2026 East Tennessee State Buccaneers baseball team

Record26–15 (9–6 SoCon)

Headcoach

Joe Pennucci (9th season)

Assistant coaches

Canyon McWilliams (1st season)
JD Yakubinis (1st season)
Morgan Little (1st season)

2026 East Tennessee State Buccaneers baseball

Conference	Southern Conference
Record	26–15 (9–6 SoCon)
Head coach	Joe Pennucci (9th season)
Assistant coaches	Canyon McWilliams (1st season) JD Yakubinis (1st season) Morgan Little (1st season)
Hitting coach	Chad Marshall (5th season)
Pitching coach	Jamie Pinzino (6th season)
Home stadium	Thomas Stadium
Seasons ← 2025 2027 →

2026 Southern Conference baseball standings
v t e	Conf.				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Western Carolina ‍‍‍	10	–	5	.667	29	–	16	.644
Samford ‍‍‍	8	–	4	.667	23	–	19	.548
Wofford ‍‍‍	8	–	4	.667	30	–	14	.682
East Tennessee State ‍‍‍	9	–	6	.600	26	–	15	.634
Mercer ‍‍‍	7	–	5	.583	32	–	12	.727
The Citadel ‍‍‍	6	–	9	.400	21	–	22	.488
VMI ‍‍‍	3	–	9	.250	26	–	17	.605
UNC Greensboro ‍‍‍	3	–	12	.200	16	–	28	.364

† – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of April 27, 2026^[1] Rankings from D1Baseball

The 2026 East Tennessee State Buccaneers baseball team represents East Tennessee State University during the 2026 NCAA Division I baseball season. The Buccaneers play their home games at Thomas Stadium. They are led by ninth-year head coach, Joe Pennucci.

Coaches poll

The coaches poll was released on February 5, 2026. ETSU was selected to finish third in the conference.^[2]

Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
SoCon coaches poll
1	Samford	45 (4)
2	Mercer	44 (3)
3	ETSU	38 (1)
4	The Citadel	30
5	Western Carolina	24
6	UNCG	16
7	VMI	14
8	Wofford	13

Awards and honors

Preseason SoCon awards and honors

Player	No.	Position	Class	Designation
Preseason All-SoCon Team^[2]
Michael Harpster	26	SP	Junior	First Team
Derek McCarley	5	RP	Redshirt Senior	First Team
Jamie Palmese	1	OF	Junior	First Team
Tristan Curless	32	1B	Senior	Second Team
Axel Melendez	13	OF	Sophomore	Second Team

Personnel

Roster

2026 East Tennessee State Buccaneers baseball team

Players

Coaches

#	Pos.	Name	B/T	Height	Weight	Year	Home town
1	OF	Jamie Palmese	R/R	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Jr	Berlin, CT
2	INF	Henry Ferguson	R/R	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	So	Knoxville, TN
3	RHP	Colin Eaton	R/R	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Sr	Cartersville, GA
4	C	Ty Galusky	L/R	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Jr	Morgantown, WV
5	LHP	Derek McCarley	L/L	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	RS Sr	Seymour, TN
6	INF	Griffin Sorrow	R/R	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Jr	Fayetteville, GA
7	C	Mason Ault	R/R	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Fr	Ancaster, ON
8	RHP	Logan Grass	R/R	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	So	Acworth, GA
9	INF	Luke Matlock	R/R	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Jr	Cypress, CA
10	INF	Eli Evans	R/R	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	So	Knoxville, TN
11	OF	Andrew Palmer	R/R	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Fr	Mount Pleasant, SC
12	INF	Ian Guanzon	R/R	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Jr	Chico, CA
13	OF	Axel Melendez	L/R	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	So	Cidra, PR
14	INF	Matt Evans	R/R	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Fr	Ellenwood, GA
15	RHP	Evan Rolison	R/R	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Jr	Flower Mound, TX
16	OF	Joey Little	R/R	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Sr	Hawthorn Woods, IL
17	OF	Nate Conner	L/L	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Jr	Johnson City, TN
18	LHP	Thomas Costarelli	L/L	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Fr	Islip Terrace, NY
20	RHP	Stratton Scott	R/R	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	RS Fr	Knoxville, TN
23	INF	Andrew Hill	R/R	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	So	Knoxville, TN
24	LHP	Tyler Fetterman	R/L	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	RS So	Aldie, VA
25	LHP	Cody Carwile	L/L	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Sr	Fleming Island, FL
26	RHP	Michael Harpster	R/R	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Jr	Lynchburg, VA
27	RHP	Reid Brosnan	R/R	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	RS Fr	Atlanta, GA
28	RHP	Carter Oliff	R/R	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	Sr	Brentwood, TN
29	LHP	Tyler Kropis	L/L	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Fr	Seekonk, MA
30	LHP	Tadan Bell	L/L	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	RS Jr	Columbus, NE
31	RHP	Andrew Cotten	R/R	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	240 lb (109 kg)	Sr	Lexington, SC
32	INF	Tristan Curless	L/L	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Sr	Amarillo, TX
33	C	Gabe Juarez	R/R	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	240 lb (109 kg)	Sr	Reseda, CA
34	RHP	Jace Hyde	L/R	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Jr	Athens, TN
35	OF	Brody Smith	L/R	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Fr	Tampa, FL
37	RHP	Jack Vest	R/R	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	So	Lewisville, NC
39	RHP	Cooper Jones	R/R	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Fr	Hixson, TN
40	LHP	Reilly Byers	L/L	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	197 lb (89 kg)	Jr	Knoxville, TN
44	RHP	Liam Thatcher	L/R	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Jr	Altadena, CA
45	C	Trey Martin	R/R	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	RS Fr	Haddonfield, NJ

