of baseball operations. 
 
QUICK 2024 RECAP: Utah Tech completed its fifth Division I season in 2025 with a 24-31 overall record. The Trailblazers also played to a 9-15 conference mark to finish in eighth place in the WAC standings, and went 1-2 at the 2025 WAC Tournament.  
 
TRAILBLAZERS VOTED SIXTH IN WAC PRESEASON POLL: Utah Tech Baseball was picked to finish sixth in the Western Athletic Conference as the league office announced its 2026 preseason coaches poll this past Tuesday. 
      Four of the seven teams in the poll received at least one first place vote, led by Abilene Christian, which received three first-place votes and 33 points to top the 2026 preseason coaches poll. Utah Valley garnered one first place nod to finish second with 29 points, while California Baptist collected one first place vote and 27 points to claim the third spot.
      Meanwhile Sacramento State picked up the final two first place votes to finish fourth with 22 points, followed by Tarleton State (15 pts) in fifth, Utah Tech (11 pts) in sixth, and UT Arlington (10 pts) in seventh.  
      The top six teams in the conference standings will advance on to the 2026 WAC Baseball Championship Tournament, which will be held May 20-23 at Hohokam Stadium in Mesa, Ariz. 
 
OPENING DAY: Utah Tech is 10-9 all-time on "Opening Day" during its NCAA era and has won six of its last 10, and 10 of its previous 16 season debuts overall. 
      In addition, Utah Tech owns a 11-8 overall record in home openers, 5-5 in season openers at home. Meanwhile the Trailblazers are 8-11 all-time in road openers, and they are 5-4 in season-opening road games overall.
 
HOME SWEET HOME: Utah Tech owns a 330-174 (.655) all-time in 504 games played inside the friendly confines of Bruce Hurst Field since the start of its four-year era in the 2007 season.
      The Trailblazers played to a 17-15 overall home record last season, which is the program's 16th winning home record in 19 seasons since transitioning to NCAA status in 2007.
      Utah Tech has won 20 or more home games in eight of the previous 19 seasons overall, including 21-5 (.807) record in 2017, and a 24-6 mark (.800) in 2016, which was the second-best home record in terms of wins in the program's NCAA era (26-7 in 2009). 
      The 24 home wins in 2016 were the most under Head Coach Chris Pfatenhauer, while the .807 winning percentage in 2017 was the best W% in Pfatenhauer's tenure.
 
ON THE ROAD AGAIN: Utah Tech wrapped up its 2025 road slate with a 6-14 overall record. Despite finishing eight games under .500 away from home last season, the Trailblazers have managed to hold its own away from away from home in its NCAA era as the Trailblazers have played to a 184-233-1 overall road record (.441) in 19 seasons of NCAA play. 
      Utah Tech has posted a winning road record in eight of their last 16 seasons overall, highlighted by a 16-7-1 road mark in 2017. The 16 road wins were the most since beginning NCAA play in 2007.
      In 2015, Utah Tech went a program-best 15-5 on the road (.750), and the Blazers have won at least 10 road games in nine of their last 11 seasons overall. When you also figure in neutral-site games (16-12 in 28 games), Utah Tech is 200-246-1 (.448) all-time away from Bruce Hurst Field in the program's NCAA era.
 
49 to 1K: Utah Tech is slated to play in its 1,000th NCAA-era ball game at home on Sunday, May 3, in its series finale vs. Tarleton State.  
      The Trailblazers have played to a 530-420-1 (.558) record all-time as the program heads into its 20th NCAA-era season. 
      That record also includes a 97-175 (.356) mark in the program's current Division-I era, and a 62-88 (.413) record in Western Athletic Conference play.  
 
9W vs. P5: Nine of Utah Tech's 97 D-I wins have come against Power-5 programs, including two wins over the Big 12 Conference last season (10-3 at BYU - 3/17/25; 12-8 vs. Utah - 3/25/25).  
      The Trailblazers also posted two P4 wins in 2024 on the road at Big 12 member Oklahoma State (9-8; 3/5/24), and at home vs. Utah when the Utes were a member of the PAC-12 Conference (W, 11-8; 5/7/24).  
      Seven of the nine Trailblazers wins have come against three former PAC-12 member schools (4 vs. Utah; 1 each vs. Arizona/Arizona State/Washington State). 
      Of note, all three previous victories over BYU, which is in its third season of Big 12 play, were recorded when the Cougars were members of the West Coast Conference.
 
