alt=Jay DrewHaving played 18 of its scheduled 30 games in the first season in the Big 12, BYU’s baseball team and coach Trent Pratt have learned a lot about themselves as they begin the stretch run to what they hope is a berth in the conference tournament.
Only 10 of the 13 teams that play baseball in the league make the postseason tournament at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, home of the World Series champion Texas Rangers. Iowa State is the only Big 12 school without a baseball team.
The Cougars are currently in 12th place with a 6-12 record, 15-18 overall, and have a big three-game series with No. 25-ranked (Baseball America) Oklahoma (11-4, 21-14) this weekend in Provo. The Sooners come into Miller Park tied for first in the league standings with West Virginia.
“We need to win a couple series, yeah. That’s what it comes down to. We dropped a couple heartbreakers last weekend (to Baylor), lost a close one against Texas Tech. Lost a close one at Texas. We are right there,” Pratt said Wednesday after practice. “It is just about finding a way to get over the hump and win a couple of those close games, and win a couple more series.”
After OU visits for games Thursday (6 p.m.), Friday (6 p.m.) and Saturday (1 p.m.), the Cougars play host to instate rival Utah on Tuesday, then have a series next weekend at No. 15 Oklahoma State. After a break for some nonconference games at home against Abilene Christian and on the road against Utah Valley and Miami (three games) BYU finishes out its inaugural Big 12 campaign with series vs. Cincinnati and at Kansas State.
“They are all going to be tough,” said redshirt sophomore catcher Collin Reuter, the Mississippian who hit three homers in the same game at Texas. “The Big 12 is just ultra-competitive. Every team we play is going to be a really good team. You can’t take any of them for granted.”
Reuter had a standout freshman season for the Cougars in 2022 when they were in the West Coast Conference, then had two elbow surgeries and missed the entire 2023 season.
“I would say a big difference between the WCC and the Big 12 is pitching,” he said. “The bullpens in this league are a lot better. There’s just a lot more depth. … My freshman year, the WCC had some aces, had a couple guys go in the first round (of the MLB draft). But every night in the Big 12 is a battle.”
Pratt, the Tooele native who took over for Mike Littlewood midway through the 2022 season, said the program needs more depth, both in terms of hitting and pitching, and more, better players to compete in the Big 12. He said the facilities and administrative support are in place.
“It has been kind of a roller-coaster season with this team. It has been up and down a lot. I feel like we’ve competed well. We have been in most of the games we’ve played and competed at a high level,” Pratt said. “It is a young group, when you look up and down our lineup up and down. We might have two upperclassmen (is all). So there’s been some growing pains that way.
“But I like the way we’ve competed and I think going forward and building for the next year we are on track.
“We want to finish this year strong, but for the future, hopefully these guys are getting a ton of experience and they will come back better next year.”
One problem has been the lack of pitching depth, exacerbated when two young, local arms Pratt was counting on, Bingham’s Maddax Peck and Dixie’s Cayson Bell, haven’t been available due to injuries. Both showed a lot of promise in fall exhibition games.
“Those are two kids we are going to count on as it goes on,” Pratt said. “We just need to be better at everything. Everybody needs to be a little bit better next year. This year, if we can just gradually keep getting better, we will be fine. There are good things that are happening. Now it is a matter of keeping that going in the right direction.”
Reuter is the team’s leading hitter, with a .323 batting average. American Fork product Easton Jones leads the club with nine home runs, while Luke Anderson of Snow Canyon High has the most doubles, nine.
Hawaiian Kuhio Aloy, a designated hitter, has the most RBIs, 28.
Righthander Ben Hansen (46 innings) of Pleasanton, California, and Bryce Robison (44 innings) of Las Vegas have logged the most work on the mound.
Pratt signed a small recruiting class last fall, knowing that he will look to the transfer portal and junior college ranks this summer to fill in some holes.
“We are not looking for a lot,” he said. “I like our roster. We’re young. We will evaluate it all at the end of the season and see what our real needs are and go from there.”