Head coach

Joe Pennucci

Assistant coach(es)

Jamie Pinzino
Chad Marshall
Canyon McWilliams
JD Yakubinis
Morgan Little

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: April 27, 2026

Game log

2026 East Tennessee State Buccaneers baseball game log
(Overall: 26–15; Conference: 9–6); (Home: 18–3; Away: 8–12; Neutral: 0–0)

Regular season (26–15)

February (8–2)
(Home: 8–1; Away: 0–1)

Date	Time (EST)	Opponent	Venue	Score	Win	Loss	Save	Attendance	Overall record	SoCon record
February 13	2:00 p.m.	Marist*	Thomas Stadium Johnson City, TN	W 6–5	Cotten (1–0)	Fierro (0–1)	None	277	1–0	—
February 14	12:00 p.m.	Marist*	Thomas Stadium	W 7–5	Oliff (1–0)	Mazza (0–1)	Costarelli (1)	445	2–0	—
February 14	4:00 p.m.	Marist*	Thomas Stadium	W 7–2	Vest (1–0)	Sullivan (0–1)	None	536	3–0	—
February 17	4:00 p.m.	at Virginia Tech*	English Field Blacksburg, VA	L 5–7	Swift (1–0)	Costarelli (0–1)	Yagesh (1)	893	3–1	—
February 20	3:00 p.m.	Sacred Heart*	Thomas Stadium	W 10–0	Bell (1–0)	Matuschat (1)	None	318	4–1	—
February 21	11:00 a.m.	Sacred Heart*	Thomas Stadium	W 26–3	Harpster (1–0)	Katsaros (0–1)	None	268	5–1	—
February 21	3:00 p.m.	Sacred Heart*	Thomas Stadium	W 11–8	Rolison (1–0)	Parker (0–2)	Costarelli (2)	617	6–1	—
February 25	3:00 p.m.	Appalachian State*	Thomas Stadium	L 5–8	Tramontana (1–0)	McCarley (0–1)	DiRito (2)	240	6–2	—
February 27	3:00 p.m.	Quinnipiac*	Thomas Stadium	W 8–2	Bell (2–0)	Balcolm (0–3)	None	303	7–2	—
February 28	2:00 p.m.	Quinnipiac*	Thomasa Stadium	W 4–3⁽¹⁰⁾	Cotten (2–0)	Alduino (1–1)	None	482	8–2	—

March (11–5)
(Home: 8–1; Away: 3–4)

