2026 UC Irvine Anteaters baseball team

Record19–23 (9–12 Big West)

Headcoach

Ben Orloff (8th season)

Assistant coaches

Ryan Johnston (4th season)
Erich Pfohl (3rd season)
CJ Yogi (3rd season)

2026 UC Irvine Anteaters baseball

Conference	Big West Conference
Record	19–23 (9–12 Big West)
Head coach	Ben Orloff (8th season)
Assistant coaches	Ryan Johnston (4th season) Erich Pfohl (3rd season) CJ Yogi (3rd season)
Hitting coach	J.T. Bloodworth (8th season)
Pitching coach	Daniel Bibona (14th season)
Home stadium	Cicerone Field
Seasons ← 2025 2027 →

2026 Big West Conference baseball standings
v t e	Conf.				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Cal Poly ‍‍‍	15	–	6	.714	24	–	18	.571
UC San Diego ‍‍‍	14	–	7	.667	18	–	21	.462
UC Santa Barbara ‍‍‍	13	–	8	.619	27	–	14	.659
Cal State Fullerton ‍‍‍	13	–	8	.619	21	–	21	.500
Hawai'i ‍‍‍	10	–	11	.476	20	–	19	.513
Cal State Northridge ‍‍‍	11	–	13	.458	22	–	20	.524
UC Irvine ‍‍‍	9	–	12	.429	18	–	23	.439
Cal State Bakersfield ‍‍‍	9	–	12	.429	19	–	25	.432
UC Riverside ‍‍‍	9	–	12	.429	14	–	28	.333
UC Davis ‍‍‍	9	–	15	.375	19	–	23	.452
Long Beach State ‍‍‍	8	–	16	.333	14	–	29	.326

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

The 2026 UC Irvine Anteaters baseball team represent the University of California, Irvine during the 2026 NCAA Division I baseball season. The Anteaters will play their home games at Cicerone Field as a member of the Big West Conference. They are led by head coach Ben Orloff in his eighth season as manager. The top five teams in the Big West Conference will play in the conference's postseason tournament, with the winner receiving the automatic bid to the 2026 NCAA tournament. It was announced on January 9, 2026, that head coach Ben Orloff signed a 5-year contract extension, keeping him with the team until the end of the 2030 season.^[2]

Last season, UC Irvine finished with a 43–17 record, going 24–6 in the Big West, and finishing first in the conference. They fell in the conference championship in back-to-back games against Cal Poly.^[3] They received an at-large bid to the 2025 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament, along with conference tournament champion Cal Poly. The Anteaters went 2–2 in NCAA tournament play, falling to UCLA in the regional finals 5–8.^[4] UC Irvine finished the season ranked 25th in the nation by D1Baseball.com and 23rd by the USA Today Coaches Poll.

Preseason

Big West Preseason Poll & Team

The Big West Coaches' Poll and Team was released on February 6, 2026. UC Irvine was predicted to finish third in the conference, and had two players make the preseason team.^[5]

Coaches' Poll
Pos.	Team	Points
1	UC Santa Barbara	95 (5)
2	Cal Poly	89 (5)
3	UC Irvine	86 (1)
T-4	Cal State Fullerton	67
T-4	Hawai'i	67
6	UC San Diego	60
7	Long Beach State	41
8	UC Davis	40
9	CSUN	25
10	Cal State Bakersfield	22
11	UC Riverside	13

Player	No.	Position	Class
Preseason Coaches' Team
Trevor Hansen	28	RHP	Junior
Ricky Ojeda	13	LHP	Junior

Personnel

Starters

Lineup
Pos.	No.	Player.	Year
C	50	Efren Ortega	Sophomore
1B	25	Alonso Reyes	RS Junior
2B	26	Noah Alvarez	Senior
3B	5	James Castagnola	RS Junior
SS	36	Zach Fjelstad	Junior
LF	9	Rowan Felsch	Senior
CF	2	Tommy Farmer	Junior
RF	23	Frankie Carney	RS Junior
DH	21	Landon Gaz	Junior

