University of Washington
USC
Huskies Host Trojans For Regular Season Finale
May 14, 2025 | Baseball
The remaining two games on Friday and Saturday will be broadcast on Big Ten Plus, with live stats available at Huskystats.com.
DAWG BITES
- Washington dropped its latest Big Ten series against No. 5 Oregon over the weekend. It was just the second time this season Washington has been swept and only the Huskies' third conference series loss. Washington has won six Big Ten series.
- Max Banks tossed his eighth start of the season with at least 6.0 innings pitched on Friday against No. 5 Oregon.
- Jackson Thomas has pitched at least 4.0 innings in all 11 of his starts, including Saturday against the Ducks.
- Isaac Yeager and Gunnar Nichols combined for seven innings of relief pitching on Sunday, allowing just two hits and one run while striking out eight batters.
- Cooper Whitton homered in back-to-back games over the weekend, slugging his second and third home runs of the season. Whitton batted in three of Washington's seven runs over the weekend.
- Washington ranks 63rd in the NCAA in stolen bases, with 88 extra bags. The Huskies area averaging 1.69 steals per game and are led by Malakhi Knight with 22 steals on the season. The Dawgs' centerfielder is averaging .49 stolen bases per game, the second-best mark in the Big Ten.
- Colton Bower has been hit by 21 pitches this season, the third-most in a single season in program history.
- Casen Taggart used a single on Sunday to extend his reached base streak to 26 games.
- AJ Guerrero used a four-home run week at the end of April to move into a tie for third in the record book for career home runs. (T-1. 42, Kyle Conley, 2006-09; T-1. 42, Ed Erickson, 1997-00; T-3. 41, Zach Clem, 2003-06; T-3. 41, AJ Guerrero, 2021-25; 5. 36, Will Simpson, 2020-23).
- 20 Huskies have made their program debuts (Banks, Boyd, Brandenburg, Bronzini, Bujacich, Crawford, Curran, Denomme, Gilbert, Henning, Hotchkiss, Knight, Kole, Nichols, O'Neal, Sanders, Taggart, Thomas, Tims, W. Woodward).
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.
41 - AJ Guerrero moved into a tie for third all-time in program history with 41 home runs and just one behind the leaders in first (42).
6 - Washington is currently sixth in the Big Ten standings with an 15-12 record. The Diamond Dawgs trail Iowa (21-6), No. 14 UCLA (20-7), No. 5 Oregon (19-8), USC (17-10), and Michigan (15-12).
48 - Max Banks is allowing 6.61 hits per nine innings, the 48th-best mark in the NCAA and the eighth-best in the Big Ten conference.
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 host USC in the regular series finale at Husky Ballpark beginning on Thursday, May 15. Following the final series at home, Washington will head to the Big Ten tournament in Omaha, Neb.
Washington controls its own fate this weekend, with the ability to rise to the No. 4 seed in the tournament with a sweep of the Trojans.
DOWNED BY THE DUCKS
The Huskies slugged three home runs and brought the tying or potential game-winning run to the plate in two of three games at No. 5 Oregon over the weekend, but Washington was unable to steal a win. It was just the second time this season the Huskies have been swept in a three-game series.
SIXTH BIG TEN SERIES WIN
The Huskies secured a big conference series win to open the month of May, taking two of three against Big Ten leader Iowa in dramatic fashion. The Huskies used two walk off wins to secure the series - first, a bunt single from Blake Wilson in the ninth inning on Friday night scored Malakhi Knight for the 4-3 victory. Then, on Saturday, Colton Bower launched a two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to put Washington up 3-1 and secure both the win and series.
B1G TIME HUSKIES
The Diamond Dawgs have adapted well to the new conference, currently sitting sixth in the Big Ten standings with an 15-12 record. Washington currently trails Iowa (21-6), No. 14 UCLA (20-7), No. 5 Oregon (19-8), USC (17-10), and Michigan (15-12).
The Huskies were picked to finish 17th out of 17 teams by D1 Baseball in the conference season preview.
This year's Big Ten tournament will feature 12 teams and incorporate pool play with four groups consisting of three teams each. The four pool winners will meet in the single-elimination semifinals on May 24, followed by the championship game on May 25.
BANKS BALLING
Despite the loss on Friday, Max Banks had another strong start for Washington. Against the Ducks, Banks threw 6.0 innings with four hits and four runs allowed. The Diamond Dawgs' ace owns a 6-3 record on the season with eight starts of at least 6.0 innings pitched. On six occasions, Banks has tossed 6.0 or more innings with less than two runs allowed.