FREE BASEBALL: Utah Tech played to a 3-1 record in extra inning games last season. 
      Utah Tech saw its streak of not playing an extra inning game stopped at 76-straight early last season after its 5-4 game two loss to UC Riverside (2/22/25) in 10 innings. 
      In all, Utah Tech is 38-25 (.603) in 63 extra-inning games in the program's four-year era. The Blazers are 19-14 in 10-inning games, while the program has won 12 of its last 23 extra inning games overall.
 
DOUBLE YOUR PLEASURE: Utah Tech ended the 2025 season as the NCAA D-I co-STATISTICAL CHAMPION with UCLA in double plays per game at 1.00 dp/g. 
      The Trailblazers also wound up tied for fourth nationally in total double plays with 55, which were also the second-most recorded during the program's NCAA era. The Blazers closed the season one twin killing shy of tying the school record of 56 set during the 2022 campaign.
 
KROEPEL CREATING PLENTY OF PRESEASON BUZZ: Junior 3B/RHP Ryan Kroepel has enjoyed quite the lead-up heading into his second season as a Trailblazer.  
      This past Tuesday, Kroepel was tabbed WAC Preseason Player of the Year and was voted to the conference's all-preseason team at both third base and at reliever.
      Kroepel also begins the season ranked as the 18th-rated third baseman by D1Baseball.com, and is listed on the NCBWA Stopper of the Year preseason watch list.
      The junior earned first team all-WAC honors, both at the plate and on the mound, in 2025. He finished t-third in the WAC in batting at .367 batting average, including a conference-best .467 clip in conference games, and hit safely in 43 of his 55 starts with a team-high 25 multi-hit games. He wound up ranked in the WAC's top-14 in hits (76; 6th), slugging percentage (.546; 12th), on-base percentage (.442; 11th), and doubles (15; 13th).
      In addition to his dominance at the plate, Kroepel was one of the top closers in the country last season. He posted a 4-2 record and eight saves, which ranked eighth and ninth, respectively, on Utah Tech's single season and career lists. Kroepel appeared in 18 games in relief and finished with a 3.09 ERA and 14 strikeouts in 23.1 innings pitched. 
 
K-MAC STREAKS INTO 2026: Not to be outdone, junior 2B Kyle McDaniel begins the 2026 campaign as the 12th-rated second baseman by D1Baseball.com. 
      McDaniel earned second team all-WAC accolades in 2025 after he put together one of the best overall offensive performances in program history. 
      The junior reached base safely in 52 of his 54 starts, including a school NCAA era record 42-game on-base streak to close the season. McDaniel reached safely with a base hit in 33 of those games with 21 multi-hit games, highlighted by a career-best 13-game hit streak to close the season, and had at least one hit in 24 of his last 25 starts overall.
      McDaniel finished the season ranked t-third in the WAC in batting (.367), fifth in hits (77), fifth in on-base percentage (.464), and t-eighth in walks (35). In addition, he wound up with 10 doubles, one triple, four homers, 21 RBI, 40 runs scored and 10 (10-for-14) stolen bases.
 
QUICK 2025 SEASON PREVIEW: Utah Tech returns six starting position players and three primary starting pitchers, along with 21 total letter winners, from a 2025 Trailblazer club that finished with a 24-31 overall record. The Trailblazers also played to a 9-15 conference mark to finish in eighth place in the WAC standings, and went 1-2 at the 2025 WAC Tournament.  
 