Weekend pitching rotation
Day	No.	Player.	Year
Friday	28	Trevor Hansen	Junior
Saturday	13	Ricky Ojeda	Junior
Sunday	41	Cade Castles	Freshman

Roster

Source:^[6]

2026 UC Irvine Anteaters baseball team

Players

Coaches

#	Pos.	Name	B/T	Height	Weight	Year	Home town
1	INF	Theo Kim	S/R	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	So	Rancho Bernardo, CA
2	OF	Tommy Farmer	R/R	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Jr	Santa Monica, CA
4	OF	Davis D'Errico	R/R	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	RS So	Los Alamitos, CA
5	INF	James Castagnola	R/R	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	RS Jr	San Diego, CA
8	INF	Dylan Hillman	R/R	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	So	Danville, CA
9	OF	Rowan Felsch	L/L	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Sr	Palo Alto, CA
10	OF	Zach Doyle	L/L	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	RS Fr	Ladera Ranch, CA
11	RHP	Jack Ross	R/R	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Sr	Huntington Beach, CA
12	OF	Kai Smith	R/R	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Fr	Danville, CA
13	LHP	Ricky Ojeda	L/L	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Jr	Valencia, CA
14	RHP	Danny Suarez	R/R	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	RS Sr	Trabuco Canyon, CA
15	RHP	Finnegan Wall	R/R	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	RS Sr	Hesperia, CA
16	C	Michael Podstreleny	L/R	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	RS Fr	San Diego, CA
17	LHP	Dane Grant	L/L	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	RS So	San Juan Capistrano, CA
18	C	Zach Crandall	R/R	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	RS Sr	Rancho Santa Margarita, CA
20	RHP	Tim Grack	R/R	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	RS So	Fountain Valley, CA
21	UTL	Landon Gaz	R/R	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	Jr	Moorpark, CA
22	RHP	David Butler	R/R	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Sr	Riverside, CA
23	INF	Frankie Carney	L/R	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	RS Jr	San Diego, CA
24	INF	Auggie Gutierrez	R/R	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	RS Jr	Yorba Linda, CA
25	UTL	Alonso Reyes	L/R	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	RS Jr	Inglewood, CA
26	INF	Noah Alvarez	L/R	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Sr	Chino, CA
27	LHP	Brandon Luu	L/L	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	RS So	Irvine, CA
28	RHP	Trevor Hansen	R/R	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Jr	Simi Valley, CA
30	RHP	Peyton Rodgers	R/R	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	So	Solana Beach, CA
31	INF	Lucas Schermer	R/R	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	198 lb (90 kg)	Fr	Hermosa Beach, CA
32	LHP	Zane Nordquist	L/L	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Fr	Oceanside, CA
33	RHP	Tyler Foster	R/R	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	So	Carlsbad, CA
34	INF	Cole Clark	L/R	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Fr	Huntington Beach, CA
35	C	Connor Dietsch	R/R	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	198 lb (90 kg)	RS Jr	Mission Viejo, CA
36	INF	Zach Fjelstad	L/R	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Jr	Coto de Caza, CA
37	RHP	Julian Custer	R/R	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	RS So	San Diego, CA
38	OF	Daniel Polasek	L/R	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	So	Martinez, CA
40	RHP	Hunter Manning	L/R	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Fr	Valencia, CA
41	RHP	Cade Castles	R/R	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Fr	Davis, CA
42	LHP	Ryder Brooks	L/L	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	RS Jr	Fountain Valley, CA
44	UTL	Alex Schmidt	R/R	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Fr	Sherman Oaks, CA
45	LHP	Jaxton Andeel	L/L	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Sr	Placentia, CA
50	C	Efren Ortega	R/R	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	So	Sylmar, CA
55	RHP	Alex Umland	R/R	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	RS Fr	Los Angeles, CA

Head coach

Ben Orloff

Assistant coach(es)

Daniel Bibona
J.T. Bloodworth
Ryan Johnston

Legend

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

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: January 19, 2026

Schedule

Source:^[7]

Legend
	Anteaters win
	Anteaters loss
	Postponement
Bold	Anteaters team member

2026 UC Irvine Anteaters baseball game log (19–23)

Regular Season (19–23)

