Before USC’s baseball season kicks off against Pepperdine on February 13, a few of our baseball writers highlight some of the competition in the Big Ten Conference.
Illinois - by Gary Wang
2025 record: 30-24 (14-16)
Expectation: The Fighting Illini enter the new season looking to prove themselves as capable fighters worthy of making national playoffs. The team fell short of securing a spot last season, as it struggled to stay consistent while breaking into the upper tier of the conference. Now, the Illini look to flip the script.
The team has lost two of its most consistent offensive players: senior destructive power hitter Drake Westcott and senior consistent contact hitter Vytas Valincius. The duo combined for 24 home runs and 80 RBIs in the 2025 season. This may leave massive holes in the middle of the batting order for this season. Illinois has, however, tried to resolve this issue by recruiting players like senior Cole Warehime, known for his explosive batting speed, alongside junior J.R Nelson, a gap-to-gap threat. Star veterans senior Jack Zebig (.303 BA in 2025) and junior Cameron Chee-Aloy (23 runs scored in 2025) will anchor the offense.
But offense here is not the main concern. This offseason, head coach Dan Hartleb has emphasized multiple times that changes must be made on the mound, with his search for reliable arms focused on replacing key players lost from last season. Those who left Illinois include the likes of Tyler Schmitt and Julius Sanchez, who were both selected in last year’s MLB draft by the San Diego Padres and Texas Rangers, respectively. The development of the bullpen and how rotations look will likely be defining factors to determine the team’s ceiling in conference play. The new additions of relief pitchers, most notably sophomore Ryan Johnson, will hopefully address these points. The key to how well Illinois performs this season is twofold: keeping the offensive pressure on, and getting the pitching staff to adjust and stabilize. If the Illini successfully deal with these problems, they can be serious contenders.
Iowa - by Bennett Rutzick
2025 Record: 33-23-1 (21-9)
Expectation: The Iowa Hawkeyes enter the 2026 season with a lot of their offensive talent from last year, including seniors Caleb Wulf (utility), Gable Mitchell (infield), and Miles Risley (outfield)—all experienced and explosive batters who had stellar seasons last year. They also retained senior reliever Justin Hackett, who will likely play a larger role in this year’s pitching rotation.
Along with Hackett, the Hawkeyes add freshman pitchers Brody Irlbeck and Nick Terharr – both highly touted high-school recruits – who could immediately stoke the fire of this Iowa defense. Graduate Logan Runde rounds out this new pitching crew—he posted a 6.63 ERA in 21 appearances last season.
While those arms could definitely help keep Iowa strong on the mound, their best addition is former first-team All-Northeast Conference graduate outfielder Bryce Phelps, who will not only strengthen the Hawkeyes’ depth on defense, but will also add a spark to their already polished batting order—Phelps had a .399 batting average and a .971 OPS last season at Wagner College.
Promoting former Major League Baseball pitcher Wes Obermueller to pitching coach provides another boost for the Hawkeyes, giving their bullpen a veteran presence and developmental edge.
The Hawkeyes return with plenty of firepower at the plate and have reloaded with key additions from the transfer portal and a talented freshman class; however, the question is whether or not they can stay hot on the mound this season. Cade Obermueller, Aaron Savary, and Anthony Watts were drafted to the Phillies, Guardians, and Cardinals, leaving some big shoes to fill. But it doesn’t seem like there is a shortage of promise in Iowa’s new rotation. This spring’s bullpen is an inexperienced but talented group that has the potential to be just as good, if not better, than it was last season.
Maryland - by Adam Ucuzoglu
2025 record: 27-29 (12-18)
Expectation: The Maryland Terrapins are primed for a bounce back season after finishing under .500 for the first time since 2018. After ending the season towards the bottom of the Big Ten standings, head coach Matt Swope decided to make some big roster additions in an effort to rejuvenate a once great program.
The Terps lost their two-time second team All-Big Ten shortstop junior Chris Hacopian to Texas A&M in the transfer portal. Maryland is confident that incoming freshman infielder Ty Kaunas, Just Baseball’s Preseason Big Ten Freshman of the Year, can fill that void, batting him leadoff in preseason exhibitions.
Although the rest of the lineup is uncertain, the Terps have a bonafide star reliever in sophomore right-hander Cristofer Cespedes. In his freshman season, he struck out 35 batters in 30.1 innings pitched, while holding opposing hitters to a .233 batting average. Cespedes has already been named to the Perfect Game Preseason All-Conference Team.
Last but certainly not least, junior outfielder Brayden Martin returns to lead the team after being named the number two outfielder in the Big Ten by D1Baseball. In his first two seasons with the Terps, Martin started 107 out of 112 games, and appeared in 111 of them. He finished his sophomore campaign with a .319 batting average, but his eye was his strength. Martin led the Big Ten with 59 regular season walks, the second most in a single Maryland season.
The Terrapins will host a USC team that needs to travel across the country in late March, a series that feels lopsided but could sneakily be much closer. There is a strong possibility they could steal a game or two from the Trojans, who will most likely be fatigued from travel.
