KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. – To say that the Oregon Tech baseball team will have a different look in 2026 would be an understatement. Gone are three players who earned Cascade Conference Player or Pitcher of the Year honors, two others honored as all-conference picks and a senior class that rewrote the Hustlin' Owls record book.
 
But, for second-year head coach Ricky Walker – it's reloading and not rebuilding – as the Owls are coming off a school-record 39-win season and their first trip to the NAIA National Tournament.
 
"There is no replacing our senior class and what they accomplished, however, the impact that they had on our returning players helps our current team continue the culture we have built," said Walker. "With losing 18 seniors and adding 25 new players, the fall was tough. But we are already seeing our Tech Baseball identity reshape. I remind our players that they don't have to be last year's team – but remember what is on their chest is what's most important."
 
The pitching staff will look different this season after the loss of two seniors – 2024 Cascade Conference Pitcher of the Year Bronson Chapple and 2025 CCC Pitcher of the Year Tim Williams.
 
Walker knows one can't replace one ace, let alone two – but the 2026 team has built a deep staff that collectively may be better than the club from a season ago.
 
"We knew we lost our No. 1 and No. 2 starters but also recognized how well our players are growing in the system. I knew we had to go get some players and stayed transfer heavy that had quality college innings under their belt," Walker remarked.
 
Anchoring the rotation is senior Carson Glavich, who finished 2025 with a 7-2 record and a 4.76 ERA in 13 starts – eating up 64 innings, while only walking 18 batters. The veteran left-hander looks to move from a Day 2 starter to a Day 1 arm. Joining Glavich is fellow senior Landon Cheney, who has combined for a 9-1 record in his Tech career – with the righty making 14 career starts and throwing 108 collegiate innings.
 
Both players give the Owls experience traversing the CCC.
 
"Glavich is a strike thrower and a competitor, and we look for him to set the tone and establish what is going to happen throughout a series," Walker said. "Cheney is a 4-year player who has pitched a lot of big, crucial innings."
 
Tech will look to Noah Loew to fill a rotation spot, as the redshirt junior made eight appearances – staying below the NAIA's redshirt threshold. The righty was 2-0 with a 2.84 ERA and a save – with his lone start at British Columbia, limiting the Top-25 team to two runs on three hits in six innings of work.
 
"Loew showed signs last year that he can be as good as any starting pitcher in this conference – and now it is his time in that spot," Walker said.
 
The remaining rotation spot is up in the air – with four pitchers battling for that role. Redshirt freshmen Ryker Altizer and Marcos Ulloa-Ford have made a big jump over the past year, while hard-throwing transfers Crew Howell of Treasure Valley CC and Josh Mejia of Lower Columbia CC in the mix. Howell averaged nearly a strikeout an inning over two seasons of collegiate baseball, while Mejia, a left-hander, had 38 strikeouts in 25 collegiate innings.
 
"We have multiple guys who can pitch Game 4 of a series and to have that kind of pitching depth is something we haven't had and is an exciting part of this team," Walker said. "Both Altizer and Ulloa-Ford have grown after a year in the program and are on the trajectory we want them to be. Crew Howell and Josh Mejia can eat innings and throw well with firm fastballs and plus off-speed."
 
Seniors Kaden Melzer and Caleb Randolph, along with transfer Collin Hysell provide experienced arms lock down the back end of the bullpen. Melzer led the staff with four saves last season – including two in the postseason – while Randolph made 14 appearances in 2025 and led the staff with a 1.21 ERA. Hysell joins the team from Treasure Valley CC, where he recorded 52 strikeouts in 46 innings.
 
"Having Melzer, Randolph and Hysell give us multiple quality arms that can handle leverage situations," Walker replied."
 
Tech has depth in the bullpen, including three left-handers – returner Hayden Van Acker, transfer Aiden Lundquist and freshman 2-way player Aiden Corkery. From the right side, returners Thomas Smith and Matthew Peterman are back, with transfers Enrique Perez and Aiden McAuliffe, along with freshman Ezra Oster providing the Owls multiple options.
 
Behind the plate, the Owls must replace two-time All-American, Tyler Horner, who rewrote the OIT all-time record book, along with Ty Blakely, who spelled Horner on Game 2 of doubleheaders.
 
Transfers Andrew Sharp and Logan Pontecorvo look to make an immediate impact, as will freshman Nik Holouchits and sophomore returner Ryan McCabe. Sharp, who will also see time at first base, had a career .325 batting average at Division II Central Washington, combining for 60 RBI. Pontecorvo heads to Tech from San Diego State and is one of the Owls top power threats, while Holouchits is the top defensive catcher of the quartet. McCabe, who was an understudy of Horner and Blakeley the past two seasons, continues to improve.
 
"We've been spoiled the last couple years with Horner and Blakeley holding down the fort," Walker said. "McCabe has had a great winter training. Sharp will catch 1-or-2 games a weekend, Holouchits is as elite of a defender for a freshman in college as there is – a physical, exciting guy. Pontecorvo is a massive bat and adds a big dimension to our lineup."
 
