University of Washington
USC
Huskies Head South To Face No. 13 USC
March 19, 2026 | Baseball
The series will be broadcast on Big Ten Plus with live stats available at Huskystats.com.
DAWG BITES
- Washington claimed a 13-1 victory in seven innings, the first run rule win of the season
- The Huskies are 8-2 in their last 10 games. The two losses came by two runs against Indiana and one run against Ohio State
- Jackson Hotchkiss has four home runs after hitting a grand slam on Tuesday, the second most on the team despite only making eight starts. The sophomore is batting .471 and is currently riding an eight game hitting streak
- Braeden Terry also added his second home run of the season in the game. Terry leads the team with 22 total hits
- Washington has claimed two Big Ten series wins, taking two of three against Ohio State and two of three against Indiana. After two conference weekends, the Diamond Dawgs rank fifth
- The Huskies used a pair of walk off wins to take two of three against Ohio State
- Daniel Porras was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week, becoming Washington's first Freshman of the Week honoree since Jackson Hotchkiss (April 7, 2025) and the second Husky to claim a weekly award this season after Colton Bower's player of the week nod last Monday.
- Washington welcomed four new staff members to Montlake ahead of the 2026 season. Kade Kryzsko joins as an assistant coach, Justin Jacobs is the new recruiting coordinator, Scott Junck serves as the director of baseball operations, and Jake Rook is the director of baseball analytics.
- The Huskies were picked to finish eighth in the Big Ten conference by D1Baseball
SECOND SEASON UNDER SMITH
On July 9, 2024, Eddie Smith was named the 25th head coach of University of Washington baseball, announced by UW Director of Athletics Pat Chun. Smith, a native of Olympia, Washington, comes to Montlake after three seasons at Utah Valley. Smith begins his second season at the helm of the Huskies in 2026.
UP NEXT
The Huskies continue Big Ten play at No. 13 USC this weekend. Washington will look to claim its third straight Big Ten series after taking two wins against Ohio State and two at Indiana.
MIDWEEK MONEY
The Huskies took the midweek matchup decisively on Tuesday, defeating Saint Martin's 13-1 in seven innings. Washington improves to 9-11 with the win. The Dawgs have now won eight of their last 10 games.
The Huskies started hot and didn't look back. The Diamond Dawgs plated five in the second inning, punctuated by a three-run blast from Braeden Terry to deep right field. In the third inning, the Dawgs hung another five, this time in large part thanks to a Jackson Hotchkiss grand slam. It was the first bases-loaded bomb of the season for the Huskies.
SECOND B1G SERIES WIN
The Huskies took two of three against Ohio State to claim their second Big Ten series win of the season and improved to 4-2 in conference contests. The Dawgs currently rank fifth in the Big Ten.
The Huskies used two walk off wins to take the series against the Buckeyes, first with a Daniel Porras singled through the right side in the bottom of the 11th inning to secure a 5-4 win for Washington over Ohio State on Saturday evening. On the first pitch, Porras connected precisely with the ball, driving it through the right side into the outfield for a single. Hotchkiss trotted home, and the celebrations ensued. Ohio State scored two runs in the first and two in the third to take a 4-1 lead, but the Husky pitching and defense shut down the Buckeye batters throughout the next eight frames. Liam Lierman and Gunnar Nichols combined to pitch 8.0 innings in relief while allowing just two hits against 10 strikeouts.
Then, for the second time in as many days, Washington beat Ohio state by a score of 5-4, using a walk off play to secure the victory. The Huskies clinch their second Big Ten series of the season with the win.The Dawgs leaned on a strong start from Hayden Lewis in the victory. The senior right-hander tossed 6.0 innings while allowing just three hits and two runs with six strikeouts. Batters hitting 3-6 (Hotchkiss, DeCarlo, Porras, Bower) in the lineup were responsible for eight of Washington's 10 hits on the day, with each Husky recording two knocks. Colton Bower led the way with three RBIs while Sam DeCarlo chipped in two of his own in addition to scoring the game-winning run.
B1G TIME FRESHMAN
Following a walk-off winner and an impressive week at the plate, Daniel Porras was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week.
He becomes Washington's first Freshman of the Week honoree since Jackson Hotchkiss (April 7, 2025) and the second Husky to claim a weekly award this season after Colton Bower's player of the week nod last Monday. Porras was dominant for the Dawgs over the four-game stretch, batting .353, going 6-17 with four runs scored, three doubles, one home run, and four RBIs. He added a .706 slugging percentage and a .405 on base percentage while driving in the game-winning run in Saturday's 5-4 walk off win over Ohio State in 11 innings.