February (8–3)
Date	Time (PST)	TV	Opponent	Rank	Stadium	Score	Win	Loss	Save	Attendance	Overall	BWC
February 13	6:00 p.m.	ESPN+	at Sacramento State*	—	John Smith Field Sacramento, California	5–0	Hansen (1–0)	Monson (0–1)	Brooks (1)	540	1–0	—
February 14 (DH)	2:00 p.m.	WAC International	at Sacramento State*	—	John Smith Field	7–3	Ojeda (1–0)	Wilson (0–1)	None	521	2–0	—
February 14 (DH)^[a]	5:00 p.m.	WAC International	at Sacramento State*	—	John Smith Field	6–2	Wall (1–0)	Winterhalder (0–1)	Rodgers (1)	583	3–0	—
February 18^[b]	6:00 p.m.	ESPN+	San Diego State*	—	Cicerone Field Irvine, California	5–2	Ross (1–0)	Belardes (0–1)	None	642	4–0	—
February 20	6:00 p.m.	ESPN+	California*	—	Cicerone Field	5–3	Hansen (2–0)	De La Torre (0–2)	Rodgers (2)	1,031	5–0	—
February 21	1:00 p.m.	ESPN+	California*	—	Cicerone Field	2–11	Foley (1–0)	Ojeda (1–1)	Espinoza (1)	984	5–1	—
February 22	1:00 p.m.	ESPN+	California*	—	Cicerone Field	2–4	Eddy (1–0)	Castles (0–1)	Kreis (1)	894	5–2	—
February 24	6:00 p.m.	ESPN+	Grand Canyon*	—	Cicerone Field	3–0	Rodgers (1–0)	McGuire (0–1)	Brooks (2)	632	6–2	—
February 25	1:00 p.m.	ESPN+	Grand Canyon*	—	Cicerone Field	4–9 (10)	Cunnings (1–0)	Rodgers (1–1)	None	566	6–3	—
Live Like Lou Las Vegas College Baseball Classic
February 27	2:00 p.m.	D1Baseball	vs. Vanderbilt*	—	Las Vegas Ballpark Las Vegas, Nevada	9–4	Hansen (3–0)	Bryan (0–1)	None	4,722	7–3	—
February 28	12:00 p.m.	D1Baseball	vs. Oregon*	—	Las Vegas Ballpark	8–6	Grack (1–0)	Bell (0–1)	Manning (1)	5,713	8–3	—

March (3–14)
Date	Time (PST)	TV	Opponent	Rank	Stadium	Score	Win	Loss	Save	Attendance	Overall	BWC
Live Like Lou Las Vegas College Baseball Classic
March 1	3:00 p.m.	D1Baseball	vs. Arizona*	—	Las Vegas Ballpark Las Vegas, Nevada	1–7	Fladda (1–0)	Castles (0–2)	None	5,304	8–4	—

