University of Washington
UCLA
Washington Set For Showdown With No. 10 UCLA in Los Angeles
April 10, 2025 | Baseball
The series begins on Friday night with all three games broadcast on Big Ten Plus. Live stats will be available at Huskystats.com.
DAWG BITES
- Washington is riding a five-game win streak, the longest streak of the season
- Isaac Yeager earned his third save on Tuesday. He now has the joint-team lead with Josh Emanuels
- Jackson Hotchkiss was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week after leading Washington to a perfect 4-0 record. He tallied two home runs and a double over the four-game stretch. It's the first Big Ten weekly award in program history
- Washington swept Purdue over the weekend for the first sweep of the season and the Huskies' first Big Ten series sweep
- Braeden Terry hit a home run in back-to-back games against Purdue, batting in the winning runs in both Saturday's and Sunday's games
- 13 Huskies have produced 73 multiple hit games (Guerrero – 12, Kole - 9, DeCarlo - 9, Taggart - 8, Terry - 7, Wilson - 6, Bower - 6, Knight - 5, Hotchkiss - 4, Whitton - 3, Sanders - 2, Henning – 2, Blanchard - 1)
- 12 Huskies have generated 43 multi-RBI games, with Trevor Kole and Casen Taggart leading the way (Kole – 7, Taggart – 7, Guerrero – 6, Knight – 5, Hotchkiss – 4, Wilson - 3, Terry - 4, Bower - 2, Whitton - 2, Blanchard - 2, Sanders - 1, DeCarlo - 2)
- Guerrero's home run against St. John's moved him into sole possession of fourth in the Husky home run record book with 37 career home runs (T-1. 42, Kyle Conley, 2006-09; T-1. 42, Ed Erickson, 1997-00; 3. 41, Zach Clem, 2003-06; 5. 36, Will Simpson, 2020-23)
- The Huskies have turned 26 double plays this season, ranking 50th in the NCAA
- 64 of Washington's 166 RBIs have come from new transfer players (Trevor Kole – 19, Casen Taggart – 19, Malakhi Knight – 14, Julian Sanders – 8, Carson Crawford- 1)
- 19 Huskies have made their program debuts (Banks, Brandenburg, Bronzini, Bujacich, Crawford, Curran, Denomme, Gilbert, Henning, Hotchkiss, Knight, Kole, Nichols, O'Neal, Sanders, Taggart, Thomas, Tims, W. Woodward)
NUMBERS TO KNOW
1 - 2025 is the first season for Eddie Smith at the helm for UW. The Olympia, Wash. native comes to the Huskies after three years at Utah Valley.
37 - AJ Guerrero moved into sole possession of fourth on the Washington all-time home run leaders chart after his long ball at Saint John's.
4 - Washington is currently fourth in the Big Ten standings with an 8-4 record. The Diamond Dawgs trail only No. 10 UCLA (10-2), Iowa (12-3), and No. 15 Oregon (10-5).
26 - The Huskies have turned 26 double plays this season, adding two against Seattle U for the fifth-best mark in the Big Ten and 41st in the NCAA.
FIRST SEASON UNDER SMITH
On July 9, 2024, Eddie Smith was named the 25th head coach of University of Washington baseball, announced by UW Director of Athletics Pat Chun. Smith, a native of Olympia, Washington, comes to Montlake after three seasons at Utah Valley, quickly turning the Wolverines around from a Western Athletic Conference bottom dweller to one of the nation's most feared mid-major outfits.
UP NEXT
The Huskies return to Big Ten play on the road, facing No. 10 UCLA in Los Angeles for a three-game series. Friday night will be Washington's second game against a top ten opponent this season after the March 25 matchup with No. 5 Oregon State.
FIVE STRAIGHT
The Huskies earned a fifth consecutive win on Tuesday, taking down Seattle U 4-3 at Husky Ballpark. The win streak marks Washington's longest of the season.
B1G SWEEP
Washington claimed its third Big Ten series win in emphatic fashion, sweeping the three-game series against Purdue over the weekend. The Huskies took the last win by way of a walk-off home run from Braeden Terry to seal the sweep. Terry provided two home runs in the series, batting in the game-winning run in both Saturday's and Sunday's games.
