I've written about BYU sports for some time now, and today I'm doing something I've never done before: Publishing an article about BYU baseball.
If you charged me with being a fair weather BYU baseball fan, I'd simply plead guilty and ask for leniency from the court. There's too much evidence against my nonchalance toward BYU baseball for even the most skilled defense attorney to refute. That said, I'm pretty sure the majority of you Cougar fans reading this article might be guilty of the same crime.
What coach Trent Pratt and the Cougars are accomplishing this year on the baseball diamond is more than impressive. After a win over rival Utah, BYU is 23-21 on the season and an impressive 12-10 in Big 12 play, putting them in sixth place in the conference at the time this article was written. It's safe to say that nobody saw this coming, except perhaps the players and staff who are in the dugout every day.
For the uninformed (myself included), here's where BYU baseball has been in recent years, and why this season is so refreshingly impressive.
BYU's rocky first two Big 12 seasons
BYU has never been known as a baseball powerhouse. Snowy Provo, Utah doesn't have year-round weather that lends itself well to competitive college baseball. Additionally, BYU is a football and basketball powerhouse, and most of the school's athletics budget goes to those two prominent revenue-generating programs.
The Cougars joined the Big 12 for the 2024 baseball season and got off to a rocky start.
In 2024 BYU went 7-23 in conference play and 21-31 on the season, finishing dead last in the conference. They followed that up last year with a 28-27 record but their 10-20 record in Big 12 play put them in 12th of 14 teams (Note: Colorado and Iowa State don't have men's baseball teams.)
But this year? Trent Pratt's squad is suddenly, and quire unexpectedly, making some noise in the Big 12.
Without any major known changes to budgets, NIL, or landing a crop of MLB-level talents, the Cougs have taken a massive step forward. They currently have a winning conference record of 12-10 and sit in sixth place in the conference standings. Those of us who don't celebrate BYU baseball enough should start looking into ticket prices at Miller Park.
Ezra McNaughton's outstanding hitting
While baseball is a team sport, one player in particular is having a statistically solid campaign this year, and that's infielder Ezra McNaughton.
The sophomore from Mesa, Arizona is currently leading the Cougs in nearly every meaningful offensive category including batting average (.352), OPS (1.043), hits (64), doubles (13), home runs (12), RBIs (43), and total bases (113).
To say McNaughton has taken a major leap forward this year is an understatement. In his freshman campaign last year he hit just .135 in 37 at bats, only to come on to dominate in his sophomore season. What's especially gratifying is he's a "BYU guy" as he's a returned missionary and his father, Troy, also played baseball for BYU 1990s.
While most BYU fans can't wait to get through the spring and summer until football season begins, let's pause for a moment and recognize what the Cougs are currently doing on the baseball diamond. This could be the start of something big on the baseball diamonds of Provo.
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