TRENDING UP
After a slow start to the season, the Huskies are trending in the right direction. Over the last 10 games, Washington owns an 8-2 record, including two Big Ten series wins. Over that stretch, Washington is outscoring their opponents 78-26 and the Huskies owns a 4-0 record in 5+ run games. Husky pitchers have a combined 3.10 ERA over the last 10 contests while the Husky batters are hitter .312 collectively.
KEEP YOUR EYES ON KENNEY
Noah Kenney has been named to the College Baseball Foundation's Pitcher of the Year watch list, the organization announced last week. Kenney is one of 141 of the nation's best hurlers that were listed according to the CBF. The pitchers on the watch list represent 26 different conferences and reflect the top mound performers to this point of the 2026 season.
Kenney has had a strong start to the campaign which has garnered him the national attention. He's collected one win so far in his four starts and has the most innings pitched (25.0) and strikeouts (30) of any Husky. The right-hander has five appearances and four starts this year, pitching more than four innings each time he's taken the mound. Among his starts, he's thrown at least five innings in each, including five frames of hitless ball in a win against LMU.
B1G-TIME BOWER
During Washington's 8-2 stretch, Colton Bower has been one of the best offensive outputs for the Huskies. He claimed his first Big Ten Player of the Week award (March 9) after a massive week at the plate.
Over the last 10 games, the catcher leads the team with a 1.074 slugging percentage and is second in batting average (.444) and on base percentage (.484). He's also contributed seven runs, 12 hits, three doubles, one triple, four home runs, and 13 RBIs to power the Huskies to eight wins.
BRAEDEN TERRY BOOMING
Braeden has been on a tear for the Dawgs, currently leading all starters with a .333 batting average and 22 total hits. Terry has also tagged three triples this season, the sixth-most in the NCAA and is averaging 0.15 triples per game, the 30th-best clip in the nation.
Terry has been terrorizing right handed pitchers this season. He's batting 22-58 against righties this year, hitting at a .379 rate. He's also hitting .355 with runners on base.
FRESHMAN FIREPOWER
Landon Young made the most of his action over the past two weekends after entering as a defensive replacement against Indiana. In the sixth inning, he bagged his first collegiate hit and RBI. The following day, he made his first career start and did not disappoint. The freshman tagged his first career home run, helping Washington to a 13-4 victory. Since then, Young has made six starts and is batting .400 with 10 runs, 10 hits, and five RBIs.
HUSKY HURLERS
The Huskies pitching staff has been dominant in the month of March. In total, the Washington pitching staff allowed an ERA of 3.10 over the last 10 contests. During the 8-2 stretch, the Husky pitchers have struck out 108 batters while allowing just 35 walks. Washington has surrendered just four home runs as well.
TRIPLE THREAT
The Huskies have knocked eight triples this season, the second-most in the Big Ten and the 10th-most in the NCAA. Braeden Terry leads the way with three, Sam DeCarlo has two, while Mic Paul, Colton Bower and Casen Taggart each have one. The Huskies are averaging .40 triples per game, the 18th-most in the nation.
TOUGH TY COWAN
Ty Cowan has been one of the toughest players to strike out in the Big Ten this season. He ranks fifth in the conference in the metric, averaging one strikeout every 11.2 at bats. He has only five strikeouts on the season in his 67 at bats.
DAWG DEBUTS
18 Diamond Dawgs made their first career appearance so far this season. Position player debuts included Ian Draper, Ty Cowan, Aidan Dougherty, Drew Johnson, Mic Paul, Alexander Pearson, Daniel Porras, Kevin Spear, Ethan Swidler, and Landon Young. Pitching debuts include Carson Boesel, Bryce Johnson, Noah Kenney, Hayden Lewis, Liam Lierman, Jay Miller, Jack Wade, and Tyler Walker.
FRESH FACES
Washington features a new-look team in 2026, including 23 newcomers, 16 of whom are transfer players. The Huskies return 13 letterwinners from a season ago, including nine position player starters.
BIG TEN PRESEASON POLL
Despite Washington's rise from 17th place in last season's poll to a fifth place finish, the Huskies have been left out of this season's Big Ten Preseason Poll. This year, the conference announced the voted top-six finishing programs.
1. UCLA
2. Oregon
3. USC
4. Nebraska
5. Indiana
6. Iowa
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