The Huskies own an 8-4 conference record, placing the Diamond Dawgs fourth in the Big Ten standings.
B1G FRESHMAN IMPACT
Jackson Hotchkiss was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week, the first Big Ten weekly award in program history. Hotchkiss was instrumental in the Huskies' perfect 4-0 week, slugging two home runs and a double while going 5-14 over the four-game stretch. His .357 batting average last week was the second-best mark on the team, trailing only AJ Guerrero (.357). Hotchkiss scored a critical run for Washington in Saturday's win over Purdue, helping the Diamond Dawgs to a 5-4 win to clinch the series. On Sunday, Hotchkiss was one of two Huskies to record multiple hits, knocking two singles in his four at bats. Over the last week, the freshman led the team in slugging percentage (.857), was second in total bases (12), and third in runs scored (5). He also chipped in a stolen base over the four-game stretch.
BANKS BACK
Max Banks dealt his latest gem on Friday, taking the series opener from the Boilermakers in an 8-1 victory. The senior threw 6.0 innings, allowing only two hits and one run while striking out seven batters. This comes on the heels of a dominant performance against Rutgers the previous weekend where he posted 6.0 scoreless innings, allowing one hit, while collecting two strikeouts. In his six starts this season, Banks has tossed 6.0 innings on four occasions.
He owns a 3.34 ERA and has a 3-2 record. His 30 strikeouts are the second-most on the team.
GOING, GOING, GUERRERO
Senior slugger AJ Guerrero took sole possession of fourth on the UW all-time home runs leadboard after smacking his fourth of the season on Tuesday against St. John's, the 37th of his UW career. He's five home runs from tying the record and six from taking it outright. (T-1. 42, Kyle Conley, 2006-09; T-1. 42, Ed Erickson, 1997-00; 3. 41, Zach Clem, 2003-06; 4. 37, AJ Guerrero, 2022-25; 5. 36, Will Simpson, 2020-23).
The Fife, Wash. native leads Washington in multi-hit games (12), doubles (12), total bases (63), slugging percentage (.512), runs scored (28), hits (39), is second in walks (22), batting average (.317), on base percentage (.429), and is third in home runs (4).
BIG PLAY YEAGER
Isaac Yeager took the mound four times in the last five games, helping Washington to its five game winning streak. Last week, Yeager earned the win against St. John's after pitching one inning in relief with a strikeout. In the series opener against Purdue, he tossed 2.0 innings in relief on Friday, punching out four batters. Then he earned his second save of the season on Saturday, closing out the final two outs in the ninth inning including a pivotal game ending strikeout. Finally, on Tuesday, Yeager earned his team-leading third save, clinching the win with two strikeouts in the ninth against Seattle U.
SLAMMIN' SAMMY
Sam DeCarlo's bat has been hot since moving from the leadoff spot to the middle of the lineup. In 43 leadoff at bats, DeCarlo had an average of .186 with eight hits, one double, one home run, and three RBIs. In 90 at bats from the fourth, fifth, and sixth spots, DeCarlo is batting .333 with 16 runs scored, 30 hits, with three doubles and four home runs. DeCarlo is second on the team with 38 hits and 25 runs scored.
DeCarlo is the sole Husky to start every game this season and leads the team with 83 assists. He's also second on the team in fielding double plays (17).
TIMS TIME
In his sixth start of the season and his third as a weekend pitcher on Sunday, Justin Tims had a career day. The freshman pitched a career-best 6.0 innings and eight strikeouts against zero walks. He's brought his ERA down to 4.56 on the season and now owns a 1-1 record. Batters are hitting .240 against him with four or less hits allowed in each of his starts.
MCADAMS MONEY
Whether as a starting pitcher or from the bullpen, Reilly McAdams has been a consistent contributor for the Diamond Dawgs. In his latest appearance on Sunday, the senior tossed 3.0 innings in relief against Purdue, earning the win and allowing just one hit and run against three strikeouts. McAdams leads Washington in strikeouts looking (13), four more than the next pitcher on the team (Banks, 9).
