The back-to-back Patriot League Tournament Champion Holy Cross baseball team will travel to the Austin Regional to square off against No. 6 seeded Texas to open the 2026 NCAA Baseball Tournament on Friday, May 29 at 1 p.m. EST. The game will be broadcast on the SEC Network with Roy Philpott (play-by-play) and Keith Moreland (analyst) on the call.
 
The winner of the contest will face off against the winner of the UC Santa Barbara/Tarleton State game on Saturday, May 30 at 7 p.m. EST while the loser will play the loser of that tilt in an elimination game at 2 p.m. EST.

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT HOLY CROSS (25-28, 13-13 PL): 

• Holy Cross claimed the 2026 Patriot League Tournament Championship following a 14-11 victory at No. 2 seeded and regular-season co-champion Bucknell on Wednesday, May 20. Junior catcher Van Coughlin went 3-for-5 with a double, an RBI, two runs scored and a walk while sophomore right-handed pitcher Aidan Gilbert picked up the win tossing 1.2 innings of scoreless relief scattering one hit and one walk.
• Senior right-handed pitcher Jaden Wywoda was named Patriot League Tournament MVP, totaling 13.2 innings of work across the championship series and hurling 196 pitches over three days. Wywoda threw a 122 pitch complete game in game one against Bucknell in game one on Monday, May 18 and a 74 pitch save across 4.2 innings in game three on Wednesday, May 20.
• Senior center fielder CJ Egrie has a modest five-game hitting streak during the span of the Patriot League Tournament. Egrie is slashing .474/.643/.895 for a 1.538 OPS with a home run, four RBI, three doubles, 10 runs scored, eight walks to one strikeout and six stolen bases.
• Holy Cross is 9-4 (.692) during their last 13 games going 5-3 (.625) on the road in that stretch. Nine hole hitter, freshman shortstop Owen Stelzer as started in all 13 games for the Crusaders during that time frame and is hitting .295 with a .404 on-base percentage with four doubles, eight runs scored, and seven walks to four strikeouts across those 13 contests.
• The Crusaders became the first No. 4 seed to win the Patriot League Championship since Bucknell won as a No. 4 seed in 2010.
• Holy Cross is the first non-service academy school to win back-to-back Patriot League Championships.

HOLY CROSS IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT:

• This is the Crusaders' 13th overall appearance in the NCAA Tournament and their first back-to-back appearances since 1962 and 1963. They are a combined 23-20 (.534) overall in the NCAA Tournament.
• Holy Cross has won one College World Series back in 1952 when they defeated Missouri 8-4 on June 17. The Crusaders went 6-1 (.857) during the championship run. Jim O'Neill was named the College World Series Most Outstanding Player. The Crusaders are the only team in the Northeast ever to win a College World Series title. 
• Holy Cross defeated Texas 2-1 in an elimination game on June 14, 1952 in the College World Series as the Crusaders won five straight games facing elimination en route to the National Title.
• The Crusaders' last win in the NCAA Tournament came on June 3, 2017 at the Corvallis Regional when they defeated No. 25 Nebraska 7-4 in an elimination game. Anthony Critelli was 2-for-4 with two RBI and a run scored in the game.

SCOUTING THE #6 LONGHORNS (40-13, 19-10 SEC): 

• Texas is 7-4 in May but suffered an 8-1 loss to Arkansas in the SEC Quarterfinals. Third baseman Casey Borba went 2-for-4 in the setback.
• Three student-athletes from Texas were named finalists for Baseball America's national awards with Dylan Volantis one of five finalists for the College Pitcher of the Year award, while Sam Cozart and Anthony Pack Jr. are in the running for the National Freshman of the Year.
• Volantis ranks fourth in the NCAA in earned run average (2.00).
• Pack Jr., the SEC Freshman of the Year is slashing .353/.471/.547 with seven home runs and 45 RBI. His team-leading 20 stolen bases are the most by a Texas freshman since Drew Stubbs swiped 28 bags in 2004.
• Texas will start left-handed pitcher Luke Harrison against the Crusaders. The graduate-student is 6-3 in 2026 with a 4.63 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP with 80 strikeouts and 29 walks across 72.0 innings pitched.
• As a team, Texas ranks third in the NCAA in strikeouts per nine innings (11.8), third in strikeout per walk ratio (3.5), sixth in WHIP (1.22), eighth in walks (329) and 10th in hits allowed per nine innings (7.6).

SCOUTING THE GAUCHOS (38-18, 22-8 Big West):

• The Gauchos earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament following a 7-0 setback to UC San Diego in the Big West Championship. Xavier Esquer went 2-for-3 in the loss.
• Junior right-handed pitcher Jackson Flora, a semifinalist for USA Baseball's Golden Spikes Award and for the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association's Dick Howser Trophy was also named the Big West Pitcher of the Year. Flora leads the NCAA in ERA (1.05), and wins (11), while ranking second in hits allowed per nine innings (5.1), third in WHIP (0.86), and fifth in strikeouts (124).
• UC Santa Barbara's head coach Andrew Checketts was named The Big West Co-Coach of the Year. It was his fourth career Coach of the Year honor. Checketts, UC Santa Barbara Baseball's leader in career wins and career winning percentage, surpassed 500 wins leading the Gauchos in 2026.
• As a team, the Gauchos rank fifth in the country in ERA (3.45), seventh in hits allowed per nine innings (7.5), seventh in WHIP (1.22) and eighth in sacrifice bunts (55).

SCOUTING THE TEXANS (37-19, 12-6 WAC):

• The Texans won their second WAC title in three years earning the conference automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament following a 21-11 win over Sacramento State on May 23. Slade McCloud was 4-for-6 with a double, home run, five RBI and four runs scored in the win. This was Tarleton State's first Division I NCAA Regional and first NCAA playoff since 2018.
• Raphaël Smeenk was named Most Outstanding Player for the WAC Tournament, going 5-for-11 (.455) at the plate with two home runs and six RBI during the conference dance.
• Texan head coach Fuller Smith was named the WAC Coach of the Year in his third season after winning its second regular season conference championship in program history and their most wins in the NCAA Division I era (37-19).
• Rayner Heinrich was named to the All-WAC First Team. Heinrich ranks 10th in the NCAA in doubles per game (0.42) and 11th in doubles (22). As a team, Tarleton ranks fifth in the NCAA in triples (20), and eighth in double plays turned (53).

FOLLOW THE CRUSADERS
Be sure to follow the Holy Cross baseball team — and all things Crusader Athletics — on social media!
X - @HCrossBaseball | @goholycross
Instagram - @hcrossbaseball | @goholycross
Facebook - Holy Cross Baseball | Holy Cross Athletics
YouTube - GoHolyCross