Head Coach Donny Harrel -
We are really excited to get back on the diamond for the 2026 season and especially with our move into the West Coast Conference.
It was obviously an interesting off-season, with the loss of key players, but my coaching staff did a nice job finding the right players to fill their vacancies. Pitching and defense are always the focus in our game to have success.
We did return some key student athletes who give us a cornerstone to build on in junior right-hander Micah Hagler, our best rotation arm from 2025, along with senior righty Luke Alwood, who has experience starting over his past three seasons. We are excited to be able to now have past starter Blake Smith move to the back end of the game as our closer, where we feel he can have more success, with senior transfers Camden Orem and Travis Farrell competing for rotation spots, along with left-handed junior transfer Kale Hammer.
Senior Kaden Alberghini and sophomores Patrick Galvin and Isaac Hallam return and give us Division I experience coming out of the bullpen. We will need our freshmen arms and other transfers who have not pitched at this level, to step up and fill in the gaps of innings to allow us to pitch it the way we want throughout the season.
Sophomore catcher Joshua Cunnigan logged some positive innings behind the plate last year and really improved after coming back from an injury that kept him out of summer and fall ball. Senior transfer Tyler Horner was a huge pick-up for us, as he gives us great experience behind the plate and can also play either corner infield spot, while hitting in the middle of our order.
We feel our infield defense has improved since last year, with transfer juniors Hayden Carlson and Kenneth Rhein coming in to solidify the left side. Junior Brandon Stinnett made great improvements to lead the competition for starting at second base and redshirt junior Sebastian Lopez gives us great versatility to platoon, as he can play all infield positions. First base will have to be solidified, with redshirt sophomore Ryder Manale, junior transfer Payton Knowles, and freshman Tyler Jackson battling it out for an opening day start.
We lost a couple of key outfielders in the transfer portal but return redshirt junior Hunter Komine and senior Jared Stevenson who do have some quality experience. Junior transfer Jake Beauchaine was a huge pick-up for us, as he will hit in the middle of our order and brings quality defense to our starting nine right away. Freshman Cash Erdman has been our biggest surprise, as he continues to improve and get stronger, and has played beyond his age at this point. Jackson, Manale, and Knowles have also gotten reps out there, to give us the best offensive options throughout the season.
We feel as a coaching staff that our pitching depth is better than last year and strike zone management should allow more balls to be put into play, where our defense will be able to shine. Offensively we lost a lot of pop to the portal, so we will have to manufacture more runs this year and put the game in motion. This group has been really fun to work with and they want to get better every day, so it will be exciting to see them take the field this weekend and see where we are at as a club.
Donate Today
Fans interested in making a gift to Seattle University Athletics can do so by clicking here. Your gift directly impacts all Redhawk student athletes as they strive for excellence in the classroom, in competition, and in the community. Thank you for supporting Seattle University Athletics!
Follow Along With the Action
Stay connected with Seattle U baseball and get all the latest team updates by downloading the GoSeattleU mobile app available now for free in the App Store or Google Play.