Date	Time (EDT)	Opponent	TV	Venue	Score	Win	Loss	Save	Attendance	Overall record	SoCon record
March 1	1:00 p.m.	Quinnipiac*		Thomas Stadium	W 16–5⁽⁸⁾	Scott (1–0)	Pazdera (0–2)	None	329	9–2	—
March 3	4:00 p.m.	at No. 19 Tennessee*	SECN+	Lindsey Nelson Stadium Knoxville, TN	L 1–7	Frederick (2–0)	Curless (0–1)	None	6,028	9–3	—
March 6	5:35 p.m.	at James Madison*	ESPN+	Veterans Memorial Park Harrisonburg, VA	L 1–11⁽⁷⁾	Kinsler (2–0)	Bell (2–1)	None	267	9–4	—
March 7	2:50 p.m.	at James Madison*	ESPN+	Veterans Memorial Park	L 4–6	Alexander (3–0)	Harpster (1–1)	McGrath (3)	741	9–5	—
March 8	1:00 p.m.	at James Madison*	ESPN+	Veterans Memorial Park	W 13–0⁽⁸⁾	Cotten (3–0)	Lutz (0–1)	None	376	10–5	—
March 13	3:00 p.m.	Bradley*		Thomas Stadium	W 12–2⁽⁷⁾	Bell (3–1)	Levy (1–1)	None	275	11–5	—
March 14	12:00 p.m.	Bradley*		Thomas Stadium	W 15–2⁽⁷⁾	Harpster (2–1)	Thompson (0–4)	None	337	12–5	—
March 14	3:25 p.m.	Bradley*		Thomas Stadium	W 10–3	Jones (1–0)	Scheider (0–2)	None	513	13–5	—
March 15	12:00 p.m.	Bradley*		Thomas Stadium	W 15–2⁽⁷⁾	Rolison (2–0)	Webb (1–1)	None	471	14–5	—
March 20	6:00 p.m.	at UNC Greensboro	ESPN+	UNCG Baseball Stadium Greensboro, NC	L 3–6	Chapman (2–2)	Bell (3–2)	Weaver (1)	406	14–6	0–1
March 21	2:00 p.m.	at UNC Greensboro	ESPN+	UNCG Baseball Stadium	W 8–2	Harpster (3–1)	Shuey (1–3)	Rolison (1)	430	15–6	1–1
March 22	1:00 p.m.	at UNC Greensboro	ESPN+	UNCG Baseball Stadium	W 15–8	Costarelli (1–1)	Miles (3–1)	Curless (1)	360	16–6	2–1
March 24	5:00 p.m.	Virginia Tech	ESPN+	Thomas Stadium	W 9–4	Scott (2–0)	Exum (0–1)	Grass (1)	1,092	17–6	—
March 27	11:00 a.m.	VMI	ESPN+	Thomas Stadium	W 6–5	Oliff (2–0)	Sipe (4–1)	Costarelli (3)	251	18–6	3–1
March 28	3:00 p.m.	VMI	ESPN+	Thomas Stadium	W 4–3	Harpster (4–1)	Velasquez (1–1)	Scott (1)	634	19–6	4–1
March 29	1:00 p.m.	VMI	ESPN+	Thomas Stadium	L 4–5	Baker (5–0)	Scott (2–1)	None	933	19–7	4–2

April (7–8)
(Home; 2–1; Away: 5–7)

