Washington Welcomes Northwestern For Big Ten Clash
March 26, 2026 | Baseball
All three games will be broadcast on Big Ten Plus with live stats available at Huskystats.com.
DAWG BITES
- Jackson Hotchkiss launched his seventh home run of the season against Pepperdine, setting a new career-high
- He leads the team in batting average (.449), slugging percentage (1.000), on base percentage (.491), doubles (6), home runs (7), and total bases (49)
- Tommy Brandenburg earned his first win of the season, throwing 5.0 innings with five strikeouts and five hits allowed against Pepperdine
- Hotchkiss leads the team with a 12-game reached base streak
- Colton Bower has hit safely in six straight games
- Mic Paul hit Washington's ninth triple of the season against USC, the 10th most in the NCAA.
- Braeden Terry leads the team with 24 hits while Colton Bower has the most RBIs on the team with 20.
- Tommy Brandenburg has been one of the most consistent relievers for Washington, allowing just eight total hits in his relief appearances. Right-handed hitters are batting .190 against him while lefties are a combined 5-20 (.250).
- Daniel Porras was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week last week, becoming Washington's first Freshman of the Week honoree since Jackson Hotchkiss (April 7, 2025) and the second Husky to claim a weekly award this season after Colton Bower's player of the week nod the previous week.
- Washington welcomed four new staff members to Montlake ahead of the 2026 season. Kade Kryzsko joins as an assistant coach, Justin Jacobs is the new recruiting coordinator, Scott Junck serves as the director of baseball operations, and Jake Rook is the director of baseball analytics.
- The Huskies were picked to finish eighth in the Big Ten conference by D1Baseball.
SECOND 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. Smith begins his second season at the helm of the Huskies in 2026.
UP NEXT
Washington welcomes Northwestern to Husky Ballpark for the first time as conference opponents. The Huskies faced the Wildcats last season in Evanston for a three-game series, with the Dawgs taking two wins.
HUSKIES TOPPLE WAVES
Tommy Brandenburg turned in a dominant start, throwing 5.0 innings of scoreless baseball to lead the Huskies to an 11-2 win over Pepperdine on Tuesday. He finished with five hits allowed and five strikeouts with one walk.
Jackson Hotchkiss batted leadoff again for the Dawgs and continued his hot streak. The sophomore knocked his third home run in the last two games, bringing his season total to a career-high seven home runs. He was also one of five Huskies who contributed multi-hit games on Tuesday, joined by Colton Bower with three, and Sam DeCarlo, Blake Wilson, and Ty Cowan with two hits apiece.
Bryce Johnson and Peysen Sweeney pitched in relief to close out the game. Johnson took over for innings six through eight, allowing three hits and two runs with two walks and a strikeout. Sweeney finished off the contest, throwing the final frame, allowing one hit and one walk with no runs.
BATTLE IN LA
Washington faced a strong No. 13 USC team over the weekend in the third Big Ten series of the season. Jackson Hotchkiss led the way offensively on Sunday, going 3-4 with two home runs and a double.
Colton Bower hit safely in all three games, pushing his hitting streak to a season-best five straight games, along with his sixth home run of the season on Saturday.
The Husky bullpen was dominant on Friday and Saturday, allowing zero runs and four hits across nine innings of work in the first two games of the series.
HOTCHKISS ON A HEATER
Jackson Hotchkiss has started the season on an absolute tear. After missing the month of February due to injury, he's made 12 starts in March and been the best offensive output for Washington. He's tallied a .449 batting average while scoring 15 runs on 22 hits. He has the most home runs on the team (7) and is tied for the team lead in doubles (6) while pacing the Huskies in slugging percentage (1.000) and on base percentage (.491). Despite playing in only half the games this season, he ranks 111th nationally in total home runs.
B1G TIME FRESHMAN
Following a walk-off winner and an impressive week at the plate, Daniel Porras was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week.
He becomes Washington's first Freshman of the Week honoree since Jackson Hotchkiss (April 7, 2025) and the second Husky to claim a weekly award this season after Colton Bower's player of the week nod last Monday.
