Arizona State Baseball Stars Earn Major Honors Ahead of 2026 Season

TEMPE -- The 2026 Arizona State baseball season is set to square off on February 13, when the Sun Devils take on the Omaha Mavericks at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.

Year five of the Willie Bloomquist era is being entered with extremely high hopes, as the program is seeking to build off of a 36-24 campaign from the previous season.

The Sun Devils were well represented in the Big 12's preseason poll that was voted on by head coaches from within the league that was unveiled on Wednesday, they were also picked to finish fourth in the league.

Arizona State on SI discusses the representatives of the poll below.

Preseason Big 12 Newcomer of the Year

Dean Toigo was selected as the newcomer of the year - as the outfielder transferred to Arizona State after winning co-Mountain West Player of the Year for his performance during the 2025 season.

Toigo had an incredible season as a batter, hitting for a 1.127 OPS, a .377 batting average, 18 home runs, and 74 RBI's, while also drawing 20 walks on the season.

His 99.1% fielding percentage and accounting for a dozen outfield assists in 2025 also make him an elite glove for the Sun Devils this season.

jmkl — Arizona State head coach Willie Bloomquist during a news conference at Phoenix Municipal Stadium on May 27, 2025. | Rob Schumacher/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Big 12 Preseason Team

P Cole Carlon

INF Landon Hairston

INF Austen Roellig

Carlon is a native of Tempe and alum of Corona Del Sol high school that is entering his junior season - the 6'4" pitcher is one of the most vital pieces on the team this season as far as the ceiling of the squad is concerned, as the reliever-turned-starter had some of the most electric stuff of any pitcher in the Big 12 in 2025.

Hariston is a rising sophomore and another native of Arizona, having attended Casteel high school in Queen Creek. Hariston started in 49 of 54 games he appeared in last season, posting a .908 OPS, a .333 batting average, and drawing 35 walks compared to 23 strikeouts.

Roellig comes to Arizona after he spent time at LSU and Utah - he started 50 games for the latter a season ago, putting together an .832 OPS and 35 RBI's during the campaign.

The Sun Devils are well-represented in the preseason honors as previously mentioned, as they trailed TCU in number of honorees to the squad. The highly anticipated Big 12 conference play is set to begin on March 10 with a home game against Arizona.

scefe — Starting pitcher, Ben Jacobs (22) of the Arizona State Sun Devils throws at the home opener against Ohio State at Phoenix Municipal Stadium on Feb. 14, 2025, in Phoenix, Ariz. | Megan Mendoza/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Read more on the bold strategy that head coach Bobby Hurley employed with comments on 1/21 here, and on why Arizona State may have saved the season with the win over Cincinnati on Saturday here..

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