RISPY BUSINESS
Three Huskies are batting .350 or better with runners in scoring position (Taggart - .458, DeCarlo - .414, and Sanders - .385). Casen Taggart leads Washington in batting average (.326), on base percentage (.492), and walks (30).
WALKING THE WALK
Casen Taggart has shown his patience at the plate, earning 30 walks this season, the third-best mark in the Big Ten and 33rd in the NCAA. He's averaging 1.11 walks per game, the best average in the conference and the 13th-best in the NCAA. He's collected four walks on two occasions this season, most recently against Purdue (4/6).
DOUBLE PLAY DAWG DEFENSE
Washington has been efficient defensively throughout the first stretch of the season. The Huskies have turned 26 double plays, the fifth-best mark in the Big Ten and the 41st-best in the NCAA.
Washington has been consistent overall on defense, owning a .975 fielding percentage, the eighth-best mark in the Big Ten and 54th in the NCAA.
TRANSFER POWER
The Huskies have hit 34 home runs this season, nine of which have come from transfer players. Casen Taggart and Malakhi Knight both lead the transfers in home runs with three each, while Trevor Kole has hit two and Julian Sanders has one. Washington's other home runs have come from Bower (5), DeCarlo (5), Guerrero (4), Hotchkiss (3), Terry (3), Wilson (2), Blanchard (2), and Whitton (1).
THOMAS ON TOP
Jackson Thomas had a dominant first start for Washington, tossing 6.0 scoreless innings while allowing three hits, two walks, and fanning seven batters against San Francisco. He backed up his first showing with another stellar performance against Nebraska in the second game of the doubleheader on Saturday. He tossed a career-high 7.0 innings while collecting his team-leading second victory of the season. Thomas added another stellar start on Saturday against Purdue, tossing 5.0 innings with three hits, one run, and seven strikeouts.
Among pitchers reaching the minimum of 1.0 IP per game, he leads the team in earned run average (3.62), opposing batting average (.230), innings pitched (37.1), and has the least amount of runs allowed (15), walks allowed (13), doubles allowed (4), triples allowed (0), and home runs allowed (2).
BOWER BOOMING
Colton Bower has been a force behind the plate and as a hitter this season. Defensively, he's caught 12 runners stealing. As a batter, Bower's logged a team-high five home runs and has 24 hits on the season, including six doubles.
In the Big Ten rankings, Bower is second in hit by pitch (14) and second in hit by pitch per game (0.50). Bower is also in the top 25 in both hit by pitch statistics nationally, coming in at 25th in total HBP and 17th in per game.
IMPACT RELIEVER
Josh Emanuels has been strong out of the bullpen for the Dawgs, tallying three saves in 2025, including the series clinching save against Maryland on Sunday. Emanuels ranks eighth in the Big Ten and 101st nationally in total saves.
D3 DIAMONDS
For the third straight year, Washington has hit the NCAA Division III ranks to add to its pitching staff through the transfer portal. The Huskies added right-hander Max Banks who enjoyed a strong three-year career at Division III Chapman, collectively going 12-4, 3.35 in three seasons with a 185-to-67 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 150 2/3 innings. Last season, Washington signed right-hander Spencer Dessart out of Middlebury College in Vermont, who posted a 4.32 ERA with 63 strikeouts over 50 innings. And in 2023, UW brought in D3 transfer Kiefer Lord out of Minnesota's Carleton College, with Lord going on to be a third round draft choice in the 2023 MLB Draft.
IT CAN WAIT
For the third year in a row, a Washington commit turned down the opportunity to sign with an MLB team to join the Husky roster. Jackson Hotchkiss was selected by the Arizona Diamondbacks, but opted to take his talents to UW first. Last season, Blake Wilson was drafted in the 20th round of the 2023 MLB Draft by the Kansas City Royals but still made his way to Montlake. Former Husky Aiva Arquette was a 18th round draft choice by the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2022 before coming to campus.
