Cal's Freshman-Laden Baseball Team Opens Its Season Friday

Bears begins the season with a four-game series against Santa Clara

Jacob French | Photo by Jaylynn Nash

Cal opens its 2026 baseball season on Friday in the first of a four-game series against Santa Clara, and the Bears will do so with a distinctly young squad.

Eighteen of the 43 players on the Bears’ roster are freshmen, and that’s indicative of head coach Mike Neu’s method of building the program through incoming high school players rather than transfers.

“We’re definitely not going to be destroying the NIL world; that’s not who we are,” Neu said. “We’re going to try to do our best to find the best fits for our program, who value the university and the culture and the standards that we’re going to hold our guys accountable to.

“Probably a better opportunity for us to win a national title is to get some of those talented guys, and they’re going to have to grow up a little quicker. For us to do it, that’s going to be our niche. So in general, yes [it will be incoming freshmen], but we’re going to go down every avenue to find the best possible guys we can.”

Cal brought in six transfers, most notably Gannon Snyder from Wichita State and infielder Daniel Murillo from San Francisco State.

But the Bears lost three key starters from last year’s 24-31 team to the transfer portal: second baseman Jarren Advincula (to Georgia Tech), shortstop PJ Moutzouridis (to Arizona State) and first baseman Dominic Smaldino (to Arizona State).

The Bears do return two of their best hitters in utility player Jacob French, who finished third in the ACC in batting with a .390 average in 2025, and third baseman Cade Campbell, who had eight home runs and 43 RBIs last season.

Cal returns some pitchers with experience, with Ethan Foley (3-3, 5.96 ERA in 2025), Oliver de la Torre (3-4, 5.01) and Gavin Eddy (4-4, 5.74) scheduled to start the first three games against Santa Clara.

However, it will be tough sledding for Cal in its second season in the ACC, because eight ACC teams begin the season in the top 25 of D1Baseball’s preseason national rankings.

Cal finished 9-21 in conference play last year, and the Bears are picked to finish 15th among the 16 ACC baseball teams.

Preseason ACC baseball poll | ACC

It will be a challenge for Cal to earn a berth in the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2019, but it could happen if the pieces fall together.

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