Date	Time (EDT)	Opponent	TV	Venue	Score	Win	Loss	Save	Attendance	Overall record	SoCon record
April 2	7:00 p.m.	at Samford	ESPN+	JL Griffin Stadium Birmingham, AL	L 7–13	Whitney (1–0)	Scott (2–2)	None	577	19–8	4–3
April 3	6:00 p.m.	at Samford	ESPN+	JL Griffin Stadium	W 4–3	Rolison (3–0)	Spurrier (1–3)	None	433	20–8	5–3
April 4	2:00 p.m.	at Samford	ESPN+	JL Griffin Stadium	W 6–4	Jones (2–0)	Tommasini (1–1)	Curless (2)	333	21–8	6–3
April 7	3:00 p.m.	at Radford*		Carter Memorial Stadium Radford, VA	L 3–4	Baker (1–0)	Cotten (3–1)	Howard (1)	108	21–9	—
April 10	5:00 p.m.	at Belmont*	ESPN+	E. S. Rose Park Nashville, TN	W 6–3	Bell (4–2)	Marland (3–3)	Brosnan (1)	180	22–9	—
April 11	2:00 p.m.	Belmont*	ESPN+	E. S. Rose Park	W 8–4⁽⁷⁾	Harpster (5–1)	Harvey (0–2)	None	184	23–9	—
April 11	5:00 p.m.	Belmont*	ESPN+	E. S. Rose Park	L 8–10	Perry (1–4)	Jones (2–1)	Van Ness (1)	180	23–10	—
April 14	3:00 p.m.	at No. 5 Georgia*	SECN+	Foley Field Athens, GA	L 10–12	Farley (4–0)	McCarley (0–2)	Scott (2)	2,817	23–11	—
April 17	5:00 p.m.	The Citadel	ESPN+	Thomas Stadium	L 8–11	Bowers (2–2)	Scott (2–3)	Gibson (4)	762	23–12	6–4
April 18	2:00 p.m.	The Citadel	ESPN+	Thomas Stadium	W 5–4	Curless (1–1)	Brown (1–3)	None	727	24–12	7–4
April 19	1:00 p.m.	The Citadel	ESPN+	Thomas Stadium	W 12–1⁽⁸⁾	Jones (3–1)	Coulter (0–1)	None	889	25–12	8–4
April 21	6:00 p.m.	at Appalachian State*	ESPN+	Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium Boone, NC	L 1–3	Tramontana (2–1)	Scott (2–4)	Beaty (1)	713	25–13	—
April 24	3:00 p.m.	at Western Carolina		Hennon Stadium Cullowhee, NC	L 10–14	Snyder (6–0)	Rolison (3–1)	None	227	24–14	8–5
April 24	6:45 p.m.	at Western Carolina		Hennon Stadium	W 4–3	Harpster (6–1)	Fordham (4–3)	Curless (3)	782	25–14	9–5
April 25	1:00 p.m.	at Western Carolina	ESPN+	Hennon Stadium	L 2–13⁽⁷⁾	Myers (4–1)	Jones (3–2)	None	619	25–15	9–6
April 28	5:00 p.m.	UNC Asheville*	ESPN+	Thomas Stadium						–	—

May (0–0)
(Home; 0–0; Away: 0–0)

Date	Time (EDT)	Opponent	TV	Venue	Overall record	SoCon record
May 1	6:00 p.m.	at UConn*		Elliot Ballpark Storrs, CT	–	—
May 2	2:00 p.m.	at UConn*		Elliot Ballpark	–	—
May 3	11:00 a.m.	at UConn*		Elliot Ballpark	–	—
May 5	5:00 p.m.	Radford*	ESPN+	Thomas Stadium	–	—
May 8	5:30 p.m.	at Wofford		Russell C. King Field Spartanburg, SC	–	–
May 9	2:00 p.m.	at Wofford		Russell C. King Field	–	–
May 10	1:00 p.m.	at Wofford		Russell C. King Field	–	–
May 14	5:00 p.m.	Mercer	ESPN+	Thomas Stadium	–	—
May 15	2:00 p.m.	Mercer	ESPN+	Thomas Stadium	–	—
May 16	1:00 p.m.	Mercer	ESPN+	Thomas Stadium	–	—

Postseason (0–0)

SoCon tournament (0–0)

Date	Time (EDT)	Opponent	Rank	TV	Venue	Score	Win	Loss	Save	Attendance	Overall record	Tournament record
May 20 - May 23	TBD p.m.	vs. TBD		TBD	Fluor Field Greenville, SC						—	—

"#" represents ranking. All rankings from D1Baseball Poll on the date of the contest.
"()" represents postseason seeding in the SoCon Tournament or NCAA Regional, respectively.
= Win, = Loss, = Canceled/Postponed
Bold = East Tennessee State Buccaneers team member
* = Non-Conference Game

v t e East Tennessee State Buccaneers baseball
Stadium	Keystone Park (1946–1955) Howard Johnson Field (1956–2011) Thomas Stadium (2012–present)
People	Award Winners List of MLB Players
Seasons	1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026
National championships in bold; College World Series appearances in italics

2026 East Tennessee State Buccaneers baseball team

Coaches poll

Awards and honors

Preseason SoCon awards and honors

Personnel

Roster

Game log

Rankings

References

External links

Related Articles

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	Final
Coaches'^[4]	—	—*	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Baseball America^[5]	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
NCBWA†^[6]	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV
D1Baseball^[7]	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Perfect Game^[8]	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—