He's risen in the national rankings lately, climbing to 48th in hits allowed per nine innings (6.61), 96th in victories (6), 77th in WHIP (1.13), and 147 in ERA (3.73).
In addition to the above stats, Banks also leads the Huskies in batting average against (.206), batters struck out (55), batters struck out looking (17), and least runs allowed (26).
GOING, GOING, GUERRERO
Senior slugger AJ Guerrero moved into a tie for third all-time in career home runs after launching three at Northwestern. He's now just one shy of tying the program record. (T-1. 42, Kyle Conley, 2006-09; T-1. 42, Ed Erickson, 1997-00; T-3. 41, Zach Clem, 2003-06; T-3. 41, AJ Guerrero, 2022-25; 5. 36, Will Simpson, 2020-23).
The Fife, Wash. native leads Washington in multi-hit games (20), hits (63), doubles (15), total bases (102), home runs (8), runs batted in (35)is second in batting average (.333), slugging percentage (.515), on base percentage (.432), runs scored (39) and walks (30).
Guerrero is all over the record book in other categories as well. He's currently fifth all-time in career games played (211), sixth in career doubles (48), second in career at bats (833), eighth in career runs (160), tied for first in career hits (264), second in career RBI (165), and eighth in career walks (108).
BIG PLAY YEAGER
Isaac Yeager has become one of the most dependable relief arms on the team and added his fifth and sixth saves of against Illinois to clinch the series. He ranks sixth in the conference and 57th in the NCAA in total saves and is second on the team in total strikeouts (52). He also has a team-high 21 appearances on the season.
Against Oregon on Sunday, Yeager turned in 5.0 innings of relief pitching while allowing only two hits and one run against four strikeouts.
SLAMMIN' SAMMY
Sam DeCarlo, the Diamond Dawgs' joint-home run leader, slugged his eighth home run of the season against Northwestern at the end of April. DeCarlo leads the Huskies in runs scored (41), is second in hits (60), second in multiple hit games (15), and second in total bases (89). He's been far more than just a power hitter, however. The shortstop has been a beacon of consistency for Washington this season, serving as the only Husky to start every game this and leads the team with 118 assists. He's also second on the team in fielding double plays (24). DeCarlo was also named to the Brooks Wallace Award Watch List, making him one of the top-100 shortstops in the nation.
RISPY BUSINESS
Four Huskies are batting over .300 with runners in scoring position (Taggart - .417, DeCarlo - .367, Bower - .325, Terry - .306). Casen Taggart leads the team in batting average (.338), slugging percentage (.519), and on base percentage (.480).
WALKING THE WALK
Casen Taggart has shown his patience at the plate, earning 42 walks this season. He's among the best in taking bases on balls in the country, sitting 51st in the NCAA in total walks and fifth in the Big Ten. On a per game basis, Taggart has the 35th-highest mark in the country and is also fifth the Big Ten (0.93). He's collected four walks on two occasions this season, most recently against Purdue (4/6).
Taggart also owns the longest reached base streak on the team this season, currently sitting at 26 straight games.
DYNAMIC DAWG DEFENSE
The Husky defense has been just as strong as the pitching, leading the Diamond Dawgs to four shutouts, the 29th-most in the NCAA. The Huskies' fielding percentage also sits at .977, the sixth-best in the conference and 32nd in the NCAA.
THOMAS ON TOP
Jackson Thomas has been a consistent starter for the Huskies since making his first start against San Francisco earlier this season. He's turned in 11 total starts, nine of which he's gone for at least 5.0 innings. In seven of those starts, he's allowed two or less runs.
Among pitchers reaching the minimum of 1.0 IP per game, he leads the team in least walks (24) and home runs allowed (6). He's also second on the team in earned run average (4.35), opposing batting average (.269), runs allowed (30), andis third in strikeouts (46).
Thomas previously played under Head Coach Eddie Smith at Utah Valley. While there, the right-hander amassed a 3-1 record in 38.1 innings pitched. He played in 12 games and made five starts, with opponents batting .271 against him.
BOWER BOOMING
Colton Bower has been a force behind the plate and as a hitter this season. Defensively, he's caught 13 runners stealing. As a batter, Bower's logged six home runs and has 32 hits on the season, including seven doubles.
In the Big Ten rankings, Bower is second in both hit by pitch (21) and in hit by pitch per game (0.47). Bower is also in the top-30 in both hit by pitch statistics nationally, coming in at 26th in total HBP and 20th in per game.
His 21 pitches worn this season are the third-most in a season in program history.
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.