Porras was dominant for the Dawgs over the four-game stretch, batting .353, going 6-17 with four runs scored, three doubles, one home run, and four RBIs. He added a .706 slugging percentage and a .405 on base percentage while driving in the game-winning run in Saturday's 5-4 walk off win over Ohio State in 11 innings.
KEEP YOUR EYES ON KENNEY
Noah Kenney has been named to the College Baseball Foundation's Pitcher of the Year watch list, the organization announced last week. Kenney is on of 141 of the nation's best hurlers that were listed according to the CBF. The pitchers on the watch list represent 26 different conferences and reflect the top mound performers to this point of the 2026 season.
Kenney has had a strong start to the campaign which has garnered him the national attention. He's collected one win so far in his five starts and has the most innings pitched (30.1) and strikeouts (33) of any Husky.
The right-hander has six appearances and five starts this year, pitching more than four innings each time he's taken the mound. Among his starts, he's thrown at least five innings in each, including five frames of hitless ball in a win against LMU.
B1G-TIME BOWER
Colton Bower has been one of the best offensive outputs for the Huskies as of late. He claimed his first Big Ten Player of the Week award (March 9) after a massive week at the plate.
Over the last 14 games, the catcher leads the team in RBIs (14), is second on the team in batting average (.439), slugging percentage (.951), on base percentage (.478), total hits (18), and home runs (5).
He's contributed nine runs, 18 hits, four doubles, one triple, five home runs, and 14 RBIs to power the Huskies to nine wins. Defensively, he's also added the most plate outs (66) of any Husky and chipped in five assists.
FRESHMAN FIREPOWER
Landon Young made the most of his action over the past two weekends after entering as a defensive replacement against Indiana. In the sixth inning, he bagged his first collegiate hit and RBI. The following day, he made his first career start and did not disappoint. The freshman tagged his first career home run, helping Washington to a 13-4 victory.
Since then, Young has made 10 starts and is batting .314 with 10 runs, 11 hits, and five RBIs.
FIRST START, FIRST HIT
Alexander Pearson made his first start for the Huskies on Saturday night in the designated hitter position and he made the most of his opportunity. He recorded his first career hit against No. 13 USC and followed up by scoring the first run of his career in his second start as DH on Sunday.
HUSKY HURLERS
The Huskies pitching staff has been dominant in the month of March. In total, the Washington pitching staff allowed an ERA of 4.22 over the last 14 contests. During the 9-5 stretch, the Husky pitchers have struck out 130 batters while allowing just 49 walks. Washington has surrendered just seven home runs as well against 19 home runs for Husky hitters.
The Husky pitchers have climbed the national rankings thanks to an impressive clip of strikeouts per walk. Washington ranks seventh in the Big Ten and 71st in the NCAA in strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.28). The Dawgs are averaging 9.3 strikeouts per nine innings, the sixth best in conference and 80th nationally. Washington is also surrendering just 4.1 walks per nine innings, eighth in the Big Ten and 80th in the NCAA.
TRIPLE THREAT
The Huskies have knocked nine triples this season, the most in the Big Ten and the 13th-most in the NCAA. Braeden Terry leads the way with three, Sam DeCarlo and Mic Paul each have two, and Colton Bower and Casen Taggart each have one. The Huskies are averaging .38 triples per game, the 19th-most in the nation.
DAWG DEBUTS
18 Diamond Dawgs made their first career appearance so far this season. Position player debuts included Ian Draper, Ty Cowan, Aidan Dougherty, Drew Johnson, Mic Paul, Alexander Pearson, Daniel Porras, Kevin Spear, Ethan Swidler, and Landon Young. Pitching debuts include Carson Boesel, Bryce Johnson, Noah Kenney, Hayden Lewis, Liam Lierman, Jay Miller, Jack Wade, and Tyler Walker.
FRESH FACES
Washington features a new-look team in 2026, including 23 newcomers, 16 of whom are transfer players. The Huskies return 13 letterwinners from a season ago, including nine position player starters.
BIG TEN PRESEASON POLL
Despite Washington's rise from 17th place in last season's poll to a fifth place finish, the Huskies have been left out of this season's Big Ten Preseason Poll. This year, the conference announced the voted top-six finishing programs.
1. UCLA
2. Oregon
3. USC
4. Nebraska
5. Indiana
6. Iowa