March 3	6:00 p.m.	B1G+	at USC*	—	Dedeaux Field Los Angeles, California	4–6	Fausset (2–0)	Brooks (0–1)	Matson (1)	598	8–5	—
March 6	6:00 p.m.	ESPN+	Cal State Northridge	—	Cicerone Field Irvine, California	4–5	Voorhies (1–0)	Manning (0–1)	None	675	8–6	0–1
March 7	1:00 p.m.	ESPN+	Cal State Northridge	—	Cicerone Field	4–2	Grack (2–0)	Johnson (2–2)	None	627	9–6	1–1
March 8	1:00 p.m.	ESPN+	Cal State Northridge	—	Cicerone Field	2–9	Turner (1–0)	Brooks (0–2)	None	697	9–7	1–2
March 10	6:00 p.m.	B1G+	at No. 1 UCLA*	—	Jackie Robinson Field Pasadena, California	1–11 (7)	Cervantes (1–0)	Castles (0–3)	None	544	9–8	—
March 13	6:30 p.m.	ESPN+	at Cal State Fullerton	—	Goodwin Field Fullerton, California	3–8	Negrete (3–1)	Grack (2–1)	None	1,008	9–9	1–3
March 14	5:00 p.m.	ESPN+	at Cal State Fullerton	—	Goodwin Field	5–9	Smith (1–2)	Ojeda (1–2)	None	1,125	9–10	1–4
March 15	1:00 p.m.	ESPN+	at Cal State Fullerton	—	Goodwin Field	6–8	Wright (2–1)	Brooks (0–3)	None	821	9–11	1–5
March 20	6:00 p.m.	ESPN+	No. 17 Oregon State*	—	Cicerone Field	1–5	Whitney (4–0)	Hansen (3–1)	None	1,008	9–12	—
March 21	1:00 p.m.	ESPN+	No. 17 Oregon State*	—	Cicerone Field	3–5	Kleinschmit (3–2)	Ojeda (1–3)	Roblez (7)	936	9–13	—
March 22	1:00 p.m.	ESPN+	No. 17 Oregon State*	—	Cicerone Field	5–9	Morris (1–0)	Wall (1–1)	Edwards (1)	1,004	9–14	—
March 24	6:00 p.m.	Mountain West Network	at San Diego State*	—	Tony Gwynn Stadium San Diego, California	4–8	McKnight (2–0)	Foster (0–1)	Abadie (2)	649	9–15	—
March 27	6:05 p.m.	ESPN+	at Long Beach State	—	Blair Field Long Beach, California	2–10	Anderson (1–3)	Hansen (3–2)	None	2,313	9–16	1–6
March 28	6:05 p.m.	—	at Long Beach State	—	Blair Field	12–9 (11)	Suarez (1–0)	Larson (0–2)	None	1,797	10–16	2–6
March 29	1:05 p.m.	ESPN+	at Long Beach State	—	Blair Field	7–1	(Wall 2–1)	Gerfers (2–2)	None	1,820	11–16	3–6
March 31	6:00 p.m.	ESPN+	No. 1 UCLA*	—	Cicerone Field	1–9	Cervantes (2–0)	Grant (0–1)	None	2,685	11–17	—

April (8–6)
Date	Time (PST)	TV	Opponent	Rank	Stadium	Score	Win	Loss	Save	Attendance	Overall	BWC
April 2	6:00 p.m.	ESPN+	UC Davis	—	Cicerone Field Irvine, California	4–1	Hansen (4–2)	Anzai (2–2)	Suarez (1)	574	12–17	4–6
April 3	6:00 p.m.	ESPN+	UC Davis	—	Cicerone Field	7–2	Ross (2–0)	Valdez (1–4)	Ojeda (1)	722	13–17	5–6
April 4	1:00 p.m.	ESPN+	UC Davis	—	Cicerone Field	8–4	Wall (3–1)	Pezzolo (0–1)	None	700	14–17	6–6
April 7	6:00 p.m.	ESPN+	San Diego*	—	Cicerone Field	13–5	Foster (1–1)	Garcia (0–1)	None	725	15–17	—
April 10	9:35 p.m.	ESPN+	at Hawai'i	—	Les Murakami Stadium Honolulu, Hawaii	6–14	Tomii (2–0)	Hansen (4–3)	None	3,829	15–18	6–7
April 11	9:35 p.m.	ESPN+	at Hawai'i	—	Les Murakami Stadium	0–3	Robello (6–2)	Wall (3–2)	Martin-Grudzielanek (1)	4,532	15–19	6–8
April 12	4:05 p.m.	—	at Hawai'i	—	Les Murakami Stadium	5–1	Ojeda (2–3)	O'Brien (1–4)	Suarez (2)	4,462	16–19	7–8
April 17	6:00 p.m.	ESPN+	UC Santa Barbara	—	Cicerone Field	3–7	Flora (7–0)	Hansen (4–4)	None	961	16–20	7–9
April 18	1:00 p.m.	ESPN+	UC Santa Barbara	—	Cicerone Field	6–3	Ojeda (3–3)	Aceves (2–2)	None	865	17–20	8–9
April 19	2:00 p.m.	ESPN2	UC Santa Barbara	—	Cicerone Field	4–8	Tryba (3–3)	Ross (2–1)	Krodel (4)	928	17–21	8–10
April 24	6:00 p.m.	ESPN+	at UC San Diego	—	Triton Ballpark La Jolla, California	10–11	Cazares (2–1)	Suarez (1–1)	Huy (1)	615	17–22	8–11
April 25	2:00 p.m.	ESPN+	at UC San Diego	—	Triton Ballpark	4–9	Bowker (3–1)	Wall (3–3)	None	462	17–23	8–12
April 26	1:00 p.m.	ESPN+	at UC San Diego	—	Triton Ballpark	9–7	Suarez (2–1)	Cazares (2–2)	None	454	18–23	9–12
April 28	6:00 p.m.	ESPN+	No. 21 USC*	—	Cicerone Field	4–1	Butler (1–0)	Herrell (3–4)	Rodgers (3)	1,666	19–23	—