The infield will look completed different in 2026 – as 2-time All-CCC shortstop Patrick Barry, 3-year starting second-baseman Korrey Siracusa, and 4-year starting utility-man Matthew Ortiz, have all graduated.
 
The emergence last year of Logan Macy provides experience and leadership around the horn. The sophomore was the Owls everyday third baseman, hitting .296 with six doubles and 25 RBI – but will move to shortstop in 2026.
 
Macy has taken the ball and ran with it in a lot of ways," Walker said. "He made it clear that shortstop is his to lose and he has gone and done that and we hope he can be our quarterback on the field."
 
Transfer Cal Pickhardt will start the season at third, having earned NWAC Gold Glove honors last season at Everett CC. At second base, Cal Poly transfer Nick Gimino and true freshman Zach Morris have been battling throughout camp and will be tested during the preseason trip to Arizona and California.
 
Sharp will see time at first base, with returners Jacob Cook and Andrew Moore both in the mix. Cook hit three home runs, adding 20 runs scored and 10 stolen bases last year, while Moore used a redshirt season.
 
"Pickhardt is an elite defender at the hot corner and has power at the plate," stated Walker. "Gimino is a quality player with an extremely high ceiling as he continues to grow and get innings. We knew Morris was a gamer and had a great glove, but the ability to see him play at this speed this fast is exciting to watch. Sharp is a super-talented, veteran player that gives us that left-handed bat you want at the plate when the game is on the line. Cook has grown a ton and had a great first half of our winter training and Moore has grown after a redshirt year. We think highly of them all."
 
Returners Paul Zaragoza, Hunter Hough, Chase Southern and freshman Dylan Le, provided extended depth on the infield.
 
Gone from the outfield are three starters – 3-time All-CCC right fielder Julien Jones, 4-year starting left fielder Ka'ala Tam and speedy center fielder, Dane Bradshaw.
 
However, Michael O'Daniel returns – having split time in center with Bradshaw last season. The senior scored 38 runs in 2025 and ranked in the Top-5 in the CCC with 22 stolen bases.
 
At the corner positions, look for Quinn Mickelson, Dylan Edwards, JoJo Roman and Corkery to content for the two spots. Mickelson hit .301 with 14 RBI last spring at Blue Mountain CC; Edwards is a career .277 hitter and spent last season at Western Oregon; Roman was a starter at Delta CC in California; with Corkery a 2-time All-Tri-River Conference pick at Clovis East High in California. Returning redshirt junior Trevin Paulson will also contend for playing time.
 
"The way our outfield plays, we have to be able to run," Walker said. "I believe O'Daniel is one of the premier center fielders in our conference and can track down anything in the gaps. Mickelson is an outstanding defender and is a contact hitter from the left side that can get down the line. Edwards is an elite bat that we will need in the lineup."
 
Despite the new players, Walker feels the make-up of the 2026 team is similar to that of 2025.
 
"We are just as talented athletically, top-to-bottom, as a team this season – it's just about getting innings and at bats."
 
The season starts with a week-long tour of the Southwest, playing games in the Phoenix metro, before traveling to California for a key 4-game set at The Master's. Coming off the 39-16 record and trip to the NAIA Tournament, a good start to the season is crucial to the potential end-of-season success of the team.
 
"We know everything is based on the Western ARC (Cascade, Golden State Athletic Conference, Great Plains Athletic Conference) and only so many teams come out of it," Walker said. "We have to play as many high caliber West Coast teams as possible."
 
Beginning in late February, OIT begins a 37-game journey through the Cascade Conference – a gauntlet that has gotten tougher over the past decade. British Columbia advanced to the NAIA World Series in 2025, Lewis-Clark State is a perennial power that rehired former World Series winning skipper Jeremiah Robbins to lead the club, while Bushnell and College of Idaho return the bulk of their teams that advanced to the CCC Championships.
 
"This Cascade is incredibly tough and on the verge of getting four teams into the NAIA Tournament," Walker said. "When I was at our NAIA meetings, people were complementing our conference and how it has grown. UBC backed us up last year in advancing to the World Series and I know Jeremiah will do great things at LC. Bushnell and College of Idaho are quality, quality programs and I thought Warner Pacific was as tough as any team in our league to get a win off of last year. There isn't an easy weekend in the Cascade Conference."
 
Battling for a fifth-straight 30-win season, a fifth postseason appearance in six seasons and a second-straight NAIA Tournament bid – the new-look Hustlin' Owls look poised and ready to build off the foundation set by previous OIT teams.
 
"We want to provide a phenomenal student-athlete experience for our players and make memories that they are proud of," Walker said of his club. "Our goal is to win the Cascade Conference, but ideally, year in and year out, to be at the top of the conference and pull national press so people know who Oregon Tech baseball is and know that every time we cross the lines, we will give them heck."