INFIELD
      Utah Tech's 2026 infield may be on of the most talented and potent infields not only in the WAC, but in the West region and maybe even nationally.
      Along with both Kroepel and McDaniel, fellow junior Petey Soto Jr. returns as the everyday shortstop. Soto Jr. is coming off a breakout 2025 campaign, during which he started in all 55 games and batted .283 with eight doubles, four homers, 27 RBI and 30 run scored. He hit safely in 37 of those 55 starts, including the final six games of the season, and posted 12 multi-hit games.
      Junior Miller Durham has been tabbed as the Opening Day first baseman based on his strong performances during the fall and spring camps. Durham started in 58 games at CC Southern Nevada last year, where he batted .333 with 21 XBHs, 51 RBI and 46 runs.
      Utah Tech also welcomed back senior corner infielders Kace Naone (2025-41 G/.261/4 HR/27 RBI) and Gavin Glasgow (2025-9 G/.222), and brought in senior Coppin State transfer Gavin Grutzmacher (Temecula, Calif.; 2025-46 G/.317/4 HR/27 RBI), who will provide veteran depth at second, third and short. 
      In addition, freshman middle infielder McGwire Madsen (Lehi, Utah/Lehi HS) may figure in the mix as the season progresses. 
 
OUTFIELD
      Utah Tech's outfield corps features only one returning starter in sophomore Finnegan Stewart, who figures to be the Opening Day left fielder. Stewart enjoyed a stellar debut season in 2025, which got started with a bang when he became the first true freshman to homer in a season-opening game (vs. Northern Colorado - 2/14). 
      Stewart started in 49 of the 53 games he played in and batted .282 with four homers and 34 RBI. He hit safely in 37 of those outings with 10 multi-hit games. 
      Junior Hudson Manwaring (Salt Lake City, Utah/Salt Lake CC) looks to have earned the job in centerfield after a solid fall and spring. Manwaring earned first team all-Region 19 honors after he batted .379 with 22 doubles, 71 RBI, 49 runs and 17 stolen bases last year for 2025 NJCAA national champion Salt Lake CC.
      The Trailblazers may see a platoon in right field, with senior Gavin Long (2025-22 G/.190) and junior Golden West CC transfer Bryan Martinez (2025-40 G/.305/12 HR/46 RBI) both vying for the starter's role. 
      Naone may also see some time in left field, while true freshmen Mays Madsen (Lehi, Utah/Lehi HS) and Cade Nalder (Jordan, Utah/Jordan HS) may figure in the mix throughout the season.
 
CATCHER
      Utah Tech veteran duo of seniors Andrew Pyle (2025-35 G/.253/1 HR/6 RBI) and Ty Johnsen (2025-35 G/.239/1 HR/15 RBI) will shoulder the load behind the plate for the Trailblazers this season. 
      Meanwhile sophomore Cooper Smith has enjoyed a solid fall and spring and could see time at catcher, or in the outfield, or in the DH spot. In addition, redshirt freshman Kaden Allred will compete for playing time as he returns from a 2025 season-ending injury. 
 
PITCHING STAFF
      Two of Utah Tech four starting pitchers this weekend were part of last year's staff, including senior Tyler Ray, who will serve as Friday's "Opening Day" starter. Ray tied Kroepel for second on the staff with 19 appearances last season, during which he pitched to a 3-2 record with 40 strikeouts in 51.2 innings of work.  
      Senior RHP Dakoda West is slated as the starter for Saturday's twin bill nightcap. West went 3-6 in 14 games with 12 starts last season, and fanned 38 in 64.0 IP.  
      Freshman lefthander David Sheppard (Goodyear, Ariz./Millennium HS) will make his collegiate debut in game one of Saturday's doubleheader, while junior Scottsdale CC transfer Brandon Kosel (RHP; 2025- 6-3/3.87 ERA/90 K/74.1 IP) will get the call in Sunday's series finale. 
      In all, Utah Tech's pitching staff features 15 returnees and five newcomers. Of the 15 returnees, seven of them made at least one start last season, while four of the five newcomers come from the junior college ranks. 
 
NEXT UP FOR THE TRAILBLAZERS: Utah Tech continues its California road swing with a Tuesday midweek date at CSU Bakersfield. First pitch at Hardt Field on the CSUB campus is set for 7:30 p.m. (MT).