May (0–0)
Date	Time (PST)	TV	Opponent	Rank	Stadium	Score	Win	Loss	Save	Attendance	Overall	BWC
May 1	6:00 p.m.	ESPN+	Cal Poly	—	Cicerone Field Irvine, California	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
May 2	1:00 p.m.	ESPN+	Cal Poly	—	Cicerone Field	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
May 3	1:00 p.m.	ESPN+	Cal Poly	—	Cicerone Field	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
May 5	6:00 p.m.	—	at San Diego*	—	Fowler Park San Diego, California	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
May 8	2:00 p.m.	ESPN+	at UC Riverside	—	Riverside Sports Complex Riverside, California	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
May 9	1:00 p.m.	ESPN+	at UC Riverside	—	Riverside Sports Complex	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
May 10	1:00 p.m.	ESPN+	at UC Riverside	—	Riverside Sports Complex	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
May 14	6:00 p.m.	ESPN+	Cal State Bakersfield	—	Cicerone Field	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
May 15	6:00 p.m.	ESPN+	Cal State Bakersfield	—	Cicerone Field	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
May 16	1:00 p.m.	ESPN+	Cal State Bakersfield	—	Cicerone Field	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

Postseason (0–0)

Big West tournament^[8] (0–0)
Date	Time (PST)	TV	Opponent	Rank	Stadium	Score	Win	Loss	Save	Attendance	Overall	BWCT Record
May 20	TBA	ESPN+	TBD	—	Cicerone Field Irvine, California	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from D1Baseball. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Pacific.

Notes

↑ While initially scheduled for February 15 at 12:00 p.m. on ESPN+, the game was moved to February 14 on WAC International as a doubleheader due to impending weather.
↑ While initially scheduled for February 17 at 6:00 p.m., the game was moved to February 18 at 6:00 p.m. due to impending weather.

Awards

Preseason

National team

Player	No.	Position	Class
Preseason Perfect Game All-American First Team^[9]
Ricky Ojeda	13	LHP	Junior

Player	No.	Position	Class
Preseason NCBWA All-American First Team^[10]
Ricky Ojeda	13	LHP	Junior

Player	No.	Position	Class
Preseason D1Baseball All-American Third Team^[11]
Ricky Ojeda	13	LHP	Junior

Player	No.	Position	Class
Golden Spikes Award Watchlist^[12]
Ricky Ojeda	13	LHP	Junior

Conference

Honor	Player	No.	Position	Class
D1Baseball Big West Preseason Awards^[13]
Freshman of the Year	Cade Castles	41	RHP	Freshman
Pitcher of the Year	Ricky Ojeda	13	LHP	Junior

v t e UC Irvine Anteaters baseball
Venues	Anteater Ballpark (2002–present)
People	Head coaches
Seasons	1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993–2001 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
College World Series appearances in italics

2026 UC Irvine Anteaters baseball team

Preseason

Big West Preseason Poll & Team

Personnel

Starters

Roster

Schedule

Awards

Preseason

National team

Conference

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	Final
Coaches'^[14]	RV	RV*	—	RV	—
Baseball America^[15]	—	—	—	—	—
NCBWA†^[16]	RV	RV	RV	RV	—
D1Baseball^[17]	—	—	—	—	—
Perfect Game^[18]	—	—	—	—	—