Northwestern - by Mason Bloom
2025 record: 25-27 (13-17)
Expectation: The Wildcats are looking to pounce in 2026. After missing conference tournament play last year, the ‘Cats welcomed a slew of talent, hoping to improve their record for the third straight season starting on Friday, February 13 at Rice.
Division III All-American reliever, graduate Charlie Kutz, top-ranked New England Collegiate Baseball League pitcher, sophomore Chayce Kieck, and top-ranking first baseman, freshman Nick Barron, are just a handful of the dozen-plus newcomers. These players arrived after head coach Ben Greenspan led the Wildcats to a 25-27 (13-17 Big Ten) finish in 2025 — their best in 20 years.
After nine losses by 10 or more runs in 2025, Northwestern made major changes in the bullpen. Kutz is among the biggest names joining the Wildcats; he finished last season with a 3.34 ERA thanks to professional-level fastballs, sliders and changeups. His fastball is straight as an arrow, and quick enough to reach the plate in under half a second. Kutz’s slider, meanwhile, produces enough spin to drop from the strike zone to the dirt in the blink of an eye. His changeup is similarly lethal and deceptively slow, easily tricking batters to swing early. The graduate student looks to break out as a starter in 2026.
Barron will round out Northwestern’s infield, as the freshman finished his senior year of high school as the top-ranked first baseman in Massachusetts. Barron is expected to take over for outgoing senior Trent Liolios. Liolios, who will use his last year of eligibility at Tulane, finished the 2025 season with 16 home runs — second in program history for one season — and 39 RBIs. He is among Northwestern’s biggest losses for the upcoming season, alongside Preston Knott, who led the team in doubles (17), walks (31) and runs scored (42). The graduate will finish his college baseball career at the University of Texas at Arlington.
Whether the new talent can offset several outgoing players will be clear when Northwestern faces off against Rice in Houston on Friday.
USC - by Bennett M. Weinschenk
2025 record: 37-23 (18-12)
Expectation: Energized by their return to Dedeaux Field, “Stankiewicz and his staff know exactly what the team needs to do: prevent runs from scoring, and win close ballgames…Credit where it’s due: the Trojans finished each of the last three seasons one step closer to their 13th College World Series title, which they haven’t won in 28 years. In May or June 2026, maybe the USC Trojans will see the payoff of three gritty, tenacious and hard-fought baseball seasons. Or, maybe this season will be yet another step forward. It all depends on whether this team can do as their coach suggests, and step up.”
UCLA - by Makena Arteaga
2025 record: 48-18 (22-8)
Expectation: This UCLA Bruins team is loaded, decorated and fully aware of it. UCLA opens the year carrying the weight of expectations after a landmark 2025 campaign that included a Big Ten co-championship, a return to the Men’s College World Series and a 48-18 record. The Bruins did not drop a home series all season and finished 31-7 at Jackie Robinson Stadium, quickly establishing themselves as a national power in their first year in the conference.
At the center of it all is junior shortstop Roch Cholowsky, the most accomplished returning player in the country. Cholowsky was named Baseball America’s Preseason Player of the Year and a First-Team Preseason All-American after producing one of the greatest seasons in UCLA history, slashing .353/.480/.710 with 23 home runs, the most by a UCLA player in more than 20 years.
Cholowsky capped a dominant season with a host of major national and conference honors, including Big Ten Player of the Year, and is now projected to be the No. 1 overall pick in the MLB draft. He also became UCLA’s first winner of the Brooks Wallace Award as the nation’s top shortstop.
The Bruins’ lineup as a whole hit .296 and outscored opponents by more than 200 runs in 2025. UCLA’s physical offense forced mistakes, drawing 318 walks and 137 hit batters over 66 games. With most of the core returning, that disciplined, physical approach should carry into 2026.
UCLA lacks a single pitching headliner but makes up for it with depth and elite defense. The Bruins posted a 4.57 team ERA and leaned on a mix of starters and relievers to grind through the postseason.
UCLA opens the season on February 13 with a three game home series against UC San Diego, followed by Tulane and a marquee matchup with TCU. By the time USC sees the Bruins again on the first weekend of April, the blueprint will already be established.
From the other side of town, the message is simple. If you want to win the city, or the conference, you’re going to have to go through Westwood.
Washington - by Zane Woods
2025 record: 29-28 (17-13)
Expectation: The Huskies have gone through a heavy roster turnover. There are 23 newcomers and only 13 returners, meaning more than two-thirds of last year’s squad is gone. This roster turnover could lead to some chemistry issues initially, but it also positions the Huskies to stay competitive in Big Ten play.
This is head coach Eddie Smith’s second year leading the Huskies and he is great at developing bats, like Washington Nationals outfielder Dylan Crews, the former No. 2 overall pick in the 2023 MLB draft. Still, the lineup needs improvement: Washington hit .260 last season, last in the Big Ten. The additions of senior catcher Ethan Swidler and junior outfielder Mic Paul look to benefit from Smith’s ability to develop bats. If the offense can improve from last year, Washington can find itself finishing even higher than last year’s mark (fifth in the conference). The Huskies’ depth has been improved, and if the pieces fall perfectly into the puzzle, this team could make some noise.